A self-help app for young people
The number of young people suffering from mental health problems is growing every year. In 2021, 18 percent of 12- to 25-year-olds were struggling with psychological problems, compared to 11 percent in 2019 and 2020. But waiting times for youth welfare services are getting longer due to the combination of increasing demand and limited budgets for care providers. So, how can science help to address this social problem?
Mental health starts with being aware of your emotions. UvA scientists therefore developed Feelee, a free online application. Young people can use this to gain more insight into the relationship between their habits and their emotions and to develop more self-direction. The app keeps track of how much the user sleeps and moves and asks them how they are doing every day. They can indicate this using an emoji: are they happy, angry, or sad, for example? Feelee then creates an overview to reveal certain trends about emotions and habits.
Earlier research showed that the Feelee app really does have something to offer. “Young people say they like being able to ‘leave their feelings behind’,” says Levi van Dam, UvA researcher and co-inventor of the app. “Feelee helps young people to drop their emotions on the dashboard and come back to them later at a more convenient time, when they can talk about them with a counsellor, friend, or family member. That was great to hear, that Feelee is a place where they can go to have a quiet moment for themselves, as it were.”
With the support of donors, the researchers want to expand the Feelee app with personal tips and suggestions based on scientific insights and data. This advice will help the users to change their behaviour and break the vicious circle of mental health problems. The app is specifically geared towards 16- to 20-year-olds, because they are capable of changing their behaviour on their own. This type of support also fits in seamlessly with this generation’s everyday life. This way, young people can work on their own mental health in an accessible way. Personal advice will give them better insights into their own behaviour and give them more control over their lives.
UvA researchers want to continue developing the self-help Feelee app so that they can provide more effective help to young people with mental health problems. Support from donors is vital in this effort. Will you help us?