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Absolutely! Headstrong is a 100% free app, thanks to the funding from Te Whatu Ora. That means no subscriptions or in-app purchases to worry about.

If you ever have thoughts about harming yourself or others, it's crucial to reach out to someone who understands and is trained to help.

For immediate crisis support and helplines, please visit the Mental Health.org website.

If you or someone else might be unsafe right now, dial 111.

For urgent mental health support, contact the nearest Crisis Assessment Team to you here.

If you're seeking mental health resources, you can find them on our Get Help Now page.

Headstrong was developed by a team of experts in youth mental health from the University of Auckland, working alongside rangatahi/young people. Our content is based on proven strategies to strengthen mental health and build resilience. It is grounded in a holistic wellbeing model called Te Whare Tapa Whā.

Headstrong uses evidence-based and culturally responsive psychological and psychotherapy strategies to help you strengthen your mental health, be more resilient, aid in stress relief, have better relationships, and more. The skills are based on:

• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT): How to understand and change negative thoughts and behaviours to feel better
• Positive psychology: How to enhance your positive emotions, grow your strengths, and keep a grateful mindset
• Mindfulness: How to stay calm and in the moment to feel more at peace – like deep breathing and other breathing exercises
• Interpersonal skills: How to get along with others, communicate better, and build strong relationships with friends and family
• Harm-minimisation strategies: How to stay safe around drugs and alcohol and other addictive things

These strategies are commonly used by counsellors and psychologists because research shows they work effectively for most individuals, most of the time.

Download the app for iPhone/Android (or access the desktop version) and start using it regularly. Just like working out makes your body stronger, practising self-care skills with Headstrong strengthens your mental wellness and emotional wellbeing. Starting as a beginner, you'll form healthy habits and notice the difference over time—learning coping skills, feeling happier, handling stress better, and having better relationships.
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Remember, we have different courses and you can try one or all of them. As part of our goal to be the best mental health app for our rangatahi, we are constantly adding new features so keep checking your app for these.

No, our guides are not real people. They are virtual/digital chatbots designed to deliver content through brief, scripted conversations based on predefined rules. We don't use generative AI like ChatGPT, so our chatbots can't generate their own original content.

You can choose your own guide from a selection that represents the diversity of young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. We work closely with rangatahi to ensure that our guides sound relatable, engaging, and helpful.

We're constantly working to enhance the Headstrong wellness app, incorporating the latest research, data, and feedback to improve all aspects of the mobile app user experience. Stay tuned and check-in on your email to find out when new content is added or updated.

We're always eager to improve the Headstrong app further. Please send us your feedback at contact@headstrong.org.nz.

We share our findings in scientific journals. You can read more about this  on our Research publications page.