MePlusMe videos released to support students’ mental health, wellbeing and study skills during coronavirus pandemic.

Besides my work as a clinical psychologist (My Psychology Clinic), I am also the CEO and founder of iConcipio Ltd. iConcipio is a digital mental health company aiming to enhance student’s resilience and improve their experience in Higher Education Institutions by supporting students’ mental health, wellbeing and study skills.

I designed an innovative system called MePlusMe using web-based technologies and at present, I lead our research collaborations and business development/fundraising strategy for the service. This project won the Lion’s Den award from King’s College London and was shortlisted from over 2,400 other projects for the Falling Walls Lab 2016 competition in Berlin.

Using MePlusMe, students have a choice between a symptoms-route (Questionnaire) or a techniques-route (Library), both of which lead to a tailor-made package of animated and evidence-based video techniques suited to their specific needs at that time. These videos present well established psychological or study skill techniques the effectiveness of which has been demonstrated by extensive scientific research. Students can practice these techniques and over time, use a rating system to monitor their progress. A real-time social support network (Thoughtwall) allows users to connect anonymously with others for mutual support.

Over the years, my team and I have been conducting a research protocol that follows the Medical Research Council guidelines for developing complex interventions and we have accumulated evidence regarding MePlusMe’s uptake and effectiveness. So far, we have six publications in peer-reviewed journals, one currently in submission, and one in preparation (see links below). We are driven by our vision to see MePlusMe becoming the industry standard for HEIs in enhancing student mental health, wellbeing and study skills. We were due to begin seeking investment to fund the start-up of MePlusMe.

In view of what is happening in the world at the moment, and given the unprecedented challenges that our students are currently facing, I decided to release all the videos that we have developed so far in an attempt to support young people at this time.

Although the videos use graphics and examples suitable for students, they may also be useful to pupils at school or any young person whose mental health has been affected by recent events.

Read more information about what inspired this project here.

CALL FOR ACTION:

You are encouraged to share this blog and the link to our videos with any student, higher education institution, student organisation and in fact, anyone else you think could benefit from the information or who might help disseminate the initiative even further to those who need support. 

Below is a list of all our peer-reviewed publications to date.

References:

• Barrable A, Lubenko J, Haddad M, McKeown E, Papadatou-Pastou M, Hirani S, Martin M, Tzotzoli P.M. MePlusMe: An online intervention to support mental health, wellbeing and study skills in higher education: A feasibility study (in preparation)
• Mikushnica A and Tzotzoli P.M. An initial exploration of the needs of UK Higher Education Institutions Student Support Services and their opinions of an online support system. Health, (Submitted)
• Papadatou-Pastou M, Campbell-Thompson L, Barley E, Haddad M, Lafarge C, McKeown E, Simeonov L, Tzotzoli P.M. Exploring the feasibility and acceptability of the contents, design and functionalities of an online intervention promoting mental health, wellbeing, and study skills in Higher Education students. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 2019;13:51
• Barrable A, Papadatou-Pastou M, Tzotzoli P.M. Supporting mental health, wellbeing and study skills in Higher Education: An online intervention system.International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 2018:12:54
• Papadatou-Pastou M,Goozee R, Payne E, Barrable A, Tzotzoli P.M. A review of web-based support systems for students in higher education. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 2017;11(1):59
• Goozée R, Papadatou-Pastou M, Barley E., Haddad M, Tzotzoli, P.M. Survey to inform the development of an online support system for higher education students: A brief report. Health, 2018;10(3)
• Touloumakos, A. K., Goozée, R., Papadatou-Pastou, M., Barley, E., Haddad, M., & Tzotzoli, P.M. (2016). Online support system for students in higher education: Proof-of-concept study. Digital Health, 2, 2055207616655012
• Papadatou-Pastou M, Goozée R, Barley E., Haddad M, Tzotzoli, P.M. Online intervention, “MePlusMe”, supporting mood, wellbeing, study skills, and everyday functioning in students in higher education: a protocol for a feasibility study. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 2015;1(1): 1-10
  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr Patapia Tzotzoli founded My Psychology Clinic where she gained her reputation working as Clinical Psychologist with clients on one to one basis in London and worldwide via online therapy. She specialises in adult mental health and couples therapy. Studied at the universities of East London, Oxford and Cambridge and trained at the Institute of Psychiatry where she worked across world-renowned NHS Trusts.

Click here to book an online session or in person with Dr Patapia Tzotzoli at My Psychology Clinic.