Infinite Love Initiative
Project aimed at addressing self-harm among youths by adapting addiction recovery models and existing textlines
The demand for mental health providers is increasing at a higher rate than the supply; over 37 million Americans are living in areas with a shortage of mental health providers as of 2021. Furthermore, 3 in every 10 Americans meet the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder for a mental illness. In fact, depression is projected to be the 3rd leading cause of impairment by 2030. This number is only rising, due to factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When specifically discussing Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI), also known as self-harm, adolescents and females are at elevated risk. In certain regions of the United States, 30% of teenage girls and 10% of teen boys (18% of overall adolescents) engaged in NSSI at least once in 2017, and individuals who report NSSI once are at increased risk of doing it again. 20% of adolescents repeated NSSI behaviors in a one-year follow-up study, and repeated NSSI is the single biggest risk factor for developing suicidal ideation. In fact, patterns of self-injury develop as a coping mechanism and often continue unless intervention occurs.
In the status quo, we are at a critical junction where the discussion of mental health is becoming less stigmatized and institutions are increasingly recognizing the importance of focusing on improving community-wide well-being through psychosocial services. We can remain complacent and let the mental health crisis continue to worsen, or we can mobilize voices, specifically those of youth, in order to create tangible systemic change.
4-faceted app:
Anonymous virtual peer-to-peer support: this component is the most critical part, and the area that sets this project apart. Existing treatments for NSSI tend to conflate it with suicidal ideation. Although NSSI can confer elevated risk of suicidal ideation, it is also associated with compulsions/behavioral addictions. We wish to combine existing treatments for NSSI, such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, with some methods used in Addiction Recovery. Namely, we will adapt the sponsorship model used by Alcoholics Anonymous, where individuals can form long-term connections with a mentor and build a sense of community. Through the virtual/anonymous aspect of this component, we wish to avoid some of the stigma that can be associated with seeking in-person help, as well as protect the identity of users. Mentors will undergo training similar to that for existing mental health text-lines, but with more of an emphasis on sustained one-on-one support (beyond the duration of one conversation). This conceptualization of NSSI can help mitigate users’ sense of isolation, as well as adapt the most effective parts of current treatments. Training will be updated as new research on different methodologies of treating NSSI continues to become available.
Forum: a forum, moderated by trained professionals, where individuals struggling with NSSI, as well as their friends and family, would be able to post questions about how to best support themselves or those around them. Any explicit mentions of means of NSSI will be deleted by the moderators.
List of Resources: the third component is a list of resources aimed at addressing NSSI and its specific factors.
Timer: a timer where users can track how long they have been “clean” from NSSI, in order to feel a tangible sense of pride and accomplishment in their recovery journey.
The goal of this project is to meet the needs of adolescents struggling with NSSI, specifically through addressing the lack of providers for youths in the status quo. By providing anonymous and virtual support, Infinite Love Initiative will make it easier for more users to seek help, as well as reduce stigma and foster a sense of community. Additionally, it will be a mutually beneficial relationship, as users can benefit from support whereas mentors/supporters will feel as though they are giving back to the community and making a difference. This will activate reward and happiness mechanisms for both groups, increasing positive emotions. Overall, the purpose of this app is to help youths who may not have access to an in-person support system or feel comfortable seeking in-person help. The ultimate goal is to lead to a decrease in rates of NSSI and an increase in the efficiency of interventions.
As youths and college students, my team and I are well-positioned to deliver this solution. We are representative of those we serve, as teenagers are a particularly high-risk age bracket for suicidal ideation. We are composed of students from a diverse group of majors, including Psychology, Public Health, Bioengineering, and Cognitive Science. Our team leader currently serves as a Fung Fellow, ideating technological solutions to public health problems using the principles of human-centered design and addressing social determinants of health and populations that have typically been excluded from the digital economy . Other team members work with Crisis Text Line and various mental health organizations at UC Berkeley. Furthermore, most of us have had our college experience marked by the COVID pandemic. The impacts of this are manifold: we have witnessed many of our peers struggle with their own mental health and seen what tactics are effective in mitigating mental health crises (and which are less effective). We have also become adept at using technology to further our goals and work toward social good. In addition to already consulting experts (PhD candidates, UC Berkeley professors, and licensed therapists), we hope to recruit clinicians onto our permanent team once we obtain funding. Because our team is representative of the population we serve, and will have the input of trained professionals, we are suitable to delivering solutions.
As mentioned in the previous question, our team is representative of the population we wish to serve. We have some understanding of the population’s needs because of our own experiences. One of our team members currently works with the Berkeley branch of Lean on Me, a textline that allows students to receive support from their peers, while another team member volunteers with Crisis Textline. We have consulted with around 50 UC Berkeley students, several high school students, around 5 professors, and the CEO of Lean On Me. We then utilized that feedback to hone our vision and submit a proposal to OpenIdeo in November 2022. Throughout the process thus far, we have consistently sought out notes from potential users in order to include them in the design and development of our app.
- Improving healthcare access and health outcomes; and reducing and ultimately eliminating health disparities (Health)
- Concept: An idea being explored for its feasibility to build a product, service, or business model based on that idea.
The goal of this project is to meet the needs of adolescents struggling with NSSI, specifically through addressing the lack of providers for youths in the status quo. By providing anonymous and virtual support, Infinite Love Initiative will make it easier for more users to seek help, as well as reduce stigma and foster a sense of community. Additionally, it will be a mutually beneficial relationship, as users can benefit from support whereas mentors/supporters will feel as though they are giving back to the community and making a difference. This will activate reward and happiness mechanisms for both groups, increasing positive emotions. Overall, the purpose of this app is to help youths who may not have access to an in-person support system or feel comfortable seeking in-person help. The ultimate goal is to lead to a decrease in rates of NSSI and an increase in the efficiency of interventions.
The goal of this project is to meet the needs of adolescents struggling with NSSI, specifically through addressing the lack of providers for youths in the status quo. By providing anonymous and virtual support, Infinite Love Initiative will make it easier for more users to seek help, as well as reduce stigma and foster a sense of community. Additionally, it will be a mutually beneficial relationship, as users can benefit from support whereas mentors/supporters will feel as though they are giving back to the community and making a difference. This will activate reward and happiness mechanisms for both groups, increasing positive emotions. Overall, the purpose of this app is to help youths who may not have access to an in-person support system or feel comfortable seeking in-person help. The ultimate goal is to lead to a decrease in rates of NSSI and an increase in the efficiency of interventions.
Our impact goal is to decrease the strain on mental health providers and increase accessibility to mental health resources. We plan to achieve this goal by utilizing technology to help users who may be struggling with urges to engage in NSSI.
App development, data encryption (to protect user anonymity).
Our solution does not currently serve any users. We plan to reveal our initial prototype at several college campuses within the next year, potentially serving tens of thousands of students (those who have struggled with NSSI as well as their friends or families who are looking for resources on how to best support their loved ones).
Potential Challenges:
What does the anonymity level look like? Would the project be totally virtual? Alcoholics Anonymous has in-person meetings and support groups, but that may not be a possibility with NSSI.
Issue with target population (mostly adolescents)—could be seen as ethically dubious to allow adults to mentor minors, but also not sure if minors have enough judgment and life experience to serve in the Mentor capacity. Solution: limiting app (at least in beginning stages) to those 18 and over in order to avoid legal and ethical liability. However, how can we ensure that users are actually 18? What sorts of demographic data would we be willing to collect?
Would the project be limited to college campuses? Would it start with a limited population (testing efficacy)?
What are the first steps towards implementation and maximizing impact?
What is the best strategy to encourage the target population to reach out, especially given the stigma of the topic?
Intent to harm oneself is grounds for mandatory reporting in some states (each state has its own laws; laws differ based on NSSI and SI). How do existing mental health text-lines circumvent this issue—is it the anonymity aspect? Who is a mandated reporter?
What qualifies as NSSI? Would addressing substance abuse, eating disorders, etc also be in the scope of this project?
If someone needs to text, but their assigned person is not available, what happens? How does Alcoholics Anonymous work through this issue? Solution--having multiple supporters (in different timezones) assigned to each texter?
How can we hire professional support to deal with issues concerning reporting/overseeing peer supporters, etc? What would that system look like?