Screening to Supports (S2S)

What is Screening-to-Supports (S2S)?

MHA launched our Online Screening Program in 2014 and has collected over 4 million screens to date. This translates to up to 3,000 screenings per day. The vast majorities of these screeners are under the age of twenty-five, screen positive for the condition for which they screen, yet have not ever been diagnosed with a mental health condition. Most people upon receiving results ask for general help—additional information about mental health; and online program or app; worksheets or coping skills to use at home; referrals to local providers; or a phone number for immediate support or guidance.

We knew we could do more. And we have.

MHA's Screening to Supports (S2S) is an interactive online space for individuals to find tools they can use after screening to better their mental health. S2S provides customized results, drawing from resources in each of four domains: information and resources (“Learn”); information about and referrals to care, services, and supports (“Treatment and Help”); do-it-yourself tools (“DIY”); and online engagement with peers (“Connect”).

Examples of the content to be offered in each domain are as follows:

• “Learn” information and resources on mental health conditions - MHA creates user friendly content to help educate people on what they need to know to start feeling better. Articles explore both signs and symptoms of mental illnesses and tips and tools to build resiliency and coping skills.
• “Treatment and Help” information about treatments and services and referrals to care, services, and supports – MHA provides a vetted list of national, local, and online resources available.  Online with opportunities to see people virtually and in person, MHA provides information about treatment options so individuals can become informed when making the best treatment decisions for their recovery.
• “DIY” do-it-yourself tools – People are seaching for online options to support feeling better.  MHA provides a vetted list of worksheets, apps, videos, and other DIY options people can use to learn more and build skills towards recovery. 
• “Connect” engagement with peers – Individuals should not have to struggle alone.  MHA provides links to online communities, groups, stories, and online connections to people with similar concerns. We believe a collective effort to get well is the best approach to recovery.

In addition, some of the content and resources included in S2S are gathered into informational buckets, with descriptive, but non-condition-specific labels such as “self-harm,” “anger,” “stress,” “life trauma,” “fear,” etc., based on the activity of site users, to make navigation to those buckets of resources as easy as possible.

What’s Different about S2S?

S2S goes beyond typical “search” engines, which focus on the past behavior of individuals. S2S looks forward, anticipating what each help-seeking individual will want and need after receiving a screening result.

• S2S offers customized results to help-seeking individuals, not a list of general resources or resources only offered by the site owner. Traditionally, an individual seeking information about depression, for example, will search depression with a web browser and find general resources, which may or may not be helpful, or only those offered by a single entity. MHA is exploring how customized results based on information provided by each user increases utilization and can decrease untreated mental illness.
• S2S is a user and data driven approach. The domains and information provided are continually selected based on feedback from hundreds of thousands of screeners to ensure content stays relevant. We use data to evaluate which content performs best to provide more supports of that kind. We also receive ongoing feedback from users to help develop new content. All content is written, designed, and promoted with the user in mind.

Want more information or to get involved? Send us an email at info@mentalhealthamerica.net