Essex County online platform supports residents' mental health

WESTPORT | Sometimes, we all need a little help navigating our mental health. Thanks to a joint initiative between Essex County Mental Health (ECMH) and the Essex County Health Department (ECHD), all Essex County residents now have the opportunity to take control of their mental and physical well-being. CredibleMind, an online platform designed to support the mental health and well-being of the community, and quite simply takes out the middle man in gaining powerful self-help knowledge that can be implemented immediately, and dispenses knowledge so that residents of the county can manage their own situations effectively. "We wanted to empower community members to engage in helping and managing and supporting their mental wellness," said Terri Morse, Director of Community Services and Director of Mental Health Clinic in Essex County. "Not every situation requires a licensed person to support them, we wanted to make sure it was evidence-based content; there is a lot of content out there that has not been appropriately vetted. As opposed to just random Google or YouTube search, everything on CredibleMind is evidence-based and we can trust that the content is appropriate and scientifically backed." CredibleMind is not intended to replace professional, one-on-one care. Instead, it is a tool residents may draw upon and use as supplemental material. Since its launch on Oct. 1, 2024, over 3,000 county residents have accessed CredibleMind. With a population of 38,500, that means that ten percent of people in Essex County have found aid in dealing with a multitude of issues, promising numbers as the platform continues to move forward. "The majority of users are 14-21," Morse noted. "On average, people are spending about seven minutes on the platform. I'm super excited about the data and that youth and young people are accessing CredibleMind." CredibleMind is confidential, with only three people in the county administering the program. Morse believes that this confidentiality helps to remove the stigma that still surrounds mental health, and people are more apt to seek CredibleMind's help knowing they are in a safe space to do so. "We have access to data, but we don't know what community members are accessing the platform," Morse assured. "I can know, for example, that 112 people took the depression assessment, and I know that there might be ⅓ of people that scored high, ⅓ moderate, and ⅓ low. Why that is helpful to me as the Director of Mental Health is that I know six times as many people are worried about depression than they are about anxiety in Essex County, and that helps me to know how I need to educate the community on resources and tools to address depression." Depression is just one of over 100 topics Essex County residents are able to search. The platform covers a wide range of mental health topics, including anxiety, depression, stress, substance use, caring for aging loved ones, parenting, nutrition, and on. "There is information on managing diabetes and how a person can supplement the work they are doing with their health provider," Morse said. "If somebody wanted to learn more about how to do meditation, that is something they can access the platform for. If they went to a therapist and received a diagnosis for schizophrenia or Borderline Personality Disorder, they can go to the website and supplement what they are learning through their services with a licensed medical health provider." CredibleMind provides a vast library of content that includes apps, videos, Podcasts, articles, lists, scientifically validated assessments, and Q and As. The self-assessments the platform offers are often under five minutes, and depending on how an individual scores, the platform provides intervention based on that score. "That is an important aspect of the tool, not just finding out your score but learning what kinds of interventions can help address whatever your level of dysfunction is," Morse said. "We want to make sure people are accessing effective support." Signing up for the platform, you can save those assessments and as time goes by you can retake the assessment and see how you are improving. Though a person does not need to create a profile to use the platform, the benefit of opting to do so is saving the assessments and being able to retake them to see what personal progress is being made. CredibleMind will also send emails about newly added content on topics of interest, though Morse assures that a user won't be inundated or overwhelmed with electronic communications. Morse revealed a perfect scenario in which CredibleMind proved its value in spades. "Someone learned from a neighbor that her child was engaging in self-injurious behavior. It really upset her and she didn't know what to do, but she knew she needed help immediately and couldn't schedule an appointment with a therapist and have to wait two weeks to be seen and find out what she needed to do," recounted Morse. "She went on CredibleMind, searched her topic, read and watched videos and got herself educated and learned how to have that conversation through the information she gained. She educated her partner as well, and they had an effective conversation with the child that evening. Thanks to CredibleMind, she wasn't afraid to have the conversation and it helped her learn more about why her child engaged in that behavior." Please visit CredibleMind at essexcountyny.crediblemind.com to begin using it today. "I want the whole county to embrace this and know it is ours," Morse remarked. "This is an opportunity for us to be stronger as a community based on the unknown changes that are taking place."

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Essex County online platform supports residents' mental health

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