New mental health app developed
15 December 2023
A new app has been developed to enable workers on construction sites and in other industries to access mental health support and advice anonymously and discreetly.
Another app can also be incorporated to allow whistleblowers to report malpractice or other concerns about corporate culture without revealing their identity.
Called iTalk, the mental health app is being offered by a company whose senior team includes Darren Barden, a Tool Hire Account Manager with Hilti Gt. Britain (although the initiative is quite separate from the power tool manufacturer), and Philip Thorne, CEO of tech business Coliptus.
As reported previously on the blog, Darren faced his own mental health challenges following a near-fatal stabbing resulting from a case of mistaken identity, which years later led to him suffering post-traumatic stress disorder.
Hilti generously gives Darren regular time off to talk about the topic as a mental health ambassador within hire, construction and related industries.
“I am on a mission to bring about change so that people can get help well before they have suicidal thoughts,” said Darren, speaking recently at a launch event for iTalk. He is pictured (right) above and is CEO of iTalk. “People often feel alone or ‘surplus to requirements’ and don’t know where to get help or how to ask for it.
“Businesses might provide, say, mental health rooms to encourage people to seek help, but there can be a stigma attached to that.”
At the launch it was explained that, in 91% of male suicides cases, the victim had actually visited a doctor or medical practitioner within the previous two months, but mostly regarding a physical issue rather than a mental health one.
“What’s needed is a private space where they can get the support they need,” said Darren.
The iTalk app aims to offer that. Via QR codes on printed literature and positioned at strategic locations around a work site or premises, people will be able to use their smartphone to access help quickly and anonymously. Philip Thorne said that the app also automatically recognises the user’s native language.
The interface offers ‘traffic-light’ options for: seeking urgent help in an emergency or extreme situation; asking for mental health support; or enquiring about mental health issues generally. Users are then put in contact with appropriate specialists on the service, which is provided on a 24/7 basis.
The interface will be customised for each organisation adopting it and it can be adapted to include other elements and topics, such as general well-being and training, if required. It will be charged for on a monthly basis.
The iTalk app can also incorporate Speaking Up, an app designed to enable workers to report something within the workplace in an anonymous and undetectable way, such as the culture within an organisation, Health & Safety issues, or perhaps to give positive feedback.
Darren says that around 13 men every day take their own lives, with those in the construction industry being four times more likely to do so than the national average equating to two a day. The iTalk app could be a valuable resource for addressing this important and serious issue.
