Running Head: Innovation Report: MenTELL Help App

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Innovation Report: MenTELL Help App

Innovation Report: MenTELL Help App

Brittany Fisler and Kristen Van Den Neucker

Fanshawe College

COMM 3072

Ed Hawkeswood

December 6th, 2016

Introduction

Being the field of Child and Youth Care, one of the main elements contributing to our work is youth and families struggling with mental health disorders. Our clients have a range of family issues as well as children's emotional and behavioural challenges, which can be an environmental influence on mental health diagnoses. The purpose of this report is to connect the rising need for mental health assistance with our innovation of a mobile application.

Working with a variety of children and youth, we realized that social media and smartphone apps are the main resource for information of the population that we generally work with. With social media being the outlet for most of our clients frustrations or feelings, we decided that it would be a benefit to society to be able to report social media posts which show concern for a child/youths mental health. MenTELL Help, is an app that connects concerned citizens with a crisis worker that is able to reach out and assist anyone who is contributing to concerning posts online.

Whether the post is threat on their own life, or an instance of bullying leading to psychological concern- MenTELL Help is there to assist. Rounding out the function of our app, we have also included additional features which are essential to aiding those who are effected by mental health. Whether you are affected directly, or indirectlythis app is designed for you in mind.

Findings: Opportunity and Need

When our team was thinking about what new innovation to create, we were determined to create something that we are familiar with, and would be working alongside, for the rest of our careers. We decided to create a mental health app. Children's Mental Health Ontario notes that, Mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to their community.[footnoteRef:1] An important thing to know about mental health is that it can change over time. There are several factors that contribute to your mental health, such as: your environment, your biological makeup, your development, and your psyche. The CMHO also adds that, your lifestyle, the stresses in your life, a traumatic life event, and your genetics can all play a role on how your mental health can fluctuate.[footnoteRef:2] [1: Children's Mental Health Ontario. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2016] [2: Children's Mental Health Ontario. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2016]

As research evolves, we are starting to see more mental illnesses being diagnosed. Some of these disorders include: mood disorders (depression and bi-polar), anxiety disorders (generalized anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder), post-traumatic stress disorder (or other trauma related disorders), psychotic disorders (schizophrenia), concurrent disorders (addictions and substance abuse), personality disorders (anti-social personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder), among others.[footnoteRef:3] Attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) as well as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are also mental disorders which children and adults seek help for. [3: Children's Mental Health Ontario. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2016]

Almost one in five young people live with mental disorders, while seventy-five percent of mental disorders develop by age twenty-four, and fifty percent develop by age fourteen.[footnoteRef:4] Mental illness affects all Canadians at some point through their life; whether it is directly or indirectly. This means that you, yourself, may be dealing with your own mental health problems or you know someone who is, like a friend or family member. The biggest barrier surrounding mental health is the stigma attached to it. Because of the stigma behind mental illness we only see, one in five children in Canada who need mental health services ever receive help.[footnoteRef:5] With the use of MenTELL Help, we can remove the stigma attached to mental health by educating and encouraging people to utilize the resources that they need for themselves, or a loved one. [4: Welcome | Kids Help Phone. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2016] [5: Welcome | Kids Help Phone. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2016]

Growing up and making your way through elementary school and high school, mental illnesses seemed to be very prevalent. Having friends with mental illnesses, it was always hard to understand how to help at young age. During this time, mental health issues were usually kept quiet and you did not tell anyone; not because you did not want to help the person who disclosed to you, but because they did not want a teacher or parent to know. By being so secretive, their mental illness would go unnoticed and untreated. Our app allows a person to report a post that they are suspicious of, whether is it by friend, family member, or acquaintance, while staying anonymous-- if necessary.

We conducted research for this report by conducting an anonymous poll on twitter. We asked university and high school students, If there was a mental health app for yourself, friends, and family because you may be concerned or need to seek out helpwould you use it? Out of one hundred people who participated, seventy-four percent of the participants said yes, zero percent said no, and twenty-six percent said maybe. It was extravagant to see that seventy-four-people found that having a mental health app would be valuable. Seeing the results of this poll, it is apparent that having a mental health app that provides you options to help yourself or others would be a phenomenal asset to have.

With all these facts becoming evident to us, we realized that there are main concerns with mental health that could have been avoidable, yet we do not take the correct actions all the time. There may have been times where you had seen a post on Twitter or Facebook which may be concerning; however, we did not take action- we just scrolled by. Imagine you then heard in the news later that night, that the person who posted the concerning post took their own life. You would be overwhelmed with grief. We want to eliminate this miscommunication and dismissal by having a platform where you can report, and make sure the person gets the help they need. This is important because suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people. It is important to address these issues and to seek out help if you are struggling with your mental health or know someone who is.

Innovation Proposal: How it Works

Now that we have discussed the logic and facts behind our innovation, it is now time to explain how our mobile application works. While compiling the use and functionality of our app, it was also important to deliver creativity and ease. Nobody wants to use an app which is confusing to navigate or hard to understand. We have provided an explanation of the app as well as pictures of a mock design for reference.

After downloading MenTELL Help on your iPhone or Android smart phone, you will be prompted with a screen giving you three available options: report a social media post, self-help, and support others. These titles encompass the direction that we wanted to lead with our multifaceted design. This application is functional on a personal level, as well as a way to encourage and educate bystanders to remove the stigma of mental health and take part of helping those who are in need.

By reporting a social media post which you find concerning, or regard in a life-threatening manner, you are assisting by sending the poster the help they need. Whether this person is someone you know, or someone you came across on social media; you can report any media post that suggests a concern for the persons mental health anonymously. By clicking on the button on the main screen, you will be taken to a short form to fill out asking for: the posters name, your relation, factors you believe are connected to the post, as well as a spot to paste a direct link to the post. You will be prompted to fill out the form to the best of your knowledge, and when submitted, it will be sent to a database to be screened. If the post is indeed concerning, our crisis specialists will contact the person directly, offering our services and resources. In situations where someone may be threatening on taking their own life, crisis services or 911 will be contacted immediately.

If you are struggling with mental health yourself, this app is also a great place to educate and find the mindfulness that is essential for coping with your mental illness. When selecting the self-help option, you will be taken to a screen where there will be three available avenues for you to pursue. The first is a mental health database, which has medical facts and findings on all mental health diagnosis. This is where you can follow symptoms, medications and overall knowledge in order to educate yourself on the help and support that you will need. The second option is a route that will take you to different coping techniques specialized to your diagnosis. Cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectic behaviour therapy, mindfulness, deep breathing among other strategies will be available to learn. The last option is a list of resources in your area that offer mental health help. When downloading MenTELL Help, your location will automatically populate both phone numbers and websites for crisis counselling, kids help phone, groups, counselling services, Canadian mental health association, and