A partnership between mental health charity My Discombobulated Brain and tech-with-purpose business Big Lemon has launched a new app to help students access mental health support throughout the city.

My Discombobulated Brain has launched the app to help the city’s 30,000 students to access the level of mental health support that they need, wherever they are, at any time. Whether that’s a quiet space to rest and regain their breath or a location with a mental health first aider on hand to provide one-to-one support.

The app lists three levels of available support – Safe Spaces, locations with mental health first aiders and primary medical care such as GP surgeries. When a user opens the web app, the device’s geolocation technology shows the different levels of mental health support immediately around them.

Each Safe Space listed on the app gives the user instructions on how to access support – ranging from public spaces which are open for people to come and take a break such as St David’s Hall, to venues with dedicated separate ‘safe spaces’ such as Cardiff Market, which can be accessed by asking any stallholder or member of staff.

Mental health first aiders can be accessed by approaching reception or customer service staff at a number of office and hospitality business locations. Where medical support is required, the app lists all of the NHS sites in the city so that people can easily find the help they need.

Founder of My Discombobulated Brain, Laura Dernie, set up the charity to tackle the stigma associated with mental health while offering support and education to those who are affected. She explained:

“When a member of our team had a panic attack while out one day, they didn’t know where they could go to sit down and recover, which only heightened their panic. We realised that nobody should have to be on their own when feeling like this. This is why the web app was created – we believe you should be able to find the level of mental health support that you need, wherever you are.”

“I’m grateful to all of the businesses and venues who’ve stepped up already to offer spaces for people at a time when they need it most – it’s going to make a huge difference to people to know that they are surrounded by supportive people and places wherever they go in Cardiff. I also want to acknowledge the funding support that we’ve had from the Moondance Foundation which has enabled us to keep the app free for users and businesses to access.”

The My Discombobulated Brain app has been built by Welsh technology business Big Lemon. Director Sam Wheeler said:

“We’ve helped to build something that’s quick and easy to update as Laura adds more and more venues. We’ve worked closely with Laura to understand what the charity needs and the context in which the user will be accessing the app. So we’ve used a low-code approach to keep costs down and built the platform as a web app so that it’s always going to be live – avoiding the situation, for example, where someone may need help urgently, only to find that an app is inaccessible because it needs to be updated.

“As a committed tech-with-purpose business and certified B Corp we are proud to be developing the technology behind such an important, innovative and much-needed project.”

A growing number of businesses and venues across Cardiff have already signed up to support the app and offer safe spaces, including Brewdog, Lush, Côte Brasserie, Waterstones, Kin+Ilk, National Museum Cardiff, St David’s Hall and Cardiff Market. There is no cost to the business to sign up or for users to use the app.