Three things get Jen Hyatt out of bed in the morning – her teenage daughter, big numbers and uncertainty about the dominant paradigm of the healthcare.
Hyatt explained the "intractable issue in healthcare" of focusing on sickness rather than on healthy behaviors. But she also feels that technology could have a transformative role.
When Hyatt heard the figure, in the year 2006, that 50% of people with a diagnosable mental health issue did not even reach their primary care doctor, she decided to do something about it. She founded Big White Wall in the year 2007 in an attempt to reach out to these people, as well as to "shift from a model of sickness to one in which people who need help are supported".
The online community, one of few approved by the NHS, assists the users anonymously seek support from peers and therapists.
Big White Wall gives people "a choice" in the kind of treatment they get, said Hyatt. Cognitive behavioural therapy, while often successful, is not a panacea.
Hyatt is now working on a newapp for teenagers, called amo that draws on positive psychology, behavioural psychology and neuroscience. "We require looking at applying technology to help," she stated. "Let's not move deckchairs around on the Titantic – let's address the big numbers."
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