Tellmi
About This Program
Target Population: Children and young people aged 11-25
For children/adolescents ages: 11 – 25
Program Overview
The Tellmi digital mental health service (IOS/Android/web) provides early help for children and young people aged 11+ with all levels of need. Young people in commissioned areas have 365-day access to anonymous, age-banded peer support, which is 100% pre-moderated (reviewed by humans before being posted). Between 8.30am and 11pm, qualified counselors intervene preemptively and respond privately to any high-risk posts. Young people can also access 1-2-1 text-based Solution Focused Therapy as well as a Directory of over 700 resources, tools, and services. In addition to the digital service, Tellmi also delivers outreach activities such as peer support workshops in local schools and engagement campaigns which are co-created with young people
Program Goals
The goals of Tellmi are:
- Improve access to mental health support.
- Improve mental health and well-being.
- Increase connectedness to reduce isolation.
- Improve mental health self-management skills to increase. confidence and resilience.
- Improve access to tailored support for high-risk young people such as children and young people who are autistic, living in care, or coping with a specific condition or disability.
Logic Model
View the Logic Model for Tellmi.
Essential Components
The essential components of the Tellmi program include:
- Self-guided support plus support groups and counseling via the app
- Anonymous peer support in age-banded groups is 100% pre-moderated by humans.
- Filtering by over 200 topics connects those experiencing similar life challenges or specific conditions such as autism or diabetes.
- Qualified counselors intervene preemptively and respond to all high-risk posts.
- Trained SuperPeers® (undergraduate psychology students) ensure that everyone gets a good reply and no one is left out.
- Scheduled 1-2-1 Solution Focused Therapy with integrated outcome measures identifies strengths to build resilience: 75% improve their wellbeing scores in a single session.
- Psychoeducation and a directory of over 700 tools and resources increase mental health self-management skills.
- Service delivery method:
- Tellmi is an out-of-the-box digital solution (IOS, Android and Web)
- Outreach is through in-school workshops
- Engagement materials co-created with young people
- Customers order engagement packs online through Tellmi shop
- Type of contact:
- Anonymous, premoderated peer-to-peer interactions in age-banded groups
- Anonymous premoderated peer-to-SuperPeer® interactions
- 1-to-1 counselor interactions for high-risk users
- 1-to-1 interactions for scheduled Solution Focused Therapy
Note: Tellmi has not yet been commissioned in the U.S. so the United Kingdom (UK) model has been described here. If Tellmi were commissioned in the U.S., they would extend moderator and counsellor hours in the UK so they could provide the same service to U.S. users based on the time zones of the region in question. For more information about U.S. commissioning, please contact the Program Representative listed at the bottom of the page.
Program Delivery
Child/Adolescent Services
Tellmi directly provides services to children/adolescents and addresses the following:
- Mental health problems (e.g., depression, anxiety)
- Neurodiversity, particularly Autism
- Eating difficulties and negative body image
- Self-harm or suicidal behaviors
- Loneliness and isolation
- Mental health problems resulting from chronic health conditions such as diabetes
- Relationship or friendship issues
- Challenges with school
- Plus other symptom
Recommended Intensity:
In the UK now and in US once commissioned, Unlimited contacts for users Counselor intervention and moderation available between 8.30am and 11pm local time Third party crisis support available 24/7
Recommended Duration:
Ongoing, on-demand as needed with no recommended duration
Delivery Setting
This program is typically conducted in a(n):
- Virtual (Online, Telephone, Video, Zoom, etc.)
Homework
This program does not include a homework component.
Languages
Tellmi has materials available in languages other than English:
Arabic, Gujarati, Korean, Polish, Somali, Tamil, Urdu
For information on which materials are available in these languages, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed at the bottom of this page).
Resources Needed to Run Program
The typical resources for implementing the program are:
For the Tellmi service:
- An Android/IOS smartphone/tablet or a computer with internet connection
For outreach and engagement in a commissioned area:
- A school classroom/building that can accommodate students
- A screen to display a presentation
Manuals and Training
Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications
- Tellmi SuperPeers® receive initial training and ongoing supervision
- Tellmi moderators receive initial training and ongoing supervision
- Tellmi counsellors are qualified to Level 6/degree level and have at least one year’s counselling experience
- Solution Focused Therapists are fully trained, and accredited by the UK Association for Solution Focused Practitioners
Manual Information
There is not a manual that describes how to deliver this program.
Training Information
There is training available for this program.
Training Contact:
- Sharmaine Malik
www.tellmi.help/hello
Sharmaine@tellmi.help
phone: +447754044354
Training Type/Location:
- Onsite at organizations in commissioned areas
- Where Tellmi is commissioned for a region or school, training is provided for practitioners, youth workers, teachers, etc. as part of the outreach program.
Number of days/hours:
2 hours
Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research
The following studies were not included in rating Tellmi on the Scientific Rating Scale...
Ravaccia, G. G., Johnson, S. L., Morgan, N., Lereya, S. T., & Edbrooke-Childs, J. (2022). Experiences of using the digital support tool MeeToo: Mixed methods study. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, 5(4), Article e37424. https://doi.org/10.2196/37424
The purpose of the study was to examine young people’s experiences of using a digital peer support tool: MeeToo [now called Tellmi]. Participants were all users of the MeeToo app. Measures utilized include the Outcome Rating Scale (ORS) and study-developed questionnaires. Results indicate that there were a range of positive impacts of using MeeToo, which included making it easier to talk about difficult things, being part of a supportive community, providing new ways to help oneself feeling better, and feeling less alone. Subgroup analysis showed a small but statistically significant increase in levels of patient activation. Anonymity and the MeeToo sense of community were identified from interviews as possible reasons for why using MeeToo had these impacts. Anonymity helped to create a safe space in which users could express their feelings, thoughts, and experiences freely without the fear of being judged by others. The MeeToo sense of community was described as a valuable form of social connectedness, which in turn had a positive impact on young people’s mental health and made them feel less isolated and alone. Limitations include that only a small sample completed both the T1 survey and the T2 survey; thus, the groups were examined separately, reliance on self-report measures, lack of randomization, and lack of controlled postintervention follow-up.
Additional References
Cliffe, B., Gore-Rodney, J., Linton, M. J., & Biddle, L. (2023). Developing suicide prevention tools in the context of digital peer support: Qualitative analysis of a workshop with multidisciplinary stakeholders. JMIR Formative Research, 7, Article e47178. https://doi.org/10.2196/47178
Cliffe B, Linton M-J, Haime Z, Biddle L (2024) Young adults’ experiences of using a young person’s mental health peer support app: A qualitative interview study. PLOS Digit Health, 3(7), Article e0000556. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000556
Kelly, L., Graham, C., Naylor, R., Green, M., Holmes, H., Freeney, T., Godson, S., & Comley, K. (2024). Early economic evaluation of Tellmi, a digital mental health app for children and young people. JMIR Preprints. https://doi.org/10.2196/preprints.67693
Contact Information
- Suzi Godson, PhD
- Agency/Affiliation: Tellmi
- Website: tellmi.help
- Email: suzi@tellmi.help
- Phone: +447767815835
- Kerstyn Comley, PhD
- Agency/Affiliation: Tellmi
- Website: tellmi.help
- Email: kerstyn@tellmi.help
- Phone: +447739515791
Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed by CEBC: December 2024
Date Program Content Last Reviewed by Program Staff: February 2025
Date Program Originally Loaded onto CEBC: February 2025
