Kooth and East Riding Football Association announce social media takeover to showcase men’s mental health

- East Riding Football Association and Kooth launch initiative to help raise awareness of mental health issues in men

- For 48 hours men will be encouraged to share mental health-related posts and thoughts on social media 

- Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on adult mental health. Kooth has seen a +89% increase in adults accessing its platform

Kooth, the UK’s leading digital mental health platform, and East Riding Football Association, will this weekend team up to shine a light on the issue of men’s mental health and emotional wellbeing.

For 48 hours beginning on Saturday, 15th May, the Association is inviting all leagues and clubs in the county to dedicate their social media channels. The goal is to promote good mental health by encouraging men to open up and seek help when they need it. Using the hashtag #Qwelltakeover, it is hoped that players, supporters and staff will get involved by posting and sharing their thoughts and stories on the Association’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.

Qwell for Men, delivered by Kooth, was commissioned by the Humber, Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership in January to help tackle the rising number of male suicides in the region. This marks the first time a digital mental health service has been commissioned specifically in response to male suicide.    

The takeover coincides with the launch of Kooth’s Pulse 2021 report looking at the impact of Covid-19 on the UK’s mental health and wellbeing. Key findings from the study of over 192,000 Kooth service users, include:

- 89% in usage by adults of Kooth vs 2019.

- 17% of adults say that they think about hurting themselves or feel suicidal nearly every day – +40% on last year.

- 49% adults had suicidal or self-harm thoughts for several days, up 17% vs. 2019

- 41% of adults report feeling nervous each day.

- 39% of adults report feeling down, depressed or hopeless nearly every day – an increase of +17% from 2019.

Commenting on the project, Chris Johnson, Clubs and Participation Development Officer, East Riding FA, said “The physical and mental wellbeing of people who play grassroots football in our county is of the utmost importance. This is why we are delighted to deliver the Qwell Grassroots Football weekend takeover. We want to get the message out to men who play football in our county that it is good to talk, and that both support and help is available should they need it.”

In addition to the social media takeover, we will be creating a special web page with content geared towards men’s health, fitness and wellness. We will also be sending out mail shots to all adult male clubs in the county signposting them to Kooth services.

Richard Chisem, Kooth Engagement Lead, added: “Qwell was launched in the Hull, Humber, Coast & Vale region to offer men aged 18 and over the chance to receive personalised & anonymous support & guidance around their mental wellbeing. It’s a privilege to work alongside the East Riding FA as we launch the ‘Qwell Weekend Takeover’ on Saturday. We hope this event marks the start of a partnership which enables men to gain access to support, when they need it.”

Kooth is an online mental health and emotional wellbeing service for adults, allowing them to access support and guidance whenever they need it. The site is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and offers early preventative care and support without any prior thresholds to meet.

Kooth users have access to one-to-one, anonymous counselling sessions with fully trained and qualified counsellors and emotional wellbeing practitioners, 365 days a year. Sessions are available from midday to 10pm on weekdays, and from 6pm to 10pm at weekends and holidays. They can be booked in advance or accessed via drop-in instant text-based chats. Users are also able to take advantage of a range of self-help tools from reading and contributing to articles, peer to peer support.