Publish date: 6 February 2023
Children, young people and their parents/care givers in Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow, who are experiencing emotional mental health difficulties can now benefit from a NICE recommended digital therapeutic intervention designed around their needs - launched to mark the start of ‘Children’s Mental Health Week’ (6 to 12 February).
West London NHS Trust’s Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) has made an ongoing commitment to improving access to emotional and mental wellbeing support at the earliest point. As part of this commitment, the Trust is launching this Lumi Nova app in partnership with BFB Labs, providers of digital therapeutics for children and young people’s mental health.
West London NHS Trust already provides a young people’s helpline alongside a range of other mental health support services.
Lumi Nova: Therapeutic Digital Intervention Gaming App
7-12 year olds (school years 3 to 7) will benefit from an evidence-based digital therapeutic intervention delivered via a game app called Lumi Nova: Tales of Courage. The digital therapeutic game is recommended by NICE as a first line treatment option for children with mild to moderate anxiety. It combines evidence-based therapeutic content within an intergalactic adventure game.
Designed by BFB Labs, this digital intervention empowers children, by teaching them life-long skills for self-managing their emotions and building their resilience. With support from a parent or other trusted adult (this could be a professional working with them), the child can complete goals in small “graded” steps, using fun challenges, set in both the game and the real world. They can play it, without having either an assessment or a diagnosis and it is compatible with most tablets and smartphones (iOS and Android).
It has been co-created with children, parents, school staff, clinical psychologists and leading academics in children’s mental health.
Lumi Nova is also certified as CE marked, class 1 medical device registered with the UK’s MHRA.
Dr Johan Redlinghuys, Clinical Director for CAMHS services at West London Trust said:
“It’s vital we use the technology children and young people are used to using to engage their interest and develop the skills to look after their emotional health and mental wellbeing. Lumi Nova is based on clinical techniques but helps translate them into support that children understand”.
“We’re really looking forward to piloting this interesting and interactive app, that will bring digital therapeutic intervention for better youth mental health. It’s a fun intergalactic mobile game for self-management of fears and anxiety, recommended for 7 – 12 year olds to build resilience. It creates both app based and real world based goals which are set at the start, so the young person and our NHS clinicians work together to meet these goals”.
Manjul Rathee, CEO at BFB Labs said:
“BFB Labs is delighted to be collaborating with West London NHS Trust on this new service which represents a novel approach to supporting children and young people early in a way that meets them where they are.
“We’re excited that Lumi Nova for childhood anxiety will provide much needed safe and effective early intervention support especially to younger children in a fun and non-stigmatising way that can be accessed anytime anywhere”.