Hull: Online support service launched to help men manage mental health

A free online mental health and emotional wellbeing support service has been launched to help men living across the Humber, Coast and Vale area.

Males aged 18 and over living in North Yorkshire, York, Hull, East Riding, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire can now register to use Qwell for Men – a free, anonymous online counselling and emotional wellbeing service which can be accessed anywhere using a computer, smartphone or tablet device.

In England, around one in eight men have a common mental health problem such as depression, anxiety, panic disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Around three-quarters of registered suicides in England and Wales in 2019 were among men (4,303). 

Two out of every three people who take their life have not previously had contact with mental health services so the Humber, Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership is investing in different ways to support people with their mental health and wellbeing before it gets to a point of crisis.

Men can access Qwell, which is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, to access one-on-one online sessions with qualified counsellors, receive and provide peer-to-peer support through moderated online forums, and read and contribute to articles.

Qwell for Men can also be used to keep an online journal and track your wellbeing via an interactive goal tracker. There are no waiting lists or thresholds for use, so men can use the free service as soon as they register.

Qwell for Men, delivered by Kooth, the UK’s largest provider of online mental health services – has been commissioned for use by the Humber, Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership. This marks the first time a digital mental health service has been commissioned specifically in response to male suicide.