Brief Description

Apart of Me is a multi award-winning service designed specifically to help young people transform their grief into compassionate action in the world. It is the world's first therapeutic game to help young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to talk about death, cope with grief and prevent serious mental health problems from developing. It does this by incorporating the best therapeutic techniques and practices for dealing with grief into a safe virtual space. The app has had over 75,000 downloads since it launched in December 2018, and has a consistently high rating both from users in the App and Play store, and from an Independent Evaluation. Apart of Me connects disadvantaged young people to vital support; it brings together traditional forms of mental health treatment such as counselling with new digital forms; and it builds bridges between on and offline communities and young people and their families.

Vision & Mission

Apart of Me's vision is to build community and connection for grieving young people both on and offline, especially as mental health services are known to be stretched with long waiting lists. By creating this platform for young people, our vision is to provide immediate and effective support to cope with life-limiting illness, death and grief. In particular, our mission is to help those who cannot access the support they need quickly enough (the average maximum waiting time for a first appointment with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is six months), or for those from more disadvantaged backgrounds who are even less likely to access support at all. Apart of Me is also well placed to engage young individuals who struggle with more conventional forms of support. This is particularly important because childhood bereavement is associated with a number of negative outcomes for young people, particularly when the their grief is left unacknowledged.

Aims & Activities

Apart of Me's aims are: 
 
1. To enable 40,000 young people each year to better process their emotions, develop resilience, and prevent mental health and behavioural difficulties down the line.
2. Internationalising the game so that young people all over the world have access to this game. This includes translating it into other languages. 
3. Oversee the development of new features within the app to continue to help young people and their families.
4. Share learning with the wider mental health sector, as the sector is only just starting to understand how digital technology can be used effectively to support young people’s mental health.

Facts & Figures

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                            Apart of Me helps bereaved young people, particularly those between the ages of 11-18, and their families.
                            

Awards

Winner by Technology Awards, Global Health & Pharma: Best Youth Focused Emotional Support Application in 2018

Finalist by Pfizer Healthcare Hub Awards in 2018

Finalist by Tech4Good Awards in 2018