Participate in self-help research

This research is to design interventions to help with managing mood, suicidal thinking and self-harm delivered via an online tool like a phone app. We are asking for participants aged 18 to 25 who have had, or are experiencing, depression and have a past history of suicidal ideation and/or self-harm (those who have experienced severe suicidal ideation with a plan or engaged in self-harm within the last 3 months will not be able to participate). To participate in this research, we would like you to first come to a meeting in Melbourne where the project will be described in full and you will be asked to sign consent forms if you wish to participate. If you do consent to participate you will be asked to be part of interviews and/or co-design workshops (you can participate in and attend as few or as many as you feel comfortable doing so) where you will be asked to talk about your experiences of suicidal ideation and/or self harm and what might be helpful or unhelpful in terms of interventions delivered via an online tool like a phone app.

In the co-design workshops slightly different topics will be covered, for example: we might ask you to look at apps that already exist and comment on what you do and don’t like; we might ask you about the sort of things that an app could contain that would be helpful for you in managing depression symptoms, suicidal ideation and/or self-harm; we might ask you what you think would not be helpful to include (e.g. what might trigger thoughts of suicide or self-harm); we might ask you what you think would make an online tool/app easy and appealing to use; or we might ask you about what you think we should include in any guidelines we write advising on how these sorts of apps and other forms of technology should be used.

These interview takes around 40 minutes and co-design workshops will each last between 60 and 90 minutes and will be held at headspace and Orygen in Melbourne. You will be reimbursed for your time at a rate of $30 per hour. Participating in this research is completely voluntary and even if you say yes now, you can change your mind later. Saying yes or no has no impact on any clinical care you may currently be receiving or to your access to care in the future. You should note that by agreeing to participate and attending the focus groups, this will indicate to others in the group that you have experienced depression, suicidal ideation and/or self-harm in the past.

If you are interested in participating, please complete this form below outlining how you meet the criteria for inclusion (i.e. that you are aged between 18 to 25, experience of depression or suicidal ideation but with no severe suicidal ideation that includes a plan or self harm in the last 3 months) and why you would like to participate. Dr Sarah Hetrick, who is running the study, will contact you to discuss your participation further and give you details of the first meeting.