Get to Know Alongside

CREATE A DEMO ACCOUNT TO TRY A CHAT WITH KIWI!

DR. FRIIS:
Hi I’m Dr. Elsa Friis, Alongside’s Head of Mental Health, and this is our mascot, Kiwi. We developed Alongside to help schools provide preventative mental health support for every student. 

Our comprehensive approach to prevention reduces the number of students suffering from anxiety, helps all students build and apply skills to navigate everyday challenges, and provides life-saving alerts for those in crisis.

Districts we work with report up to an 80% decrease in disciplinary referrals, a 76% reduction in patterns of suicidal ideation, and positive changes to school culture and climate. 

Our expert team of licensed mental health clinicians, educators and engineers work closely with teens to co-design our product, ensuring it is engaging and effective. 

With that in mind, I’ll hand this over to one of our teen advisors, Ava, to give you a tour of Alongside. After that be sure to set up a demo account and try a chat with Kiwi for yourself. It only takes a couple of minutes and I know Kiwi is eager to lend you an ear. Now, here’s Ava! 

AVA:
Hey there, I'm Ava, and welcome to the Alongside app, a mental health resource for students. It's available 24/7, private, and confidential, and the exercises, activities, and chats are developed by a passionate team of clinicians who work with students like you. I'm so excited for you to learn more about it.

One of my favorite features in the app is the chat feature. It's so great to have a space where I can privately talk about what I'm going through at any time I need to. I can give advice, provide a space to vent, and help boost your mood. Here's how to use it: Once you open up the chat, you can start typing how you're feeling, and if you're not exactly sure, no worries—Kiwi is there to help. If you click the Discover button above, there'll be a few prompts that can give you ideas on some of the problems you might be struggling with and want to talk about in the app.

Remember, this is a judgment-free zone, so feel free to share as much or as little as you like. If you're having a serious health crisis or you talk about harming yourself, others, or being abused or harassed, Kiwi will alert a school counselor or after-hours support. You may have a few questions to answer and a link to call or text 988. Kiwi will share your answers with your counselor along with your name and email. That way, we can make sure that you stay safe and have access to the support and help you need.

But the resources on the app don't just stop there. Outside of the chat, there are plenty of other activities such as journal prompts, videos, and more. You can even request a meeting with your school counselor right from the app. Also, you can now go on specialized quests to build and develop your mental health superpowers. You can work on increasing focus, finding motivation, practicing self-compassion, and more. I love how each quest is broken down into simple steps that allow me to not feel overwhelmed when working towards new goals and skills.

I also really love using the mood tracker. It helps me increase my emotional awareness and regulation and learn more about the time I'm taking each day to practice self-care, how much I'm sleeping, and what I'm feeling throughout the weeks. When I'm looking for educational mental health videos I can trust, I look for them in the Alongside app. It's great to know that these videos are curated by a team of experienced clinicians and not just random information I can find online.

Thanks for following along with me, and have fun exploring the app!