Authentic Expression for Youth Mental Health and Life
PBT
The worlds first AI enabled app to deliver Photography Based Therapeutics (PBT) to all 9 to 24 year olds.
The Problem We Are Solving
Youth mental health in the UK is at a crisis point. Over 1.5 million young people are waiting for mental health support, with services such as CAMHS overwhelmed by unprecedented demand.Traditional therapies often fail to engage visual learners or neurodiverse individuals, leaving a critical gap in accessible, effective support. Many young people experience prolonged distress, with significant long-term consequences for their wellbeing and development.
What is the PBT App?
The Photography-Based Therapeutics (PBT) App revolutionises mental health care by combining Cognitive Behavioural Therapy principles with a visual-first approach +
Augmented Reality (AR) to create immersive, emotionally expressive imagery.
Generative AI for personalised emotional exploration, even in restrictive environments.Core Methodology:
Say it: Empower users to articulate their emotions.
Shoot it: Capture and express these emotions visually.
Share it: Facilitate safe sharing and meaningful therapeutic discussions.How It Solves the Problem:
Engagement: Visually immersive, intuitive, and creative for young users.
Integration: Seamlessly incorporates into existing NHS virtual appointment pathways.
Scalability: Requires minimal additional hardware, reducing costs and barriers.
Insights: Generates anonymised data trends for clinicians, policymakers, and educators.
Who is it for?
The PBT app is a groundbreaking tool that empowers young patients to take control of their mental health, allowing them to self-reflect and track their emotions while waiting for appointments. With its intuitive, user-friendly design, the app gives young people the ability to explore and understand their mental wellbeing in real time, providing a powerful outlet for self-expression and emotional awareness.For carers, the app offers unprecedented insight into the emotional struggles young people face, helping them to better understand and support their loved ones. Clinicians will also experience a transformative shift in how they engage with patients. By integrating the app’s augmented experience into in-person sessions or existing NHS virtual platforms, clinicians gain a patient-led perspective that enhances the therapeutic process. This innovative approach to care fosters deeper connections, enables more tailored treatments, and ultimately paves the way for a more effective, empathetic mental health care model for everyone involved.
the pbt journey
The Show and Tell Photo campaign, a feasibility study for PBT, explored how photography could help young people express their emotions and mental health experiences. The campaign was a huge success, with over 50,000 young participants, including many from SEND schools. They used photography as a powerful tool to communicate their feelings, resulting in over thousands of images shared. Feedback revealed that 85% of participants felt the experience helped them better understand and express their emotions, while clinicians and carers noted how it fostered deeper connections and more meaningful conversations.The PBT app builds on the legacy of Show and Tell, transforming the "Shoot it, Say it, Share it" approach into a clinical tool. By integrating this self-expression method into therapeutic settings, the app makes it possible for young people to reflect on their mental health in real-time, whether in person or through existing NHS virtual platforms. Co-created with input from patients, clinicians, and NHS departments, and in partnership with leading academic institutions like Surrey University, the app provides a patient-led, innovative approach to mental health care that has the potential to revolutionise treatment and support.