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Research behind TalkCampus

We are the only peer support platform clinically evidenced to increase users' confidence in their ability to manage their own mental health and reduce harmful behaviours.

A recent study (Rickard et al. 2022) also placed TalkLife in the top ten of quality mental health apps, after it scored highly in areas including accessibility, security and privacy, and evidence and clinical base.

 

We’re proud to have an ORCHA score of 82%, which breaks down key assessment criteria relating to clinical assurance, data privacy, and user experience.

 

Our student platform is rooted in in-depth mental health and peer support research. Find out more below.

Girl smiling at phone with thought bubble above her 'Today is a good day'

Today is a good day 😊

Peer drives student wellbeing

Peer support research has shown that it’s associated with:

No one understands the unique challenges, fears, and doubts of student life quite like peers who have faced similar struggles.

 

Students often crave connection with others at eye level - where they can be heard, understood, and accepted. Peer support builds this essential sense of belonging, which is crucial to mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing.

 

When students are struggling, they often just need reassurance that they’re not alone and the confidence to express what they need.

Our commitment to impact

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Impact-focused and transparent reporting

Our impact framework underpins our product development and our extensive mental health research programs with some of the world's leading university teams inform our understanding of mental health and the critical role technology can play in offering support. We hold a strong commitment to tangible research outcomes that have timely and relevant applications.

 

We are also committed to understanding our own impact as a platform and regularly undertake assessments and research to understand this.

planets in space

Reporting and

data-sharing

As a TalkCampus university, you will receive quarterly de-identified reports that highlight current usage patterns and any key trends across your student population.

  • Patterns of usage

  • Engagement levels 

  • Mood and topics discussed 

  • Outliers and community sentiment 

Your institution-specific trends and data will be kept confidential and will not be disclosed to any third parties or partner universities. We’ll also support you with building engagement and increasing awareness of TalkCampus across your student body based on current trends.

The best minds across suicide prevention, self-harm, and the provision of mental health support online

Our Advisory Board provides a clinical steer across all safeguarding and platform development.

Clinical advisors

woman sat on campus using laptop

Data protection and security

At TalkCampus, we strive to uphold the highest data privacy standards for our users. We have implemented a suite of security across our architecture to ensure our members’ privacy and security are upheld. Through our governance and overarching management, we continually review our security policies and procedures.

 

We comply with the relevant data security and privacy standards of the UK, Australia, the US, and the EU. More information about what data is collected and how it is collected can be found in our privacy policy here.

Headshot Eric

TalkLife Collaborator / Advisor
MD, Microsoft Research

Headshot Dan

TalkLife Advisory Board
Exec Director, Suicide Awareness
Voices of Education

Headshot Jan

TalkLife Advisory Board

Director of the Cornell Research Program on Self-Injury and Recovery

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TalkLife Advisory Board
Edgar Pierce Prof. of Psychology
Harvard College Prof. Chair,
Dep. of Psychology, Harvard University

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TalkLife Board / Advisor
LEO Innovation

Headshot Beck

TalkLife Advisory Board

Alan Turing Centre

Headshot Karthik

TalkLife Advisory Board
Reid Hoffman Fellow
MIT AI Data Scientist

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TalkLife Advisory Board
Consultant Psychiatrist, UKCCIS, London Digital Mental Wellbeing Service

Headshot Walter

Assistant Professor of Biostatistics and Assistant Research Professor at the Institute of Social Research

Headshot John

TalkLife Advisory Board
Director, National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline

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A.M., Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology, Harvard University

Headshot Jen Russell

Chair, TalkLife Advisory Board Director Research and Safeguarding TalkLife Ltd

Research Partners

World-leading
research partners

Our researchers are working on key research questions across topics including:

  • Machine learning 

  • NLP modeling

  • Online safety 

  • Peer support and online communication

  • Self-harming behavior and suicidal ideation 

TalkCampus is committed to engaging with peer support research, demonstrating our impact, and contributing to the evidence base. We are passionate about peer support and its potential to meet the increasing demand for mental health support. We want to put an end to people struggling alone and reach any student who needs support. 

 

TalkCampus collaborates on world-leading research projects and works with teams and universities who help us to understand and improve the lives of people who are struggling with their mental health.​

Our partner institutions include:

Cornell University logo

Promoting recovery from non-suicidal self-injury: Assessing the efficacy of a mobile intervention for reducing self-injury severity

Nottingham Trent University Logo

Exploring relationships between mental health problems, triggers and consequences and potential of deep learning and AI for support.

University of Washington Logo

How do interactions between users impact their mood and user behavior in short and long-term, with implications for training of peers and counselors?

Microsoft Research Logo

Moments of change: Analyzing peer-based cognitive support in online mental health forums

University of Central Florida Logo

Exploration of the intersection of adolescent online safety, mental health, social support and coping for teens.

Harvard University logo

A collaboration between TalkLife and researchers from Microsoft Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University to better understand and predict self harm, with the aim to create meaningful interventions.

The Alan Turing Institute logo

Creation of robust longitudinal NLP models for capturing changes in language use and other online behaviour over time as a proxy for assessing mental well-being.

Georgia Tech logo

Development of computational and analytical approaches to examine and understand 'coming out of the closet' expressions in online communities, how it affects mental health in LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) individuals, and how online support communities cater to these needs.

University of Guelph logo

Impact of online communication to self-injury

Ulm University logo

Understanding online communication between peers who self-harm

Swansea University logo

This is part of a larger study utilising electronic data to address key challenges around children and young people’s mental health.

See what TalkCampus can do for you

Learn why TalkCampus is the ultimate fit for your institution.

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