Who Turns to Digital Self-Help Tools for Mental Health Support and What Do They Value Most?
September 10th, 2025
Tina Coenen
September is Suicide Prevention Month. It’s the right time to share new insights from a student research project on digital self-help tools.
For the course Innovation Research – Challenges (UGent), students worked on a challenge provided by VLESP, which focused on their suicide prevention app BackUp. The app had already proven effective in supporting people during moments of crisis, yet it was noticeably less used by men than by women. This is concerning, given that men are at greater risk of dying by suicide.
Screenshots from the BackUp app.
Who Took Part in the Study?
The survey included 175 young adults aged 18–29 (33% men, 62% women, 5% non-binary). The data confirmed a well-established link: people in a stable relationship often report better mental health—or conversely, those with stronger mental health are more likely to be in stable relationships.
About half of the respondents reported experiencing mental health challenges regularly. Three out of four knew someone who had struggled with suicidal thoughts. One in three (!) participants reported having experienced such thoughts themselves.
Within this subsample of 61 participants, women and older participants (bear in mind that the maximum age was only 29 years old) were more likely to seek help than men and younger participants. They also drew from a wider range of support options—friends and family, professional care, and digital tools. Across the board, professional help remained the most frequently chosen pathway. Digital self-help tools, however, offer a unique benefit: they can serve as an anonymous, accessible first step toward seeking further help.
Awareness and Use of Digital Tools
A little over half of the participants knew about existing digital self-help tools, with the government helplines Awel and 1813 being the best-known.
Of those aware of such tools, half had tried one. Most rated their experience as neutral to positive, but three out of four eventually stopped using the tool. The reasons included:
· Preferring direct contact with a therapist
· Limited long-term effectiveness, complexity, or language barriers (English-only)
· Forgetting or losing motivation to keep using the tool
· Feeling better and no longer needing it
What Features Matter Most?
When asked which features they valued most in digital self-help tools, participants emphasized blended care (online tools complementing professional support) and strong privacy protections. By contrast, customization and gamification were seen as less important.
In line with the previous results on demographics, we found that women generally held more positive attitudes toward digital tools and were more open to using them in the future. Also, those reporting poorer mental health felt digital tools were less useful and were less likely to turn to them—ironically, the very group that could benefit most.
Looking Ahead
This blog post captures only part of the student team’s work. We thank both our students and VLESP for their valuable collaboration. If your organization has a real-world challenge to contribute, we’d love to hear from you!
As we close, let’s return to the theme of this year’s #SuicidePreventionMonth: Start a Conversation. Be the Difference. Digital tools can provide a first step, but human connection remains at the heart of prevention. Let’s keep taking care of each other-because truly listening can save lives.
