Beyond ProfessionalsYoung people supporting each other online

Sophie Potter Online Community Coordinator

Gail Phelps Volunteer Peer Moderator

Young People &

Mental Health

Why ReachOut.com?

• 1 in 4 young people have a mental health issue

• 70% don’t get help

• 75% of all disorders start before 25

• Suicide is the biggest killer of young people

ONSET TREATMENT10 YEARS

“A real challenge exists with our mental

health services at the moment. They're not

easily accessible and we don't have enough

professionals, particularly in our regional,

rural, remote communities. Technologies

provide us with a way of connecting anyone

anywhere with a person who can help them.”

AssocProf Jane Burns

CEO Young and Well Cooperative

Research Centre (2012)

Less than 30% get help

If young people

can’t come to us,

we go to them.

90% of young people

are online everyday

We help by

• Reducing the burden on limited services

• Extend the accessibility of mental

health services

• Improve understanding of mental health

difficulties

• Decrease stigma and improve motivation to

access services

Our mission is to

help young people

live happier lives

About the Inspire Foundation

ReachOut.com was the first online youth

mental health service in the world

1992 19981996

2000 - 2008

1997

2009 - 2013

2006

Online tools for

mental health and

help seeking

ReachOut.com channels

Flagship

service

1.3 million

unique

visitors each

year

Facts

sheets,

personal

stories,

videos,

tools, tips,

peer support

Topics from

wellbeing to

tough times

Component

of RO.com

2000 active

members

10,000

unique

visitors per

month

Anonymous

and private

Peer support

Discussions

range from

wellbeing to

tough times

Daily tips

and

challenges

Text

message

campaigns

last 14 days

Each

campaign on

a specific

theme

Topics on

wellbeing

20, 000 fans

Reach

young

people not

engaging

with mental

health

services,

Use

language

and format

that is

meaningful

to them

Focus on

wellbeing

and

engagement

149k views

Innovative,

relevant

methods to

reach young

people with

mental

health

messaging

Focus on

wellbeing

7,000

followers

Innovative,

relevant

methods to

reach young

people with

mental

health

messaging

Focus on

wellbeing

and

engagement

We build

apps and

tools to help

young

people

Partnership

with

research

teams

We assess

and feature

other tools

we assess

Wellbeing to

tough times

Flexible approach

Prevention,

promotion and early

intervention

ReachOut.com targets

1. Mental Health Promotion and Universal Prevention;

2. Selective and Indicated Prevention; and

3. Early intervention.

Youth led health promotion and prevention

Does: Does not:

Universal health

promotion

Prevention

Early intervention

service

Provide treatment

One on one

intervention

Counseling etc.

A space for peer support

How we help: Universal

Forums

Conversations

Sessions and

challenges

help young people connect their

experiences to those of others

that share and build knowledge

/ skills for building + managing

wellbeing

where young people participate

in activities that raise awareness

+ increase understanding about

mental health

How we help: Selected/Indicated

Hearing others’ experience

Threads about getting help

Community participation

helps young people recognise their feelings

and experience + increase

their understanding

that increase positive attitudes towards

help-seeking and the belief that timely

/ appropriate support can be effective

that increases participation in a positive social

support network, leading to improved self

esteem and resilience and helps young

people increase self awareness, self

monitoring and problem solving skills

How we help: early intervention

Peer mod referral

Threads about

getting help

Online forums

that help young people recognize

symptoms + provide actionable help

that increase positive attitudes towards

help-seeking and the belief that timely /

appropriate support can be effective

that connect young people with a social

support network + link young people

seeking help to information and

services

ReachOut.com forums boost protective

factors, such as:

• Sense of belonging

• Adaptive coping

strategies

• Help-seeking behaviour

• Mental health literacy

Community forums

Risk Management

• Young people

design, role model &

enforce guidelines:

• Anonymity &

privacy:

• Peer-to-peer

support:

• Clear boundaries &

extent of service:

• Self-moderation:

• Technical risk

mitigation:

Self Moderation

Peer/Pro Mods & Staff

Technical mitigation

Peer moderation

Peer mods are vital

… and critical to the success of ReachOut.com by:

• Building community

• Providing peer-to-peer support - empathy through shared experience

• Proves there is a “light at the end of the tunnel”

• Foster a respectful site culture: focus on the issues rather than individual problem focused

• Manage risk by non permissible content – removal or escalation

• Strengthen youth participation model, ensuring RO.com is relevant for all young people

Who are these peer mods?

• Currently 16 youth

moderators across

Australia

• All from different

backgrounds

• All with a desire to

contribute to the youth

mental health community

• Each volunteers two

hours per week

What do you actually do?

• Contribute to the forums

• Listen to users

• Moderate content and manage risk

• Maintain a positive help seeking culture

But how do you help?

• Promotes individual experience, but a

shared understanding of that experience

• Places young people as the experts

• Provides peer based empathy and support

• Generates positive and constructive

conversations

How do you promote healthy

helpseeking?

• By providing examples of their own help seeking behaviours

• Using empathy and support to encourage and promote the importance of help seeking

• Providing links to relevant and trustworthy information

• Being community role models

• Practicing self-care

Working with volunteers

Youth Involvement/Volunteering

• From the beginning, young people were at

the centre of everything Inspire does

• Youth mods are part of a wider YI program

• 120 people: RO Film Crew, Youth Editorial

Board, ROMP, RO Speakers Bureau etc

• Private online community forum for all

involved with our YI programs

Youth involvement principles

9/26/2013Our mission is to help millions of young people lead

happier lives

Involvement throughout the service design and delivery process

A variety of opportunities to contribute in meaningful ways

Consider the spectrum of users and include a diversity of perspectives

Ask young people what they want and how they want it delivered

Lessons I learned

• Training is key + follow up

• Documentation usability

• Be available but have boundaries

• Recruit like you would for paid employment

• Offer development pathways

• Get anonymous feedback

• Model self care practices

Measures of success

1.4 million unique visitors to ReachOut.com in 2011/2012, & 664,332

engaged users = 27% increase on the previous year

Almost 50% of young people we interact with on social channels are

young men, those who need us most

50% of these visits take place after 5pm and before 9am

77% of young people who use ReachOut.com register high or very

high levels of psychological distress (higher for forums)

75% of young people who used ReachOut.com in 2011 reported that

it helped them to better understand mental health issues

Nearly half (46%) said it helped them to ask a professional for help

“I never thought that a silly post about my

feelings on an internet forum could end up

being the start to a new change. I have

realized that I can recover from this and I

thank you so much for pushing me in the

right direction.

I feel that I will get through this.”

“Veronica”, 19yo, 15th March 2013