Alberta Health Services

Text4Mood was developed to deliver free, daily supportive text messages to patients in northern Alberta living with depression and anxiety, increasing their access to support services and improving their overall wellbeing.

The Text4Mood program allows subscribers to receive free, daily, supportive text messages which have been written by cognitive behavioural therapists in collaboration with service users.

Although this is not a substitute for face-to-face service for those who require it, the Text4Mood program provides an immediate support for patients living with depression and anxiety.

Text4Mood helps to increase immediate access to mental health supports for those living with depression and anxiety in smaller, rural and remote locations. This is the first of its kind in Alberta.

It is the product of research conducted by clinical trials held in Ireland and Canada, conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr. Vincent Agyapong. The trials suggested that daily supportive text messages have the potential to reduce depressive symptoms in patients with Major Depressive Disorder. In light of the positive outcomes observed in the two clinical trials, Alberta Health Services decided to launch a daily supportive text messages service for patients of the North Zone, which has a widely dispersed population with patients in remote locations.  The Text4Mood program allows subscribers to receive daily supportive text messages by simply texting the word “mood” to a designated number. There is no charge to subscribers for receiving daily supportive text messages.

Users

• It was anticipated that approximately 500 individuals would subscribe to the program in the first six months that it launched, however over 4000 individuals subscribed to the program within six weeks that it launched
• In the first year of its launch, over 10,000 individuals subscribed to the Text4Mood program
• Following an evaluation, 82 per cent of subscribers reported the text messages made them feel more hopeful about managing issues
• 77 per cent of subscribers reported they felt in charge of managing depression and anxiety
• 75 per cent of subscribers reported they felt connected to a support system
• 83 per cent of subscribers reported they felt the messages improved their overall mental well-being

“There are days where I feel low, my phone dings and when I look it’ll be a positive message. I look forward to receiving them. They’re encouraging, motivating and help me keep going.” - Text4Mood subscriber.