Introducing GEM: A Mobile App for Mental Health Supporters

The Support Gap That GEM Was Built to Fill

There are many mental health support services offered by the NHS and the private sector that help individuals with their mental health needs. Looking after your mental health is a big deal, and far too many people don't treat it seriously enough. When your child, a family member or a friend starts having issues, it can be really hard to know how to give the best help possible.

You're not alone in feeling unprepared. Research commissioned by YoungMinds found that many parents struggle with mental health conversations. Approximately 90% of people with serious mental illness rely on family members and friends for daily practical and emotional support. Most of these supporters get no training, no guidance, no recognition for the essential role they play.

The numbers tell a grim story. When you're supporting someone through mental health challenges, chances are you're struggling yourself. Carers UK found that 35% of mental health carers have 'bad' or 'very bad' mental health themselves. 57% feel overwhelmed constantly. Half of all carers report feeling lonely. Becoming a carer is linked to measurable increases in psychological distress that can stick around for years. If you've felt isolated, anxious, or completely out of your depth while trying to help someone you love, there are 1.5 million other people across the UK going through the same thing right now.

The current mental health system can't keep up, plain and simple. Despite treating a record 3.79 million people in 2023-24, average waiting times for community mental health care hit 727 days. That's nearly two years. 16,522 people are waiting 18+ months for treatment. Families and friends have become the default support system during the most critical periods, not by choice but because there's no alternative.

Meanwhile, those providing day-to-day support get virtually nothing. 75% of carers haven't had a formal assessment in the last year. Local authority spending on carer support has actually declined to just £183 million. Compare that to the £184 billion worth of care that carers provide annually. The math doesn't add up.

Why GEM Takes a "Be Prepared" Approach

Decades of research point to one thing: preparedness makes all the difference. Caregivers who feel prepared, who have the knowledge and skills they need, experience significantly less burden, less depression, better quality of life. Their loved ones do better too. Lower relapse rates. Shorter hospital stays. Better outcomes when supporters are educated and involved.

International research on family psychoeducation proves this works. Relatively short interventions, as brief as 4-6 weeks, produce meaningful, lasting improvements. These programs reduce relapse rates in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, improve recovery, and enhance outcomes across conditions including major depression, OCD, and anxiety disorders.

So why doesn't everyone get this? Good question. That's why we built GEM around a "Be Prepared" philosophy. We're not trying to turn you into a therapist or replace professional services. We're giving you the knowledge, tools, and access to professionals that actually makes the difference between feeling helpless and feeling equipped to help.

What GEM Offers: Tools Built for Real Supporter Needs

The GEM Mobile App is designed for everyone actively supporting a loved one during their darkest days. We believe it's essential for everyone to educate themselves and learn what works and what doesn't. Here's what we're building:

Knowledge Base: Evidence-Based Guidance When You Need It

Our curated library will include articles, audio content, and videos covering the full spectrum of mental health challenges and supporter strategies. Whether you're trying to understand what your loved one is experiencing, learning how to have difficult conversations, or figuring out how to maintain your own wellbeing while providing support, you'll find evidence-based information that actually makes sense.

This isn't academic theory. It's grounded in clinical research and the lived experience of thousands of supporters who've been through this before you. We cover recognising early warning signs, crisis management, long-term recovery strategies, self-care for supporters. All content is reviewed by mental health professionals to ensure accuracy while staying genuinely useful for real-world situations.

Personal Journal: Track Progress, Identify Patterns

Keeping a record of your notes, thoughts, considerations, progress, and failures helps to understand the situation for what it is. The journal feature does more than record-keeping. It helps you spot patterns and make informed decisions. When you're in the thick of supporting someone through mental health challenges, it's stupidly easy to lose track of what's working, what triggers difficulties, how things have changed over time. Your journal becomes a way to see the bigger picture when you're stuck in the weeds.

Having a detailed record of what's been happening can transform conversations with healthcare professionals when your loved one finally gets that appointment. Instead of vague generalities, you can provide specific examples and patterns. Mental health professionals will tell you that detailed information from family and friends dramatically improves their ability to make accurate assessments and develop treatment plans that actually work.

The journal is private and secure. You control what you share and with whom.

Therapist Network: Connecting You With Professional Support

We're building a network of therapists across the UK who understand the unique challenges of supporting someone with mental health issues. Finding the right professional help shouldn't add to your stress, so we're connecting with verified therapists who specialise in working with both individuals experiencing mental health challenges and those supporting them.

Our therapist directory will include specialists across different conditions, therapeutic approaches, and locations. You'll be able to search by expertise (anxiety, depression, psychosis, eating disorders, addiction), preferred therapy type (CBT, family therapy, trauma-focused approaches), and practical stuff like location, availability, whether they accept NHS referrals or work privately. Each therapist profile will show their qualifications, areas of expertise, how they work with families and supporters, and how to connect with them.

Here's something many supporters don't realise: you can benefit from therapy yourself. Not just to support your loved one better, but to process your own experiences, develop coping strategies, maintain your mental health under sustained strain. We're actively encouraging therapists who specialise in working with carers and family members to join our network, because supporters deserve professional support in their own right.

Events Calendar: Learning, Connection, and Community

We're building a calendar of online events that will be hosted by our team and our therapist network across the UK. These events will do several things: education, skill-building, peer connection, and honestly, just knowing you're not alone.

Our programming will include workshops on managing crisis situations, having difficult conversations, navigating the NHS system, maintaining your own wellbeing. Q&A sessions with mental health professionals. Peer support groups for people supporting loved ones with similar conditions. Discussion forums where you can share experiences and learn from others who've faced similar challenges.

All events will be held online. Accessible regardless of your location or caring responsibilities. We'll record most sessions so you can catch up when it fits your schedule. Being a supporter means your time is rarely your own. We get that. Many events will be free, with some premium workshops at accessible prices. We'll offer bursaries for supporters experiencing financial hardship.

The events aren't just about learning. They're about community. Half of all carers report feeling lonely. Many describe feeling like the only person in the world going through their particular situation. Our events will create spaces where you can connect with others who genuinely understand. Where you don't have to explain or justify. Where you can speak honestly about the difficulties without judgment.

How GEM Complements Professional Services

GEM works alongside NHS and private mental health services, not as a replacement. The evidence is clear that peer support, family education, and carer preparedness work best as additions to professional treatment, not substitutes.

We're building GEM to fit into the existing mental health ecosystem in several key ways:

During the wait for professional services. With average NHS mental health waiting times approaching two years in many areas, GEM provides education, coping strategies, and community support during the critical period when your loved one is deteriorating but hasn't yet accessed treatment. 80% of people's mental health worsens while waiting for NHS care. Having knowledge and tools during this period helps you provide better support and potentially prevent crises.

Between appointments. Even when your loved one is receiving professional treatment, appointments are often weeks or months apart. GEM helps you navigate the periods in between, implement strategies recommended by clinicians, track progress, recognize when to seek urgent help. The journal feature specifically supports continuity of care by helping you communicate important information to professionals efficiently.

When professional services end. Most NHS mental health treatment is time-limited, typically 6-12 sessions. When formal treatment concludes, the recovery journey continues. Supporters often become the primary source of ongoing assistance. GEM provides sustained access to knowledge, strategies, and community support throughout this longer-term recovery process.

For your own wellbeing. Whilst your loved one may access professional mental health services, you as a supporter typically have no equivalent support. GEM addresses this gap by providing resources specifically for supporter wellbeing, stress management, and mental health maintenance. Our therapist network includes professionals who work with carers. Our peer support community offers connection with others who understand the unique stresses of this role.

Enhancing professional care. When used thoughtfully, GEM can actually improve the effectiveness of professional services. Detailed journals help clinicians understand the full picture of someone's mental health between appointments. Educational content helps you implement therapeutic strategies at home. Connection with therapists through our network provides additional support that complements NHS care. When families are educated and involved, clinical outcomes improve significantly. That's not us saying it. That's what the research shows, consistently, across multiple studies and conditions.

The "Be Prepared" Philosophy in Practice

Our "Be Prepared" approach isn't about having all the answers. It's about having knowledge, tools, and support when you need them.

Knowing what to look for. Understanding early warning signs. Recognizing when situations are escalating. Identifying patterns that indicate what helps and what doesn't.

Having strategies ready. Knowing what to say (and what not to say) during difficult moments. Having crisis management plans in place. Understanding how to balance support with boundaries.

Understanding the system. Knowing how to access NHS services, what private options exist, how to advocate effectively, what your rights are as a carer.

Maintaining your own wellbeing. Recognising that you can't pour from an empty cup. Having strategies for managing your own stress. Knowing when to seek help for yourself.

Connecting with others who understand. Finding community with people who've faced similar challenges. Learning from their experiences. Giving and receiving support.

Being prepared doesn't mean being perfect. It means being equipped. Having somewhere to turn when you're out of your depth. Knowing you're not alone.

Join Us in Building Something That Matters

GEM, founded by Gareth Evans from Remaster Your Mind, is currently under development, built by a small team that includes people with lived experience of supporting loved ones through mental health challenges, mental health professionals, and technologists committed to creating genuinely useful tools. We're developing GEM because this gap in support needs to be filled. 1.5 million people across the UK are providing essential care with virtually no assistance. Supporters' mental health matters as much as patients'. The evidence shows that prepared, supported carers lead to better outcomes for everyone.

The research demonstrates that relatively modest interventions (education, support, skills training) can dramatically reduce carer burden whilst improving outcomes for the people they support. Yet these evidence-based approaches remain frustratingly scarce in practice. GEM exists to make these proven strategies accessible to everyone who needs them, delivered through a mobile app that fits into the reality of supporters' lives.

Our mobile app doesn't turn you into a therapist or a professional, but what it does do is give you knowledge and tools that can help just when you need them. Right now, as you're supporting someone through their darkest days, you deserve support too. You deserve preparation. You deserve to know you're doing a good job, even when it feels impossibly hard.

GEM won't solve the mental health crisis or replace professional services. But it fills the gap between what the system provides and what supporters need. The NHS treats nearly 4 million people but waits stretch to two years. Mental health costs the economy £300 billion annually but carer support receives £183 million. Supporters provide £184 billion worth of care whilst experiencing severe mental health decline themselves. GEM represents a practical, evidence-based step towards recognising and supporting the invisible workforce that mental health services depend upon.

When you're better prepared, better supported, and better connected, everyone benefits. That's the vision behind GEM. That's why we're building it. And that's why we believe it matters.

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References

UK Mental Health Statistics

Carers UK (December 2024). Facts About Carers. Available at: https://www.carersuk.org/media/ocxheq2c/facts-about-carers-dec-2024-final.pdf

Carers UK (2023). State of Caring Survey 2023: The impact of caring on health. Available at: https://www.carersuk.org/reports/state-of-caring-survey-2023-the-impact-of-caring-on-health/

Centre for Mental Health (March 2024). The economic and social costs of mental ill health. Available at: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications/the-economic-and-social-costs-of-mental-ill-health/

House of Commons Library (March 2024). Mental health statistics: prevalence, services and funding in England. Research Briefing SN06988. Available at: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06988/

Mental Health Foundation. Carers: statistics. Available at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/statistics/carers-statistics

Mind (2024). The Big Mental Health Report 2024. Available at: https://www.mind.org.uk/media/vbbdclpi/the-big-mental-health-report-2024-mind.pdf

NHS England (October 2024). England's NHS mental health services treat record 3.8 million people last year. Available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2024/10/englands-nhs-mental-health-services-treat-record-3-8-million-people-last-year/

Priory Group (2025). Mental health statistics UK 2025. Available at: https://www.priorygroup.com/mental-health/mental-health-statistics

Rethink Mental Illness (February 2025). New analysis of NHS data on mental health waiting times. Available at: https://www.rethink.org/news-and-stories/media-centre/2025/02/new-analysis-of-nhs-data-on-mental-health-waiting-times

Caregiver Burden and Support Research

Choo, C.C., et al. (December 2022). "Caregiver Burden among Caregivers of Patients with Mental Illness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." Healthcare, 10(12). Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9777672/

Lacey, R. & McMunn, A. (November 2023). "Psychological distress associated with transitions into and out of unpaid caregiving and modification by multigenerational caregiving in the UK." The Lancet Public Health. Available at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2023/nov/mental-health-declines-when-becoming-unpaid-carer

Shah, A.J., Wadoo, O., & Latoo, J. (2010). "Psychological Distress in Carers of People with Mental Disorders." British Journal of Medical Practitioners, 3(3). Available at: https://www.bjmp.org/content/psychological-distress-carers-people-mental-disorders

Evidence for Peer Support and Family Interventions

Bee, P., et al. (2015). "Carers' experiences of involvement in care planning: a qualitative exploration of the facilitators and barriers to engagement with mental health services." BMC Psychiatry, 15. Available at: https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-015-0590-y

Kim, H., et al. (2023). "Influence of preparedness on caregiver burden, depression, and quality of life in caregivers of people with disabilities." Frontiers in Public Health, 11. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1153588/full

White, S., et al. (2020). "The effectiveness of one-to-one peer support in mental health services: a systematic review and meta-analysis." BMC Psychiatry, 20. Available at: https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-020-02923-3

Additional Resources

LaingBuisson (December 2024). Mental Health Hospitals UK Market Report 5th Edition. Available at: https://www.laingbuisson.com/press-releases/independent-sector-mental-health-hospitals-market-valued-at-record-2-36-billion/

M&S and YoungMinds (October 2023). Understanding young people's mental health in 2023. Available at: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/marks-and-spencer-and-youngminds-launch-national-charity-partnership/