A partnership between NHS Devon and Devon, Plymouth and Torbay Councils has made a digital service available to support adult mental health in the county.
Named Qwell, it has been delivered by mental healthcare provider Kooth to help people manage their own wellbeing.
It provides a safe online space for people to anonymously access therapeutic activities and content – such as self-help articles, forums and discussion boards – moderated by qualified practitioners.
Users can also keep and online journal and monitor their wellbeing through an interactive goal tracker, and use a one-on-one live text chat counselling service. Appointments can be booked in advance or access through a text based chat.
Without referral
Qwell can be accessed free of charge without a referral from a health professional by entering a postcode and completing a short registration process.
The service has been made available under the One Devon Partnership, which brings together NHS bodies, local authorities and local organisations and groups in the county.
Dr Sarah Wollaston, joint chair of the partnership, said: “This project has been launched as a direct response to the increased need for support for emotional health and wellbeing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This new online support service has been designed to complement our existing mental health services and focuses very much on providing support to help people build resilience and ways of managing their emotional health and wellbeing now and in future.”
