April 27, 2022
Certification is a huge part of choosing the equipment that supports your workforce. So, why shouldn’t we hold our mental health support to the same standard? With 31% of employees expecting more mental health support from their employer, and apps becoming favoured twice as often as EAP services (Deloitte’s UK Mental Health Report, 2022), it’s no surprise that the market is growing rapidly.
New mental health apps are launching almost every week and it can be difficult to know what to look for. We want to drive change when it comes to mental health support, ensuring that organisations know the importance of regulation when it comes to these services.
There are somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 mental health apps currently available. However, it’s estimated that only 3% to 4% are actually evidence-based (JMIR Mhealth Uhealth, 2020) and this doesn’t include some of the most well-known apps.
Mental health should be taken as seriously as physical health. Not only for individual employees but for the wellbeing and productivity of the whole organisation. We wouldn’t send construction workers onto a site without quality equipment and machinery so we need to take the same considerations when it comes to their mental health.
In fact, construction workers are far more likely to commit suicide due to poor mental health than to be killed in an accident on site (Construction Europe, 2021).
What should organisations look for in a mental health partner?
When exploring mental health support, there are a number of boxes providers should be ticking.
In terms of qualifications, you might look for ISO, GPDR, CQC, and MRHA certifications. Is the app considered a medical device? Does it adhere to industry standards? Is it recommended by the NHS?
When considering therapy, it’s key to look for credible, qualified therapists behind the support service as opposed to bots. Bots are known to be harmful as they cannot comprehend emotions that are essential to mental health which can cause further distress.
Apart from recognised certifications, a good indicator of a qualified mental health app is its background and the team behind it. Looking for clinically qualified founders with a team at the same standard is key.
You also need to consider the app’s confidentiality and clinical efficacy. What standards does the app or service meet? Do they adhere to government standards, use NHS tools or fit recognised healthcare regulations? Make sure that the way they use app data meets regulations and meets your expectations.
Research
Conducting scientific research is crucial to understanding the effectiveness of a product. At Thrive, we have a research team of scientists dedicated to making sure that we are tackling our users’ needs in the most scientifically rigorous and clinically effective way. By running randomised control trials, we can assess the efficacy of our app. Randomised control trials provide the most reliable form of evidence to prove that a product is effectively doing what you say it is doing.
Thrive: Mental Wellbeing
We are proud to be one of the few apps ticking all of the above.
- We are registered with MHRA as a class 1 medical device
- Trusted by the NHS, blue light services and local authorities
- Our own dedicated research team ensures the efficacy of our service
- Only incorporate clinically validated tools
- Meet the valid standards to partner with the likes of AXA and Aviva
- ICO and ISO registered
- Working to the NICE and NHS standards
- Founded by qualified clinicians
Supporting over 4 million minds globally we are proud to say that we meet a number of the UK and global health care standards, we are not just an app, we are a mental health care service.
