Groundbreaking new app to offer 24/7 mental health therapy to young people in Nottinghamshire

The Hidden Strength app is available to people aged 13-24 and facilitates a community of like-minded people to anonymously come together and support each other, with round-the-clock access to tools and activities that promote holistic mental wellbeing.

The app launch follows research commissioned by Hidden Strength, which found that of the 3.3 million people in the UK aged 13-24 suffering from something that affects their mental health.

In the East Midlands, 46 per cent of young people say they are suffering from mental ill-health, and more than half (57 per cent) of them would take up therapy if it was free to access.

Hidden Strength will help combat the UK’s growing mental health crisis which has been exacerbated by the Covd-19 pandemic.

Its research revealed more than half (52 per cent) of young people in the East Midlands are suffering from mental ill-health have only done so since the first lockdown in March 2020, whilst more than three-quarters (78 per cent) say their condition has worsened in the last 14 months.

This trend is also set to continue, with a fifth (22 per cent) of young people in the East Midlands saying they feel very anxious about the return to normal once lockdown restrictions lift.

Dr Dawn Harper, practicing NHS GP, TV presenter and member of the Hidden Strength advisory board, said: “Working as an NHS GP, I have seen a worrying increase in the number of young people suffering with mental health issues in recent years.

"The effect of the pandemic has sadly exacerbated the problem, so I was delighted to join the team at Hidden Strength to help combat the issue with such an innovative solution.

“The Hidden Strength app is a unique ‘one stop shop’ for mental health and wellbeing for teenagers and young adults, allowing them to access reliable support where and when they need it, in a safe and secure way.”

The app will fill a gap in the provision of mental health services for young people who say their needs aren’t fulfilled by options currently available.

According to Hidden Strength’s research, 39 per cent of young people with mental ill-health in the East Midlands would like to be able to access mental health support 24/7, with more than a third (37 per cent) saying they would like this to be anonymous and an equal number (34%) preferring to access support digitally via an app or website.

Linsey Lunny, founder and chief executive of Hidden Strength, commented: “Hidden Strength will transform the mental health provision for young people.

"As a safe, free-to-use platform in an environment that is familiar and appealing to young people, it will ensure they get the advice, guidance and support that they need at any time of day – both peer-to-peer, and in the form of fully qualified, on-demand therapists.”