Case Study: Lumi Nova and Maisie
How Masie overcame her worry of starting a new school with the help of Lumi Nova.
Masie is an 11-year girl from Billericay in Essex who became so troubled with anxious thoughts a couple of years ago that she no longer wanted to attend school, gymnastics or go to a sleepover at her friend’s house.
According to her mum Danielle: “Maisie became obsessively worried that I would forget to collect her after school or would be late for pick-up. Getting Maisie to school each morning sparked a battle of wills. It would start the night before school with tears and tantrums. We tried every tactic from reasoning to reassuring from pleading to bargaining. Before school, Maisie would start crying saying she had a headache or a tummy ache, begging not to have to go to school - these ailments would generally disappear by mid-morning according to the school when I called them to check on her wellbeing.”
“We tried every tactic from reasoning to reassuring from pleading to bargaining. Before school, Maisie would start crying saying she had a headache or a tummy ache, begging not to have to go to school. ”
Danielle became very concerned when it escalated to the point that Maise who was normally bubbly and talkative became pre-occupied and started to withdraw from the everyday activities that she usually loved and enjoyed doing. She brought Maisie to see their family GP but he didn’t think Maisie met the threshold criteria for referral for support.
While these coping mechanisms may relieve anxiety in the short term, they may ultimately cause more harm by negatively reinforcing the idea that the world is a dangerous place and that children are helpless to keep themselves safe.
Masie’s scenario is not uncommon in the UK. In 2019, 75 per cent of children and young people experiencing a mental health problem are unable to access any support at all. (Mental Health Foundation).
Half of all mental health problems start before the age of 14. Early intervention is crucial to prevent problems becoming chronic or lifelong. Early intervention really matters in young people’s mental health. Untreated, mental health issues can lead to life-long consequences.
“Maisie’s school was very supportive, they organised counselling for Maisie which helped but when lockdown happened, this all stopped, and Maisie’s issues momentarily disappeared as she was more than happy to do her school lessons from home.
We were worried about the future as Maisie was starting year 7 in a new school. We were dreading the new school term and the prospect of Maisie’s anxiety re-emerging again. During the summer the Billericay school got in touch to say they were aware of Maisie’s situation and had a new mental health app for Maisie – an NHS funded mobile game - the first mobile game-based therapy to treat anxiety disorders in children.”
Lumi Nova has been funded by NHS England via the NHS Improvement’s SBRI Healthcare programme and developed in partnership with the Anxiety and Depression in Young People (AnDY) Research Clinic at the University of Reading, and MindTech UK.
According to Dr Claire Hill, Clinical Psychologist, Postdoctoral Researcher at The University of Reading “Lumi Nova is an engaging game that has demonstrated safety and is an important exemplar as the first MHRA approved mobile game for paediatric anxiety that gamifies exposure therapy – the key component of CBT and the gold standard for treating anxiety - and should be considered for implementation by schools, local authorities and in routine clinical care.”
Lumi Nova provides a choice of 14 goals which children need to achieve to overcome their anxiety issue e.g. social anxiety, separation anxiety and phobias. Maisie started with the goals of “Feel comfortable going to school”. In the game you go on an intergalactic adventure and along the way build skills to self-manage worries. Maisie could play for as long as she wished. To avoid excessive gaming the game has daily time limits of up to 40 mins after the first play session. “After playing for only a couple of weeks we noticed a big improvement”
“After playing for only a couple of weeks we noticed a big improvement”
Speaking about Lumi Nova, Maisie said: “It worked because when I was doing all the challenges it made me feel like, Oh, I know what’s happening now.”
“It worked because when I was doing all the challenges it made me feel like, Oh, I know what’s happening now.”