Our clients
XenZone’s strategic research arm, XenZone Alliance, has a primary role to help develop an evidence base for digital therapeutic support and early help models in therapeutic support, with digital embedded within this model.
XenZone Alliance executes research and evaluation into current XenZone service delivery tools and models, which extends from purely digital services in Kooth and Qwell, to blended/integrated models of support within a wider commissioner-led model.
Working with academic partners and key players in the field of mental health is crucial. Our research is conducted in collaboration with external partners to ensure the research and evaluation remains independent.
We established an Advisory Group in 2018 to establish themes for future research and evaluation projects. The aim was to bring experts together to scope out a research programme to assess the contribution of Kooth as an online counselling and support service.
The group discussed research questions that need answering, such as:
If you’re interested in finding out more about the Advisory Group or would like to collaborate on a future project, please get in touch.
XenZone has been involved in various research projects that have been published in peer-reviewed journals over recent years. The first was with Dr Terry Hanley (Programme Lead for the PhD in Counselling Psychology and a highly renowned researcher), specifically in the field of online counselling for young people. He has gone on to help develop and supervise other research projects on our service, Kooth.
Dr Hanley’s research investigated and identified the presence of a Therapeutic Alliance (a key factor in good outcomes for therapy) in online counselling, using Kooth. Read more.
Other research into outcomes of online counselling on Kooth include an investigation into the appropriate use of routine evaluation measures such as YP-CORE in online services. This was published in the international journal, Pastoral Care in Education. Read more.
The Education Policy Institute’s 2017 report offers a fascinating insight into the efficacy of online counselling for children and young people. The report focuses exclusively on Kooth online counselling, our user data and feedback from Kooth users and commissioners.
The urgent need for mental health services in the UK has never been greater. Delays in care mean low-level issues are escalating. We are in a high-pressure situation where people at one end of the spectrum are in acute need of support and those at the other risk heading in the same direction. Our founder Elaine Bousfield looks to the solutions needed to address this crisis.
Digital counselling is in the right place at the right time. Though established for over a decade, it now seems to have ‘come of age’ at a time when a lot is being asked of the NHS and as mental health has taken political centre stage. Given the evidence for early intervention, and progress towards transformation, it is time to acknowledge the role online counselling and emotional wellbeing services must play in achieving universal service delivery.