New app developed in Bristol helps people who self-harm

There are as many reasons why someone might choose to self-harm as there are helplines, schemes and preventative efforts to help them. But, accessing information isn’t always straightforward, and understanding personal triggers and motivations behind self-harming behaviour can be just as useful. A new IOS and Android app called distrACT brings everything together at the touch of a button for people in Bristol.

“This app is designed for people when they’re at their most vulnerable,” explains Knut Schroeder, a GP and the founder of Expert Self Care who have developed the app. “It can be hard to seek help, so distrACT aims to make that process as easy as possible. The young people we worked with have informed the content and design, so we hope that it can become a reliable source of support during difficult times.”

Dr Schroeder’s company is certified by the NHS England Information Standard as a provider of reliable health information, and efforts have been made to ensure the app is written in plain English.

Free to download, the app allows the user to explore what self-harm is, and provides extensive lists of support services in the Bristol area: from telephone helplines like Self Injury Support and Samaritans, to art therapy provider Artshine and Bristol’s 24-hour mental health crisis service. The app also offers suggestions in the event of an emergency, talking the reader step-by-step through what to expect if they present to an A&E department with a self-inflicted injury.

Self-harm is a growing concern in Bristol, with around 25,000 people in the city engaging in the behaviour, and  across the UK as a whole there are around 200,000 emergency hospital visits caused by self-inflicted injury reported every year.  Self-harm is also the single highest predictor for suicide: a person who self-harms is 35 times more likely to end their own life than someone who does not self-harm.

Dr Dominique Thompson is a GP with 17 years of experience

Dominique Thompson spent 17 years at the University of Bristol as a student health GP. “90 per cent of my booked surgeries were for mental health,” she said at the app’s launch last month, in front of an audience comprised of representatives from local organisations like young people’s mental health charity Off The Record and national bodies like CAMHS and Healthwatch England.

The aim of the app is not necessarily to stop self-harming behaviour, though the help section will allow them to access support if they do decide to stop, but also to help people distract themselves when the urge is strongest. As such, the app also has a section called ‘The Chill Zone’, with suggestions for positive activities, links to resources and techniques for relaxation.

Dr Knut Schroeder, who has worked on the app

For Dr Schroeder, developing this app has a personal resonance. “When I was around 14 I felt low and suicidal,” he explained. “I never talked about how I felt at the time, but even still it’s a vivid memory. I also had a cousin who took his own life at the age of 21.

“As a GP, I see young people and older people who are struggling with their mental health and often people have questions about what is ‘normal’. There’s a need to give them clear information, but if you give people leaflets they are easily lost. So, using technology helps us to provide the information through an app. You can use it on a bus and no one will know what you’re doing.”

The app is also a success story in terms of bringing organisations together: ten different bodies, including both of Bristol’s universities, Bristol Health Partners and University Hospitals Bristol (UHB) NHS Foundation Trust fed into the development process.

Salena Williams, a psychiatric liaison nurse at UHB, also spoke at the app’s launch. “This is a piece of vitally important technology,” she said. “It doesn’t remove face-to-face mental health care, but it will greatly increase knowledge of and access to services for the thousands of people across Bristol who are using self-harm to cope. The distrACT app is an innovative way to reach people, and to connect them with the information that could help.”

distrACT is aimed at people aged 14+ who self-harm. It is free to download from the app store and Google Play. Find out more or download the app from www.expertselfcare.com/health-apps/distrACT.