Dear Therapy

The issue of children's exposure to mental health challenges, early therapeutic intervention, and parents' perceptions of therapy. Like adults, children are exposed to common mental health issues from academic and social pressure, and family breakdown to more severe adverse life experiences, such as bullying, dysfunctional families, poverty, violence. Experiences that are likely to cause long-term harmful effects on the emotional and mental well-being of children. While therapy is widely recognized as the most effective method for addressing mental health issues in both children and adults, the stigma surrounding mental health and therapy can make parents hesitant to seek help for their children to develop the necessary skills to lead mentally healthy and fruitful lives.

Our solution seeks to offer children a supportive environment where they can freely express their emotions, acquire essential skills, and access necessary resources to promote their mental well-being and thrive in life. Additionally, Dear Therapy aims to create an awareness of the importance of supporting children's mental health from an early age and reorient parents, caregivers, and other support systems on the crucial role of early-stage emotional development, social skills, and mental health in children.

Our solution is to build a digital platform, this platform will house family therapist and child psychologist who will be available to take sessions with parents and their kids. Developing a digital therapy platform would provide parents with a convenient way to access therapy sessions for themselves and their children, without the concern of facing social stigma or judgment associated with attending physical therapy facilities. Additionally, the digital platform would eliminate geographic barriers, enabling easy access to therapy services for parents and children regardless of their location.

The Dear Therapy Solution focuses on children between the ages of 9-17 years. When adopted by MIT, it will cater to at least 100 - 500 children grouped into batches. Bearing in mind that the mental health and well-being of a child capture the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral well-being of that child, our solution seeks to ensure that children get it right in maintaining a healthy state at the earliest stage possible. When a child can manage anxiety, disappointments, emotions, excitements, failures, pressures, rejections, stress, etc., at a very early stage, it builds a foundation of resilience and emotional intelligence in children.

Mental health resources, including child psychology and family therapy, are limited in Nigeria. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2020, Nigeria had only 0.09 psychiatrists, and 0.02 psychologists, per 100,000 population, which indicates a significant shortage of mental health professionals in the country.

With our solution, we can create a paradigm shift in the pattern of parenting with deliberate attempts by both parents, caregivers, and child support systems. So, while targeting the children as the recipients of the scheme, we will equip caregivers, child support systems, and parents with the attitude, knowledge, and skills needed to promote a mentally healthy haven for the children.

Before the decision to build this solution. The KSH foundation team organized a free day's therapy session for kids and parents. In doing this, the team connected with a number of child psychologists and therapists across the country (Nigeria). This session was to understand the market and the responsiveness of parents to the availability of such a platform. As expected, it was hard to get parents to take part in the session, however from the number of parents who participated, positive feedback was given, willingness to continue, and a promise to recommend the platform to parents within their network was made. With the involvement of psychologists from the get-go, we are able to understand more about the intrinsic nature of therapy and our target audience (parents and kids) and be meaningfully guided while creating the solution. 

Our team is comprised of a Project Management/Team Lead, a Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, a Communication and Advocacy Manager, and a Product Manager with years of experience in their respective areas of expertise. They have all been involved in the implementation of various projects, making them well-equipped to handle any challenges that may arise.

Our solution is projected to reach 100 - 500 targets within the first 6 months of deployment.

Because our solution is one that is targeted to reach beyond Nigeria, because our solution would like to position itself as the one platform for therapy institutes across the world to offer their services as a give-back to society, we are applying to gain personalized support from MIT staff and Members of the cross-sector social impact community, to build partnerships that would accelerate Dear Therapy, validate our impact and business model, as well as scale our solution. 

We are also applying because we believe we have a product that aligns with the “Health in Fragile Context” challenge objective of enhancing resilience in health systems and ensuring continued access to care. Our proposal includes utilizing the funds to develop Dear Therapy as a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform to provide mental healthcare services for families and expand our intervention program to other regions in West Africa.

Our solution is innovative in that it encompasses a product that caters to the mental health needs of children and their parents, acknowledging the significance of the family unit within the community and society as a whole. Leveraging cutting-edge AI-enabled technology, our platform aims to provide accessible mental healthcare services for both children and parents beyond Nigeria.

To reach over 5000 kids and parents across West Africa and provide them with a system where they learn about mental wellness and treatment. This engagement will result in less stigma surrounding therapy and mental health, as well as more early detection and treatment of mental health issues. How we plan to achieve them are;

1. Implementing community-based outreach programs: Engage with local communities through outreach programs to raise awareness about mental health and the benefits of therapy. This could involve organizing workshops, and awareness campaigns in schools, community centers, and other relevant locations to educate kids, parents, and caregivers about mental wellness

2. Collaborating with local partners: Partner with local NGOs, and other relevant stakeholders to leverage existing networks and resources to reach a wider audience. Collaborate with local healthcare providers, therapists, and mental health professionals. 

3. Developing culturally-sensitive materials: Develop culturally-sensitive materials, such as educational brochures, videos, and other resources, that take into account our unique cultural context to ensure they resonate with the target audience and help reduce the stigma surrounding therapy and mental health.

4. Utilizing technology for widespread dissemination: Leverage technology, such as online platforms, social media, and mobile applications, to disseminate information about mental wellness, therapy, and mental health issues to a wider audience. This could include online campaigns and 

5. Providing affordable and accessible mental healthcare services: Ensure that mental healthcare services, including therapy and treatment, are affordable and accessible to kids and parents across West Africa. This may involve working with local healthcare providers, telehealth services, and others to bridge the gap in accessing mental healthcare services in underserved areas.

6. Engaging government agencies: Engage with relevant government agencies, policymakers, and stakeholders to create an enabling environment that supports mental wellness, reduces stigma, and encourages early intervention in mental health issues.

7. Monitoring and evaluation: Establish monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to measure the impact of the outreach programs and interventions. Regularly assess the effectiveness of the strategies implemented, and use data-driven insights to refine and improve the approach, ensuring that the intended impact is being achieved.

To measure our progress and report the successes of our intervention, it is crucial to track the below indicators: 

1. Improved Mental Health: Improved mental health of children and their families is the primary indicator of success. This can be measured by tracking improvement in mood and behavior, and reduction in stress levels.

1. Increased Accessibility: Accessibility to therapeutic solutions and educational resources is an essential indicator of progress. This can be measured by the number of individuals who have access to the resources and the reduction in wait times to receive mental health support.

1. Increased Engagement: The engagement of parents, caregivers, and children in the therapeutic process is crucial for successful outcomes.

1. Improved Communication: Communication between parents, caregivers, and children is an essential factor in promoting mental wellness.

1. Cost-effectiveness: This is an important indicator as it determines the sustainability of the product, which can be measured by tracking the costs associated with providing therapeutic solutions.

"I’m really thankful that I got to be a part of the Dear Therapy program. 

The sessions were truly enlightening and very relatable. I love how all the panelists spoke in very relatable terms, how questions from the audience were encouraged, and how the discussions helped put things in perspective.

My best bit though was the one-on-one session because Therapist Lois was simply amazing! My daughter still spoke about her recently. She had really good listening and communication skills, she was patient when my daughter told stories and even decided to show her some gymnastics moves lol. The atmosphere was very chill and her manner of approach really helped my 6yrs relax and open up.

It was a beautiful experience and I hope the team does this again!"

Above is one of the few parents who shared with the team her experience with the free day's therapy session. 

The idea of Dear Therapy as an intervention is supported by the conviction that early intervention and ongoing support can help prevent mental health issues that may arise later in life. Parents and kids can learn coping mechanisms and methods for managing their mental health. Parents can have a deeper understanding of how to help their children's mental well-being by providing them with the needed mental support system. This can therefore lead to better outcomes for the well-being of our children as well as society at large, bringing about better relationships and communication within families and communities.

Dear Therapy will use AI-powered tools such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), chatbots, and virtual therapy sessions that provide personalized and immediate mental health support to the target market. Additionally, it can also personalize resources on mental health and therapy for children, parents, and caregivers.

We have our DEI Policies in place, which promote diversity, equity, and inclusion by ensuring equal employment opportunities, providing education on unconscious bias and cultural competency, establishing recruitment and retention strategies that promote diversity, encouraging employee resource groups and affinity networks, and assessing policies for inclusivity. We do this by creating a culture that values and respects diversity and inclusion.

We offer both software-based and human-led services that are designed to help parents and mental health professionals better manage and monitor the mental health of children. We also provide support services aimed at ensuring that children receive the best possible mental healthcare. These services will be delivered through a digital channel with the assistance of key partners across healthcare institutions in Nigeria.

Exploring different funding opportunities like applying for grants, loans, or investments that align with our goals, as well as a subscription-based model that can provide a steady stream of revenue, offering different packages for parents, caregivers, and other child support systems with various levels of access to therapeutic solutions and resources. 

Partnering with healthcare providers such as hospitals, clinics, and private practices can help in generating revenue. Offering online services to reach a broader audience, reduce overhead costs, and generate revenue. Targeted towards building a strong brand that can attract more clients and generate revenue.

While currently at its concept stage, Dear Therapy has been solely funded by the founder of the KSH Foundation, Khalil Halilu.