“If we can find it in ourselves to break the stigma and talk to someone, then we have hope.”
The whole premise of speaking out and sharing experiences underpins the approach of software developer Frog Systems which has created a new kind of welltech platform that combines video and signposting to build communities of support for those struggling with their mental health and wellbeing.
The technology was being developed by the company before COVID-19 struck but was released commercially as the growing need to support people with their mental health became clear during the long months of lockdown. It has been snapped up by corporates, public sector bodies and sports organisations keen to do something much more proactive to help their employees and members through the challenges they face.
One in four people will suffer with their mental health at some stage, yet three quarters will either not get treatment or know who to go to for help. Through a huge library of videos – all less than a minute long – Frog Systems provides a platform for individuals to share their experiences on a host of issues which have impacted their mental health and wellbeing. Storytelling is acknowledged to have a positive effect and that’s the premise, by hearing from someone who looks like them and sounds like them, a person will then take that important first step to seek assistance.
Using its Ashia® software, Frog Systems links the video content to directories of support organisations and curated resources, with recommendations made depending on which videos they have viewed. One place which is free to access, where everything is brought together.
The data generated by the platforms the company builds for its growing client base – spanning professional services, sport, housing, arts and membership and governing bodies – provides insight into what their staff and members are concerned about.
While user details remain anonymised, this aggregated insight is invaluable. The ability to understand what issues are of interest to end users and where those end users are located allows the clients to make strategic decisions about how they can support their community’s wellbeing.
One of the most interesting uses of the Frog Systems platform is within sport. Clubs and teams have long sought to use data to analyse performance and enhance the in-stadium experience, but using this new wellbeing platform, they are able to understand the emotional state of their supporters and offer services to the wider community in which they are based.
Take Sussex Cricket. In a world-first, Frog Systems enabled the club to become the first global sports club to launch its own bespoke mental wellbeing platform for its community, which incorporates over 3,500 members, 182 affiliated cricket clubs and tens of thousands of supporters and residents in the local area.
The free-to-use platform, developed alongside Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, amplifies messaging around mental health and physical, social and financial wellbeing – a different type of fan engagement which uses players, staff, and volunteer voices to focus on important issues outside the regular field of play. With elite sportsmen and women talking more openly about their mental health during this summer’s Tokyo Olympics, sport has become a valuable communication channel. Several major sports organisations have commissioned Frog Systems to build similar platforms of support for their communities.
“We tend to believe we can find a way through our issues without asking for help, but if we leave our emotions unchecked, they can escalate in a way that leads to serious illness. It’s a powerful thing to build a platform that gives people the opportunity to hear how others have dealt with what they’re facing and encourage them to take early action to turn things round,” says Phil Worms, CEO of Frog Systems. “Failure to address the decline in mental health and wellbeing has a huge impact on the economy, in terms of absenteeism and productivity, and in society it adds to the growing pressure on professional and clinical healthcare services.”
All searches on the platforms that Frog Systems builds are confidential and in line with data protection regulations which helps users feel more comfortable. It is the aggregated data that are then used by clients to improve their workforce or communities’ outcomes.
“Our platforms don’t replace anything – not the need to go to a GP or counsellor,” Phil explains. “Rather they bridge that gap between someone struggling with a challenge in their life and taking the first steps to doing something about it. In other words, the experiences of others can help break down the stigma associated with admitting you are struggling.”
Frog Systems, winner of the 2020 FutureX Start-up Summit, can trace its roots back to its founder’s struggle with addiction 15 years ago.
Inspired by how vital his peer support network was, and the hope he found in shared experiences, he wanted to create a resource which would enable people to access this for themselves.
“That original idea is as valid today as it was then. The thing about wellness is that every single person has their own journey, this affects everyone,” says Phil, who has led the digital transformation of the business since he joined three years ago.
“Positive wellbeing is the result of many factors, which is why we showcase a broad range of people telling their stories. Whether it is addiction, living with a long-term condition or struggling to cope financially, our aim is to offer support in a way that is both safe and simple to access.”
And video has proved to be the key to achieving this. With statistics showing that up to 90 per cent of all internet traffic is now video-driven, and that two thirds of internet access is from a mobile device, Frog Systems has answered this need by creating a comprehensive content platform, with video at its heart and resources that can be accessed discreetly from any device. The company is already working on new features such as language translation where end users are from more diverse communities.
The company is challenging the more traditional ways of delivering wellbeing and mental health messaging. “Too much mental health and wellbeing support is still in print or text form,” he says. “No-one is going to open a 50-page PDF document on their iPhone – but they can watch short videos wherever they are. Storytelling is the oldest thing known to humankind and we are simply translating this into the modern world to deliver relatable support.”
And the ability for organisations to deliver such support is proving invaluable, with the pandemic convincing many of the need to increase their provision.
“Prior to the pandemic, support for employee wellbeing was very often a nice to have or a box ticking exercise,” says Phil. “It was often benefit-led – here’s money off a gym membership or the local restaurant. What has happened in the last 18 months has completely changed how many places work.
“While it’s great to provide fresh fruit and a pool table in the office, how do you support an employee living on the fifth floor of an apartment block with three children to look after, whilst also trying to do their job?
“The focus has shifted to an understanding that support has to go much deeper and address the many different aspects of wellbeing. This change has been heartening to see.”
Returning to data, which drives everything, the inclusion of a Frog Systems platform into a business or community means strategy can be influenced for the better.
“Our data sets are well ahead of anything out there,” Phil explains. “This is data which can tell a client about what is concerning people in real time, so they can then use it to adapt the support they provide and offer help at a much earlier stage.
“It was Archbishop Desmond Tutu who famously said: ‘There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.’
“And this really sums up our approach. Why wait for someone to struggle when you can help them before they get to that point?”
If a client sees high level of searches being made for information about depression, menopause or bullying for instance, it can do something to help – create internal campaigns, run support sessions, or ask line managers to reinforce what existing services are available.
“The fact we don’t ask for anything that can identify the user also suggests they will be far more honest,” says Phil. “Would someone go to their employer to ask them for help with alcohol addiction, or if they were experiencing suicidal thoughts? Probably not. But here is a way they can access the support without fear of being judged.”
And as well as being relatable, organisations can customise the content even further to focus on the unique challenges their sector faces.
“While there are many powerful stories on our platform, the ones that resonate with you and your situation are the most powerful,” he explains.
“In the hospitality industry, for example, a chef or maître d’ might find it much more useful to hear from someone who understands what it’s like to work within a restaurant or hotel, how it makes you feel when a customer abuses you, what it’s like to have been furloughed for months, not knowing whether your place of work will still be operating in the future.
“Or it could be that someone wants to access resources around female empowerment, to hear how women have broken through the glass ceiling, balanced having children with work, faced blatant discrimination – all of which will impact upon your mental and physical wellbeing in some way.
“Hearing from someone who lives this every day is very impactful, seeing yourself and your circumstances represented is very, very powerful.”
Going forward, as Frog Systems continues to grow and support more organisations across the UK, its pioneering model with Sussex Cricket is an example of how it can engage whole communities.
“If you look at the causes or issues that connect communities, be it cancer, COVID, unemployment, whatever it might be, if you have a platform to represent them and that speaks directly to them, then that is very powerful,” says Phil.
“Suicide is the biggest killer of men aged between 25 and 35, but how many young men would go to the NHS site for help? If we can use the power of people uniting around their cricket club to help inform and educate them, coming together with the NHS in doing so, that’s where we can make a real difference.
“With a community of football fans, if we look at racism in sport, people go on social media and say how terrible it is, but where can they go to learn what that actually feels like? Where can someone who has experienced racist abuse at a football match go to find someone else who has been through the same?
“On the platforms we build, people tell their own stories so others can learn from them and take positive steps to improve their wellbeing.”
For more information on Frog Systems click here.
