What’s the project?
Researchers from Imperial College University are inviting students to take part in a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) project to support the development and evaluation of Torchlight, a digital mental health app designed to support young people while they are waiting for mental health treatment.
Many young people experience long waiting times for mental health support, during which they may feel unsupported, isolated, and forgotten. Torchlight has been developed to provide accessible, peer-informed digital support during this waiting period, including shared experiences, wellbeing activities, and support resources designed to promote social connection.
Torchlight has already been co-produced with over 100 young people and professionals since 2024. This phase of the project focuses on understanding how the app works in practice and refining it based on lived experience, including engagement, usability, and social connection.
Young people with lived experience will act as co-researchers, helping to:
- Refine the app’s features and content
- Improve how the study is delivered
- Interpret research findings
- Shape future development and implementation
The findings will help inform how digital support can be integrated into mental health services, with potential to benefit students at Imperial College London and a wider population of young people waiting for mental health support.
Project Background
Demand for mental health support among young people continues to increase, with many experiencing long waiting periods before accessing care. These delays are linked to worsening mental health and increased distress yet support during this period is often limited to signposting to generic resources, which many young find difficult to engage with.
Digital interventions offer a promising way to provide accessible support during these waiting periods, but many existing tools struggle with engagement and relevance. Social connection is a key protective factor for mental health, yet it is rarely embedded effectively within digital tools.
Torchlight has been developed to address this gap by embedding social support within a digital intervention, helping students feel less alone while waiting for care. This study aims to evaluate and refine Torchlight in a real-world student population and to understand how students engage with the app while they are waiting for support.
This project is funded by the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), hosted by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in partnership with Imperial College London.
Find out more
The research team are looking for 4 co-researchers to take part in a series of 6 PPI workshops over approximately 6 months.
You will be asked to:
- Take part in 6 small online group workshops (approximately 1.5 hours each)
- Share your experiences of waiting for mental health support
- Provide feedback on the Torchlight app and help refine its features and content
- Help improve how the study is run, including recruitment and engagement
- Contribute to understanding what makes digital support useful, engaging, and meaningful
You will also be involved in the research process itself. You will::
- Refine interview questions and study materials
- Help inform findings, including identifying key themes and patterns in the data
- Contribute to interpreting results and deciding what matters most
- Have the opportunity to
- Help shape recommendations for future development and implementation
The team are looking for young people who meet the following criteria:
- Aged 16-25 years
- Have lived experience of waiting for any type of mental health treatment (e.g., CAMHS referral, cognitive behavioural therapy, talking therapies, medication treatment)
- Able to attend online workshops on Zoom
Commitment
- 6 online workshops over approximately 6 months
- The first workshop will be on the 15h July, 6:00-8:00pm
- All workshops will last 1.5 hours with the exception of the first which will last 2 hours
- Sessions will be scheduled flexibly based on availability
Young people will be compensated for their time in line with NIHR guidance:
- £27.50 per hour for participation in sessions, plus an online allowance of £5 per meeting
Young people will also:
- Contribute to meaningful research
- Be trained in conducting semi-structured interviews and basic thematic analysis
- Help shape future mental health support for young people waiting for treatment
- Gain experience in co-production and research
To apply, please complete this application form:
https://imperial.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6RUh27cH6TQqgjY
Wednesday 15th July, 9am
If you have any questions or would like to express interest in another way, please contact:
Olly Taylor
Email:[email protected]
Please note that the McPin Foundation regularly promotes opportunities on behalf of other institutions; we are not responsible for the continuation or contents of further correspondence with any project partners where we are not listed as the project main point of contact.
