S P E C I A L I S T I N S I G H T

Mental health care is not a privilege , but a fundamental human right . Which is why the purpose that underpins everything Kooth does is the belief that every individual deserves access to quality mental health support services .

Quite simply , equity of access to mental health support is not merely a concept , but a reality we should proactively strive towards in every society . However , having available resources is not enough . Equity of access needs to be supplemented with equity of awareness . Too often , those seeking support are left in the dark regarding the mental health resources that are available to them . At Kooth we aim to change this .

For the last 20 years , Kooth has been a leading pioneer in youth-focused digital mental health care and support . We provide innovative , digital , research-based , personcentred mental health support to young people in the UK in partnership with the NHS , Local Authorities , and other Health and Social Care providers . We are the largest provider to the NHS for digital mental health services and the largest contributor to the NHS ’ s Mental Health Services Data Set ( MHSDS ). Kooth is the longest standing digital health provider to be accredited by the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy ( BACP ).

Covering over 15 million people internationally , our sole purpose is to create easy-to-access online mental health services that work alongside those in need , providing compassionate and effective support . Today , over 7.9 million 10 – 25-year-olds in the UK alone have free access to Kooth in the UK , with 1-in-36 of that population using Kooth last year .

Furthermore , we are rapidly expanding across the US . We have recently launched our Soluna app with the State of California to support all 13 – 25 year olds (~ 6 million population ) and are delivering support across the State of Pennsylvania for 11 – 18 year olds .

Kooth ’ s aim is to deliver equitable , appropriate and timely services to those who need them the most .

To achieve this , Kooth ’ s technology platform has been developed with four key design principles :

No barriers to access : Individuals can sign-up without having to be referred by a professional . There are no thresholds or waiting lists .

De-stigmatisation : Stigma is still a barrier in seeking help . To tackle this , Kooth is ‘ anonymous-by-default ’.

Individuals do not need to provide personal identifiable information to join the service but may do so as they build their confidence and trust with practitioners .

Choice , not prescription : To make a positive change in a person ' s life , it is important to empower them . Encouraging our service users to be part of the decision-making process helps to determine what help may be most appropriate . This is achieved by delivering a range of integrated tools and therapies . So we blend immediate online access to experienced counsellors and wellbeing practitioners through 1-2-1 chat and messaging functionality , alongside digital selfhelp tools . For example :

• Therapeutic content and activities : Every week , our community submits over 100 ‘ lived experience ’ articles to our moderation team for publication . This is in addition to content we publish across a range of over 70 subject areas .

• Peer-support community : Users can get help from others in the Kooth community , providing a positive peer support space .

• Professional support : Kooth provides access to emotional wellbeing and counselling support . We provide responsive ( drop in ) chat , asynchronous messaging support , structured counselling ( typically 6 – 12 sessions ), and ongoing support . This is delivered as a live text chat through the Kooth platform .

Safe space : In addition to robust safety protocols to support individuals in crisis , or at risk , Kooth ensures that all content created for publication published by individuals on the Kooth platform is pre-moderated by our clinical team for safety and appropriateness , which means nothing is published to our site without being reviewed by a human according to our moderation governance framework . In the last year , the team moderated over 500,000 posts , journals and comments from the Kooth community .

As the Chief Operating Officer at Kooth , could you share insights into the key responsibilities and challenges you encounter in overseeing the operational aspects of a global leader in youth digital mental well-being ?

My overarching responsibility is two-fold . First to ensure that we deliver against our mission . Central to this is having the right people in the right roles delivering their best work to enable them to effectively support our Kooth community .

Secondly , that Kooth successfully communicates the benefits of our service so that no young person is left without accessible , early help and support .

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