The Directorate of Health is launching four new mental health apps for young people

In this connection, Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) visited a high school in Oslo. There she was told that using apps is good, but beeing able to get advice from the health nurse and psychologist are also important. Read the whole story in Dagens Medisin.

One of the apps being launched is UngSpotlight, developed by Helse Bergen HF and Youwell.

UngSpotlight (from 13 years) is a digital self-help program with coping techniques for young people who experience fear or discomfort when speaking in front of strangers, assemblies or the class. The training program lasts for 6 weeks, and it is recommended to work with the program at least 3 times a week.

The program was tested in 2022 and had close to 10,000 downloads during the pilot period. The program has been tested through a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and has a proven effect on presentation anxiety.

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The three other apps that the Directorate of Health are launching are:

Thought virus (from 16 years) is an app based on cognitive psychology with daily videos and tips that contribute to coping and normalization of negative thoughts.

Grubl (from 16 years) is an app based on metacognitive psychology with daily videos and experiments that might help training the user’s attention and reduce brooding. The app is new.

The Self-helper (from 16 years) is a digital course bank with personalized courses and coping tools that contribute to better mental health. The courses cover topics such as sleep, stress, anxiety, depression, habits, emotional intelligence, goal setting, performance anxiety, alcohol and substance abuse, grief, inner motivation and loneliness. The tool is new.

The apps that are launched have been approved by the Directorate of Health, through the project “Safer health apps”, and are accessible via the government’s online portal Ung.no