Monthly Archives: February 2019

“Keeping Calm” … some ICT to support good Mental Health

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Young people, especially those of secondary age are now widely recognised to be a high risk group for the development of mental health problems.

ICT can be blamed for creating some health issues for children and young people; too much digital gaming and Internet or mobile ‘phone usage can negatively affect sleeping habits, increase waking-time tiredness, cause addiction, sleep disturbances and possibly even depression.

Young people have a wide range of needs to promote their mental health, from basic information to high-level ongoing clinical support. They probably prefer not to seek traditional professional help and, compounding this reluctance, in many areas sufficient resources are not available to provide the level and types of face-to-face service they require.

As online communication is an integral and accepted part of life for today’s young people, appropriate ICT options supporting mental health should be considered. The internet can facilitate community and  therapeutic counselling interventions can work for online users.

(Obviously there are challenges to ICT-based health services including inadequate access and training, lower literacy levels and the need for specialized technologies for people with disabilities.)

Children with good mental health think clearly, develop socially and learn new skills. They develop self-confidence, high self-esteem, and a healthy emotional outlook on life.

We can use ICT to support children’s good mental health & emotional well-being by finding software and apps that:

  • teach kids the “language of feelings”.
  • encourage creativity. …
  • help children to model situations (like social stories)
  • allow children to make mistakes and correct them (coding type apps)
  • think positively and better of themselves

Ipad Apps

Calm is the perfect meditation app for beginners, but also includes hundreds of programs for intermediate and advanced users. Guided meditation sessions are available in lengths of 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 minutes so you can choose the perfect length to fit with your schedule.

Whether they need to mellow out before bed, develop positive relationships or simply have a peaceful moment, Stop, Breathe & Think Kids offers children a fun and easy way to identify and process their emotions. From counting breaths to friendly wishes or frog jumps, each activity brings  rewards to keep them engaged.

Smiling Mind can be used on iPhone, iPad or a regular computer. It involves a series of short exercises, which guide children through breathing and becoming aware of their bodies to “put a smile on their mind”. It is based on the principle of “Mindfulness” – that is, being aware of taste, touch, sight and smell to be “in the moment” and truly achieve a sense of calm and perspective.

You might try Yoga with your class? Here are a couple of apps with good ratings to help.

 

 

Technology and talking therapies – do we still need humans?

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According to an article in the Guardian late last year nearly 40% of young people referred to CAMHS were turned down.  This could be for many reasons, but the least likely one is that they didn’t require help. This underlines the lack of resources available for children and young people who are in need of help to address their mental health concerns. There is a need for more support. But does it have to come from humans?

There has been a welcome increase in awareness, in recent years, of the need to support children’s mental health, with a rise in the number of ways to help them, particularly in teaching them to be more resilient, to identify when issues are arising, and how to look after themselves. However, sometimes, there is a need for them  to reach out for help from others. With a shortage of humans available, perhaps technology can bridge the gap.

There might also be situations when talking to technology has advantages over talking to a human being.  One recent study asked whether people with Autistic spectrum conditions (ASC) preferred online communication to face to face.

“A particular challenge is the complex, fast changing, and varied conditions under which communication occurs. People with autism tend to prefer environments in which communication is highly structured with few distracting signals to cause sensory overload.”

In this study, technology provided a more predictable, structured, environment which people with ASC felt better able to cope with.

However, it maybe that many others, even those who are ‘neurotypical’ might prefer a consultation with a virtual therapist. At the University of California they have been working on a on-screen helper who, through using advanced artificial intelligence, responds both to what is said, and to body language.

“It’s obvious that Ellie is not “real,” and therein lies the secret to her success — people feel less judged talking to Ellie. She provides the ultimate in unconditional positive regard. Although Ellie looks like a therapist, she doesn’t claim to be one, telling people from the outset, “I’m just here to listen.”

In one study they found that soldiers with PTSD where more willing to talk to Ellie than to a human counsellor, perhaps because there were fewer concerns about the impact on their career of opening up about their concerns, which might ultimately have to be passed on.

As you can see here, Ellie is working on sophisticated algorithms that elicit responses from users that help them think about their situation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejczMs6b1Q4 . Not only does ‘she’ respond to what is said, but also to gestures and facial expression.

There are also apps such as Woebot that use AI to provide a readily available, immediate, prop for people feeling anxious and unsure. However, these are aimed at adults, not children and young people. There are, though, a number of resources designed specifically for them.

Kooth, www.kooth.com, provides an online place for adolescents to raise their concerns, as does www.meetwo.co.uk, both of which provide peer support with moderation from human counsellors.

There are also apps such as ClearFear, which provides resources to cope with anxiety, and CalmHarm, which focuses specifically on self-harming. These not only provide coping strategies, but also enable users to keep a record of at what points these issues arise.

Younger children might find www.positivepenguins.com helpful. Here, their particular concerns are challenged by a set of penguins who will offer positive alternatives to the anxieties that are besetting them.

Whilst there might be a role for technology in helping to provide immediate support when needed, it doesn’t appear, yet, that AI will replace therapists, as this clip reports https://youtu.be/AE966uR09es .

As in most things, the technology is becoming increasingly helpful, but it is some way off from replacing human interaction.