TruReach Health App Revisited

Posted by: Dawn Schell on October 19, 2015 2:56 pm

A short while ago I reviewed a new app – TruReach Health (you can check out my initial review here – https://www.ccpa-accp.ca/hot-off-the-app-press-trureach-health/ ). Shortly after my review went live I was contacted by the developer, Jeff Perron, thanking me for my review and offering to chat with me about my concerns.

Impressive!

App developers of the world, listen up! This is how you do it. Being responsive to feedback is crucial to the ongoing success of any app and especially one that’s about improving our mental health.

My concerns were:

The positioning of the privacy policy after one had given contact information
This issue is being resolved on both the Android and iPhone versions. The link to the privacy policy will now be on the download page. Which means you can read it before you download.
Report progress email was pre-filled in with the TruReach email address
This issue is being resolved on both the Android and iPhone versions. The email address section will now be blank offering the user the opportunity to make a clear decision about who they send their progress report to.
Lack of contact information on the accompanying website

As I suspected, this is a cost issue. The decision was made to concentrate more on the development of the app. As TruReach has more financial resources they will build out the website more fully. Given the other issues have been addressed I see this as less of an issue.

In addition to the app there is now this short video from TruReach explaining what it’s all about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCSOhnWSe0w

TruReach is being piloted through the Royal in Ottawa. The Royal has an app titled “Health Minds” which I have reviewed previously. Dr. Simon Hatcher, a psychiatrist who has been involved with providing clinical input into an e-Therapy website in New Zealand for people experiencing depression, will be involved in testing TruReach with two different patient populations. I look forward to hearing the results.

Jeff said his aim is to “get help to as many people as possible”.

So, if like me, you feel that these fixes to the app will address any concerns you have then please do encourage people to use it. If you have any lingering questions don’t hesitate to ask. You can reach Jeff at [email protected].

Dawn M. Schell, MA, CCC, CCDP is an affiliate of Worldwide Therapy Online Inc. http://www.therapyonline.ca

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Hot off the App Press – TruReach Health

Posted by: Dawn Schell on September 16, 2015 2:50 pm

On September 9, 2015, Jeff Perron, a University of Ottawa doctoral student released a new Mental Health app titled TruReach Health. I read about it, downloaded it (for free) and gave it a trial run.

According to the description on iTunes “TruReach is mental wellness on-the go. TruReach has broken down cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) into quick, 5-minute lessons and packed them into the TruReach app”. It goes on to emphasize that this app is meant to be along the lines of a self-help book.

As reported in the Ottawa Citizen, Perron said “This isn’t a replacement for therapy or medication, but it’s a new option that you have. It’s to give people something where there’s nothing.”

Each lesson is given in the form of a short animated video. You have to watch each one in sequence. Watching number one unlocks number two and so on. There are eighteen lessons altogether. The first twelve are free and there is a fairly low fee ($7.99) for the last six. The money collected will be directed toward future development of this resource.

There is much I like about this app. Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Play Nice with ‘Mindlight

Posted by: Dawn Schell on September 1, 2015 9:55 am

The name “Play Nice Institute”[1] conjures up images of extremely polite children playing on a playground – taking turns on swings and slides, no whining or complaining or blaming. Everyone being, well, Nice.

A lovely image but that’s not what the Play Nice Institute (PNI) is all about. They are “an organization that focuses on the design and development of games that promote emotional resilience through skills acquired while children are immersed in games they love to play.”

Recently, PNI has created a neurofeedback video game called ‘Mindlight”. Aimed at children 8 – 12 years of age, Mindlight is a video game designed to help children learn how to face and overcome anxiety and fear. The child wears an EEG headband. An electrode in the headband reads brainwaves – alpha, beta, and theta waves. The game uses the child’s mindset and brainwaves to advance the action in the game.

Mindlight starts with Arty who arrives at grandma’s house only to discover the house is covered in darkness. He has to rescue grandma. There are a number of obstacles he has to overcome, progressively scarier encounters, and puzzles he has to solve in order to save his grandmother. In the game Arty wears Teru, a magical hat that shines whenever the child playing the game feels relaxed. As soon as the child playing the game becomes anxious or fearful the game turns dark and they have to relax themselves in order to generate light again.

As the PNI says, “Using the neurofeedback headset to play the game, the environment, threats, and puzzles all respond to how a player is allocating his/her attention and, thus, how he/she is feeling. Relaxation allows for a light bubble to shine on the surroundings and focused concentration unlocks hiding spaces and allows the player to solve attention bias modification puzzles.”

MindLight uses several evidence-based strategies through which children learn to manage and overcome anxiety symptoms. Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Your Mental Health At Work

Posted by: Dawn Schell on July 22, 2015 12:02 pm

Where do you spend most of your time? I don’t know about you but I spend it at work. Don’t we all spend more of our waking hours at work than anywhere else? Wouldn’t it be great if our workplaces were places where mental health and wellbeing was a priority?

The statistics on workplace mental health issues are sobering. According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, in any given week close to 500,000 Canadians will miss work because of a mental health concern or illness. 30 % of disability claims in Canada are related to mental health issues. The cost to the economy is in the billions. The cost in human terms is incalculable. Much of this could be avoided by ensuring our workplaces are mentally healthy places to be.

How do we go about doing that? In January 2013 Canada launched The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (the Standard) is the first of its kind in the world. “The Standard is a document that outlines a systematic approach to develop and sustain a psychologically healthy and safe workplace. It focuses on mental illness prevention and mental health promotion. The Standard is intended for everyone, whether or not they live with a mental illness”. [1]

The Mental Health Commission has resources, evaluation tools, webinars and video testimonials from champion organizations that have adopted the Standard. It’s practical and offers sensible easy suggestions for implementation.

Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

An Online Summer Reading List

Posted by: Dawn Schell on July 14, 2015 2:36 pm

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Summer is the perfect time for catching up on all that reading you intended to do in the fall and winter. A time to curl up on the nearest deck chair and luxuriate in reading.

What’s on my list this summer?

Well, for starters – the entire issue of the British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, Volume 43, Issue 1, which was published in January 2015.

The editors, Goss and Hooley, say this issue on Online Practice in Counselling and Guidance, “looks at the impact of the online environment on the practice of guidance, counselling, psychotherapy and related services…. it explores…ongoing (technological) changes and in places looks forward to ways in which the future development of the disciplines might be influenced by current technological trends”.

Written from several different perspectives I can see it will be a very thought provoking read. Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

FaceTime – Eww!

Posted by: Dawn Schell on July 9, 2015 12:00 pm

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While some of us are happily embracing every form of social media and software that allows us to communicate with others (e.g. FaceTime and Skype), others are staying as far away from it all as possible. It’s not because they are Luddites who want to avoid the use of technology; it seems to be more about personality type.

The other day a friend told me she had given up her landline. “I thought having a cell phone would be liberating. No more having to be in one place. I can talk anywhere I want. I can be outside going for a walk. I thought it would be great. But you know what? I don’t actually like talking on the phone. I never have.” She shuddered. “I feel like I have to have my phone with me but I don’t actually want anyone to call me.” I noticed her cell phone was nowhere in sight.
It wasn’t just that she didn’t want to answer the phone. She has taken to avoiding FaceTime and Skype as well. Family members and friends who live at a distance use both as a way to keep in touch. Getting an unexpected call, she said, is stressful. If a call comes in she will politely hand it over to her children.

While she uses social networking sites she also keeps those to a minimum. To use Myers-Briggs language, my friend is someone with a strong preference for Introversion and finds all of these methods of communicating overwhelming at times.
Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Being Digitally Aware

Posted by: Dawn Schell on June 10, 2015 2:03 pm

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You have a Facebook page designed for your professional practice. You notice that one of the followers is a current client. They post many comments that identify themselves as your client. How would you handle this?

In this day and age of social networking this is an increasingly likely scenario. And if we are to be good digital citizens and demonstrate our e-professionalism we need to think about how to handle social media ethically.

What are the options for handling the above-mentioned situation ethically while working to maintain the relationship with the client? We could ‘block’ our client but what are the implications of that action for our relationship? Or would it draw even more attention to them? Do we post something publicly that addresses the client’s comments? Or..?

Our CCPA Code of Ethics (B 2) states, “Counselling relationships and information resulting therefrom are kept confidential.”

Hmm. How to preserve the client’s confidentiality and actually put a stop to the situation?

There is no easy answer for how to resolve this scenario!
Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Happy Birthday to Us!

Posted by: Dawn Schell on June 3, 2015 8:46 am

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50. The CCPA is 50 years old!

Imagine all that has changed since 1965…

Vehicles, medical breakthroughs, space exploration, job titles, prices, environmental concerns, clothing styles (though some of them keep coming back!), phones, computers, technology, the Internet…to name a few.

Whew.

Attitudes towards counselling have changed. Not to mention where and how counselling takes place. Mental health and wellbeing is an increasingly important conversation in workplaces and communities.

Yup. A lot has changed.

And now imagine all that hasn’t changed ….

Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

A Gen-Y Perspective on E-Mental Health

Posted by: Dawn Schell on May 1, 2015 2:21 pm

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One might expect that Generation Y, the “digital natives” would be the quickest to embrace e-Mental Health. But what do they really think about the use of technology in counselling?

Two recent studies[1] examined the preferences of youth when it comes to e-Mental Health interventions.

Mar, et. al (2014), looked at “youth consumer preferences for online interventions targeting depression and anxiety”. Interviews with 23 youth were focused around the question, ‘‘If there was a website available for individuals with mood disorders or anxiety, what would you want it to look like?’’

What did they learn?

Participants preferred professional support to be delivered over online chat, though e-mail was acceptable to some. Participants viewed professionals as a support to access after peers.

Privacy was seen as a serious concern and was linked to stigma around others finding out about their mental health concern.

Participants believed having an online community of others with similar problems could help create feelings that they are not alone and provide opportunities to share stories and artwork. Interestingly, “although participants wanted support and a human connection, they also valued privacy and anonymity”.

Paradox? Or is this the strength of e-Mental Health that both are possible?
Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Blog Posts are for Sharing

Posted by: Dawn Schell on April 22, 2015 10:12 am

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I have favourite bloggers whose work I regularly read and enjoy. The bloggers are friends, counsellors, writers, lawyers, artists, students, teachers, business leaders, coaches,…the list goes on. They come from a variety of age groups and I find the writers to be creative, inspiring, fun, humorous, playful, and thought-provoking.

As I read I often find posts that I think are worth sharing with clients. The response when I have done so has invariably been positive. Some clients have then shared the posts with others. Which tells me it’s hit a chord.

In sharing these posts with clients I am careful to state that my sharing is not meant as a wholehearted endorsement of everything on the site. I share what I think is relevant and I let clients know why I think this might be relevant for them to read.

Here are a few of my favourites:

This mother talks about how one sentence changed the way she interacts with her family. It is a post that I have often thought about, referred back to and shared.

The six words? “I love to watch you play”
http://www.handsfreemama.com/2012/04/16/six-words-you-should-say-today/
Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Author Archives: Dawn Schell