We were thrilled to take home the Tech4Good award at the annual Leeds Digital Festival Awards this September. This industry-recognised accolade celebrates organisations that are delivering positive change for communities and individuals, focusing on how technology has improved their quality of life.
Online platform for children and young people
We were recognised for the work we’ve been doing with our partners, SilverCloud by Amwell, to develop and roll out a digital wellbeing support programme for children and young people. These programmes are offered for low to moderate anxiety and low mood presentations, either as a sole intervention or for initial support while waiting for face-to-face therapy.
This digital provision has allowed us to develop an additional offer of support within our service model, allowing for more choice for those children and young people.
The online therapeutic platform is accessible 24/7, and is based on CBT principles, guided self-help and multimedia elements – all of which assist the learning of knowledge and skills for young people. It provides interactive tools that apply best for usability, accessibility, and clinical safety. We also provide an offer for parents and carers through the ‘Supporting an Anxious Teen’ programme, enabling them to support their child in dealing with anxiety, while learning how to support their own anxiety and understand how their responses are impacting their child and family dynamics.
Since September 2019, we’ve worked with over 150 schools across Leeds, as well as Calderdale, as part of the Calderdale Open Minds (CAMHS) service and Mental Health Support Teams (MHST). Referral pathways for the platform have been developed within secondary care, partnering with the Leeds Teaching Hospital to support children and young people within the diabetes, respiratory and epilepsy clinics.
As a result of the platform, we’ve reduced wait times across West Yorkshire for children, young people and their families by 57% since the introduction of the platform.
It was an honour to receive this industry accolade for our digital offer, and we aim to continue providing vital mental health support when children most need it.
Read the full case study on our digital programme here.
