Services-Online and Apps
There are a range of online services or apps that can provide you with support and/or information as well.
They can be used as well as support you are getting in person or they can be a great first step to connecting with other support.
Check out some of the options below:
MyRivr App
MyRivr is a free app designed to provide the following service:
• Give access to a database of services
• Provide details for each service provider including location, opening hours, distance and cost
• Use GPS technology to help you self refer to services nearby or in your region
• Track referrals by user to providers of services
• Updates, feedback and alerts
• 24/7 access to translation services
• 24/7 access to all emergency and refuge services
They say:
Mostly, people in need don’t know what help is available or how to access help, MyRivr seeks to break down the barriers to help by enabling ordinary, everyday New Zealanders through the power of technology.
How it works:
- Download the App. Iphone or Android.
- Create an account and confirm your account by clicking on the email in your inbox. This step should take no more than 10 minutes before your account is verified and ready to use.
- Open the App and Login. You will see a screen like the one below.
4. Find a service. You can search using your GPS, by entering an address or by a list of categories. You can also then refer yourself.
SPARX (https://www.sparx.org.nz)
Who is SPARX for?
SPARX is for young people aged 12-19 who want help with feeling down, depressed, worried or stressed. The information below is from their website.
If you want to know if SPARX is right for you, complete their Mood Quiz.
It was developed with the help of young people and is based on a type of ‘talking therapy’ called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT for short. You can do CBT with a counsellor or a psychologist but you can also learn CBT skills from SPARX. All you need is a computer with access to the internet.
CBT teaches skills about how to cope with negative thoughts and feelings by helping people to think in a more balanced and helpful way and getting them to do things they enjoy or that give them a sense of achievement. There is lots of research to show that CBT helps.
How does SPARX work?
At the start of SPARX you will meet the Guide.
The Guide explains what SPARX is and how it could help you. You will then customise your avatar and journey to the seven provinces to complete quests that restore the world’s balance and defeat the pesky negative thoughts, called Gnats.
Along the way, you will meet different characters, solve puzzles and complete mini games.
As you complete each quest, the Guide will explain how you can use your new skills to feel better, solve problems and enjoy life in the real world.
Each level takes about half an hour. Try doing one or two levels each week.
Is SPARX a game?
No. SPARX looks like a game but actually it’s a self-help tool, designed to help people who are feeling down or stressed out.
At the beginning of each level of SPARX you meet the Guide who talks to you about real life and things that you learn in SPARX. You then go through a portal into the ‘game world’.
In the ‘game world’ you learn and practice skills in a fantasy environment.
After that you come back to the Guide to work out how to use the skills in real life.
This means SPARX may feel more like a game than lots of counselling or therapy, but it’s actually a tool, designed to help people who are feeling down or stressed out.
Would SPARX help me?
If you are feeling depressed, down, worried or stressed or just not enjoying life much at the moment SPARX could help you.
To get the most out of SPARX you should do one or two levels a week, do all the exercises and practise the skills in real life. Even if you start to feel better it’s worth doing all seven levels of SPARX so you can get the most out of it.
If you like, you can share what you have learnt with someone you trust. Ask them to help you practise or remind you of the new skills you’ve learnt.No one thing will work for everyone, so if you feel very down, stressed or you’ve tried SPARX and you’re not feeling better, then check out their Get Help Now section to find out how and where to get help.
Is it private?
Yes, they take your privacy seriously. Your registration details and things you answer in SPARX are encrypted and stored on a secure server.
You can read more about it the Privacy Statement.
SPARX does not share any information about you with anyone. Not with family, not with friends and not through social media such as Facebook.
You will need to have the Unity game plug-in.If you don’t already have this on your computer, you will be asked to download it. Once the Unity plugin is installed, you’ll be able to start using SPARX. If you already have the Unity plugin, you’ll be taken straight to SPARX.You can edit your email address and your mobile phone number on your profile page.
Aunty Dee ( https://www.auntydee.co.nz)
Aunty Dee is a free online tool for anyone who needs some help working through a problem or problems.
The information below is from their website.
It doesn’t matter what the problem is, you can use Aunty Dee to help you work it through.
Quite simply, Aunty Dee will guide you to:
- List your problems
- Generate Ideas
- Find a Solution
You can use Aunty Dee to work through one problem, or you can ask about many problems and use Aunty Dee over and over again – it’s completely up to you.
And you can use Aunty Dee on your mobile phone, tablet, laptop or personal computer. Because it’s a web-based tool, there are no big apps to download that use up your device’s storage space or your precious data.
How does it work?
Aunty Dee is a systematic approach to decision making that is based on Structured Problem Solving.
Structured Problem Solving is a strategy based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and has been shown to reduce depression symptoms in both adults and young people.
It’s important to understand that Aunty Dee doesn’t generate content or provide answers; it guides you to think about and explore your problems in structured way.
In doing so, this will help you move proactively towards solutions to your problems, instead of allowing problems to become overwhelming.
You don’t have to register to use Aunty Dee. But you might want to.
If you find Aunty Dee helpful, and you think you’ll use it a lot, it’s worth registering.
There’s no cost to register. It’s not about money – it’s about being there to help you when you need it most.
When you register with Aunty Dee:
- You will have access to your problems and plans in one place
- You can go back to your plans and your problems at any time
- You can save what you’re doing at any point in the process, and come back to it later
