Licensed Trade Charity announces free of charge access to mental well-being App Woebot® for licensed trade people across the UK

During this COVID-19 crisis the Licensed Trade Charity continues to support licensed trade people across the UK with practical advice, emotional support and financial grants. Requests for support have grown by more than 300% during March 2020 (compared to March 2019) and we continue to develop and expand the services we offer to meet the needs of licensed trade people during the current situation.

Through CareFirst, who deliver our 24/7 Helpline, we can offer the Woebot® App, free of charge for three months to people in the licensed trade.

Woebot® is a personal, emotional guide that will check in with you every day to see how you are doing. He’ll help track your mood, change your thinking, set goals, practice mindfulness and gain insights into your patterns. Woebot® will help you feel better in the moment by walking you through techniques proven to work. All in fun, brief, daily conversations.

Woebot® has been adapted to give specific support during the COVID-19 crisis and will work with users daily to reduce stress, combat isolation and help support with the symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Lesley Davidson, Director of CareFirst says “When accessing Woebot® through CareFirst, if the bot detects crisis language from the user, it will confirm with the user, and then provide resources – specifically directing them to one of our BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) accredited and employed counsellors.”

This valuable tool is offered to the licensed trade community at no cost through the Licensed Trade Charity with our thanks to CareFirst.

Licensed Trade Charity Chief Executive Officer, Jim Brewster says “At a time when our sector balances huge emotional and economic pressures it continues to pull together, collaborate and support each other I’m so pleased to be able to offer this tool, free of charge, to further support their mental wellbeing at this incredibly difficult time.”

To download Woebot® visit the App Store or wherever you usually get your Apps from or follow this link – you will need to use code cfgen to access the app free of charge for three months.

Care First are a leading provider of Employee Assistance Services.

Woebot® uses cognitive behavioural technology (CBT) to check in to the caller’s mood, before helping them ‘reframe’ negative thoughts with the aim of improving them. The idea is to provide a daily stimulus to help people think more positively, by supplying them with techniques that could help.

Woebot® is currently used in more than 130 countries. The automated service is also trained to spot “crisis” language, which CareFirst says will then trigger the user to be directed to a counsellor accredited and employed by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

Frequently Asked Questions

Mental Health Support during COVID-19