A free mental health platform that helps individuals cope with life experiences, from stress and parenting to caregiving and nutrition, will be available to all Bartholomew County residents this spring.
The platform is called CredibleMind and requires participants to take a brief assessment to diagnose mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. Once the assessment is completed, the participant will receive over 20,000 resources to guide him in dealing with these issues.
The County Commission approved a three-year contract with CredibleMind. This agreement costs $8,910 per year plus a $2,000 implementation fee. The platform is scheduled to be publicly available on April 30th. The cost will be paid from the county jail's administrative fund, said Chief Deputy Sheriff Maj. John Martoshia.
The Bartholomew County Sheriff's Department is working with Cheryl Boffo of the Mental Health Initiative to bring the CredibleMind platform to the Columbus area. According to Boffo, each evaluation takes him just under five minutes. Boffo said once the assessment is complete, a full range of tools will be available to anyone using the digital platform on their smartphone or computer.
Boffo said about 80% of the content on the CredibleMind platform comes from the University of California, Berkeley, and the mental health information is professionally vetted. But the remaining 20% includes information specific to the Bartholomew County area and includes local resources vetted by both United Way and social workers, she said.
“Right now, about 75% of people are looking for mental health care wherever they can find it, and that's often on Tik Tok and YouTube,” Boffo said. “None of those things have been scrutinized.”
Although confidentiality is maintained, the CredibleMind platform tracks what types of mental health issues are prevalent in the community, so additional resources are available to address a city or county's most pressing issues. Mr. Boffo said that it is possible to invest in
The City of Fishers has already acquired the platform for residents. Anyone interested in learning how the platform works can visit fishers.crediblemind.com, Boffo said.
