BlueIce

BlueIce provides a personalized toolbox of strategies based on evidence based treatments for adolescents and young adults who self-harm. The app is password protected, available 24/7, with any data entered by the user being saved on their phone. No data is transmitted or stored elsewhere or is monitored or accessed by health professionals.

BlueIce, was co-designed and developed with young people with a lived experience of self-harm. Development involved a tripartite process whereby the product users (young people and mental health professionals), academics, and app developers worked together. This process aimed to maximize the acceptability and use of BlueIce and ensured that the content reflected current evidence and best clinical practice. Content is informed by the psychological therapies of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) and behavioural activation.

BlueIce includes three sections: a mood diary, menu of personalized mood-lifting activities, and automatic routing through safety checks to delay or prevent self-harm. Upon entering BlueIce, the young person is invited to rate their mood and to add a note to explain why they are feeling as they do. A visual summary of mood ratings over time is provided to help identify any patterns or trends.

If mood is rated as low, the user is routed to the mood-lifting section, which is also accessible from the main menu. The mood-lifting section contain 8 evidenced based activities designed to improve mood. The user can personalise each section by adding content that is relevant for them. The activities are: a music library of uplifting music, photo library of positive memories, physical activities to encourage activity, mood-changing activities, audio-taped relaxation and mindfulness exercises, identification and challenging of distressing thoughts, a contact list of key people to call or text, and activities to help tolerate emotional distress.

If routed to the mood lifting section, users are asked to rate their mood following its use. If their mood is still low, they are routed to the final section via a set of prompts where they are provided with emergency numbers to contact for support. The emergency contacts can also be accessed via the main menu.