What is the goal of this study?
We want SOVA to be a place a young person who feels anxious or depressed can go to to find information and support from others who have been there too. We’ve done interviews and focus groups to help us design the site. We found that people think the site is easy to use. Now we are trying to make the site more interactive – by growing a community of users who will read our blog, comment on our blog to share their opinion and experience, and even write for our blog as well!
What do I do if I have technology issues or questions?
Please tell us! We want to improve the website technology and make sure everything works. So if you have problems please let us know. You can email us or fill out a form.
Do I get compensated by participating?
Currently the research activity we are doing is just tracking how often people look at the site and comment – there is no compensation for this. If you want to be a blogging ambassador, if you take our 3 month survey, you will be compensated. We are working on getting more funding!
Can I comment?
Yes! Please comment! We want this blog to be not just information but information AND social support. We want you to share your opinion, your story, your advice. So someone can read the article and also learn from your experiences. Our goal is to grow a community of users who can share their opinions and experiences.
How do I get more involved?
Becoming a SOVA Ambassador! Find out more here.
Can I get therapy on this site?
No. Our goal is to provide education and social support, but not to provide therapy. The hope is for users to be more interested in seeking help for a mental health problem because they use the site.
The SOVA websites are monitored by moderators who have experience in behavioral health and are overseen by the project head, Dr. Radovic, a physician in pediatrics and adolescent specialist. Moderators provide support with answering questions and making sure conversations between peers are safe. They DO NOT provide online therapy but can help with a referral. If you are in need of further resources please see our resources page.”
If my parent joins wiseSOVA, can they see my comments on this site?
No! The sites are separate and anonymous. We do post similar topics on the same day on the blogs because we hope young people and their parents will start talking about some of these topics together. But we’re not trying to make them talk to each other online and definitely not through the sites.
Something we didn’t answer? Something you think we should add here? Please email us and ask!
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