MENTAL HEALTH
Online support specialists Xenzone explain why 89% of their younger users prefer accessing therapy over the web – and why they are now rolling out a service for adults.
I
t is not ‘new’ news that the internet has forever changed the way we communi-
cate with one another. Whether it’s keeping in touch with friends and family, research- ing information, or buying products and services, around 35 million of us in the UK now use the internet on a regular basis.
Brands and businesses that have contin- ued to thrive and grow in the face of this challenge have recognised the necessity of having a ‘blended’ service to offer greater choice to their increasingly discerning cus- tomers. The most successful businesses have embraced the internet as a huge op- portunity both to sell and to reinforce their brand values. Those who have not are just not surviving.
But it’s not just consumer brands that are changing their ways, because the internet is increasingly being used to access health- related information and support online. Many health charities, such as Macmillan Cancer Support, have recognised the ben- efits of providing online support and advice to cancer sufferers. They have realised that people who are confined to their homes or who struggle to gain access to face-to-face meetings, use the internet as a lifeline, re- ducing their levels of stress and depression.
The recent cross-government mental health strategy, ‘No health without men- tal health’, sets out to improve outcomes for people with mental health problems through early identification and interven- tion, especially in childhood and adoles- cence: one child in every ten is affected by mental health problems. Ministers have announced a £400m drive to tackle the way mental health is treated on the NHS – including the ambitious target of ‘curing’ up to a million sufferers in the next four years, and rolling out the IAPT programme for children and young people. The devil is of course, in the detail.
More than 50% of adult internet users in the UK have turned to the internet as a source of information and advice for men- tal and physical health problems and this statistic is even higher for young people under the age of 21, not surprising, consid- ering they have grown up in the online age. But when it comes to therapy, many people are waiting months, sometimes longer, for a face-to-face appointment with a counsel- lor or therapist and those who are most
54 | national health executive May/Jun 11
vulnerable, especially youngsters, can end up slipping through the net completely.
So why hasn’t the NHS embraced online mental health therapy more readily? It is accessible to most, flexible and available out of hours and infinitely more affordable.
Xenzone, who provide Kooth, the online counselling service for young people, have found that online counselling provides the added bonus of invaluable data to commis- sioners that identifies both thematic and geographic mental health patterns with rich demographic data, painting a very ac- curate picture of mental health down to local areas, something that will become essential to GPs as they take on more of the financial decision making. This sum- mer they are launching their adult service, Qwell Counselling, developed especially for primary care, which will do the same.
There are of course challenges with run- ning services online and the key to a suc- cessful service seems to be in the blended approach.
Elaine Bousfield, director of Xenzone, said: “Establishing referrals and clear clinical pathways to face to face services remains fundamentally important when working with vulnerable and sometimes complex, young people and adults.”
Online counselling definitely resonates with younger users. Of those who have used Kooth, 89% say they prefer accessing therapy online compared to face to face. Around 74% of young people have three sessions or fewer, the other 25% accessing four or more sessions. Proving the case for online counselling remains imperative, so the social enterprise Xenzone Alliance is conducting research into the effectiveness of therapy online.
But could the NHS be doing more to speed up change in this area? For example, is it not about time that the UK had a national Comprehensive CAMHS service online - a
one-stop-shop for tiers 1, 2 and 3?
“We would welcome this and would sug- gest that the work we have carried out over the past several years can be used as an in- formed and comprehensive benchmark to lead the way,” says Bousfield.
“Given the evidence on cost effectiveness, accessibility, rich data feedback and ease of use, why shouldn’t all those in need of mental health therapy be able to access therapeutic services at a touch of a mouse or the activation of an app? Why must cli- ents always go to clinics, GP surgeries and centres to receive therapy? Despite the emphasis on user experience in the last ten years, and the vast improvement in the delivery of CAMHS, accessing therapy or counselling can still feel like a stigmatising experience.
“In working online, we have found that we must remain local in focus, in partnership with our commissioners, with a commit- ment to multi-agency working and clear clinical governance – pure stand-alone services are just not able to deliver in a responsible way,” she argued. “Working online still needs to have one foot firmly planted in the physical world as part of a blended service.”
Over 10,000 young people a year now have access to the Kooth service and Qwell Counselling, with its focus on adults, will be available this summer. Considering the high cost of mental illness to this country (around £105bn per year) and the Govern- ment’s commitment to modernising the NHS, it is now time that online counselling should take its place as a very viable addi- tion to more traditional routes for helping to provide a mental health service that is fit for purpose in the internet age and can be embraced by commissioners and users alike.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
T: 0845 330 7090 W:
www.xenzone.com
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