App Profile: Speek

Supporting a child who self-harms is overwhelming for everyone involved. Speek will help you and your loved ones go from harming to healing.

"I needed help to know how to behave. I am a parent not a carer. We don't have the professional education to be a therapist. I just wanted some kind of tools instead of being helpless.”

The mother of an 11 year-old that has been self-harming for the past 3 years.

At Speek, we are bringing psychological support to parents of young people who self-harm in a digestible & convenient format, delivered by our team of Clinical Psychologists and Behavioural Experts. We know that the parent journey when the child is self-harming is one of isolation, hopelessness, overwhelm & exhaustion. At Speek, we believe parents need the following to navigate this:

A close-knit community where they can support and learn from each other
Access to experts on a regular basis
Access to psychological support & training



Our close-knit community will provide you with an environment which fosters support, guidance & learning. 94% of parents who have used Speek are still engaging in their communities weekly. By opting to join the community upon joining Speek, you will be matched to:

A Behavioural Expert to guide you 1-to-1 through your recovery journey. You’ll be able to chat with them at your convenience, while also having the option to book online 1-to-1 sessions with them
A Speek Circle containing up to 15 members in total, consisting of parents and led by your assigned Behavioural Expert

Our clinical team will put out new content regularly to ensure you have access to a library of resources. Your Behavioural Expert will build up a profile for you that is based on your individual needs, enabling the platform to recommend specific resources to you. Moreover, on a weekly basis, you will have the option to join sessions led by one of our Clinical Psychologists.

As such, using a combination of content, activities and sessions, we will be delivering personalised micro-interventions that are based on Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). This is due to the clinical research showing that parent-only interventions teaching Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Skills have a direct effect on the child's frequency of self harm as well as improving family functioning and the parent's own mental health. We use a process-based approach to cater for your individual needs when delivering these interventions, honouring your family's complexity and unique circumstances. This approach takes into account whatever problems may be surrounding your child’s self-harm - we have worked on the following so far:

Disordered eating
Relationships
Hopelessness, exhaustion & overwhelm
Autism
Parent depression
Substance misuse
Reacting to a self-harm episode
Communication
Fear, anxiety & hypervigilance
Anger & frustration
Boundary setting
Managing expectations
Safety keeping
Responding to threats of self harm
Guilt & shame


Your content recommendations will be updated regularly as you engage with the platform, catering for the right needs at the right time. Our expert team will publish activities based on the week’s session, which will be accessible to all parents on the platform.


Speek is a new platform, so this is only the beginning. We will be making updates to our services on a weekly basis, so expect Speek to only get better. This is an opportunity for you as a parent not only to empower yourself and bring clinical support to your child and family, but also, to identify whatever struggles come your way, and ask us to help you overcome them. Our mission is to continue to build this platform through your feedback. All of our services are currently FREE.