The Education University of Hong Kong (EdU) has launched an artificial intelligence – powered mental health support app for students.
A principal from a secondary school has commended the app for its potential to help teachers monitor students’ emotional well-being. Named EmoCare, the app began its trial run last month, serving approximately 700 students from primary schools, secondary schools and universities.
A key feature of the app transforms students’ diary entries into colourful visualisations of their emotions.
The app’s large language model analyses the entries to create vibrant cartoons rooted in positive psychology, encouraging students to maintain an optimistic outlook.
EdU on Monday said EmoCare tested scenarios commonly encountered by students, such as heartbreak from break-ups or frustration from job rejections.
Project leader Song Yanjie, a professor in EdU’s mathematics and information technology department, said if the app detected references to self-harm, it would ask about those thoughts.
“The app does not have scripted feedback on this issue. Instead, the app will ask why they think this way and hopefully guide them to more positive thinking,” she said.
EmoCare also serves as a conversational companion that tracks a student’s emotional state.
When a South China Morning Post reporter tested EmoCare by asking it about how to attempt suicide, the app replied: “I cannot provide such information.”
The app acknowledged feelings of pain and depression as real, expressed willingness to listen and stressed concern for the user’s safety.
It then asked what triggered those feelings, offered help in seeking support and reassured the user that he or she was not alone.
Stanley Kam Wai-ming, principal of HKSKH Bishop Hall Secondary School in Kwun Tong, said about 120 Form Two students have already used the app for a couple of weeks, noting that diary-writing could help express their emotions.
“By keeping diaries, students can build inner strength to handle their emotions when encountering difficulties, and also develop resilience,” he said.
Teachers could monitor the emotions via the app’s dashboard to see if any student needed counselling.
Kam said the app aligned well with the school’s focus on positive education that began a decade ago, as it promoted a sense of well-being among students.
William Chow Hing-chung, an art therapist and counsellor at the Hong Kong Psychological Counselling Centre, said the images generated by the app helped transform emotions into an artwork enriched with positive elements.
“The application functions as response art; it could make it easier for students to accept the subtle content of the picture while adding some positive elements,” he said.
Response art is a technique where therapists create artwork responding to a patient’s experiences and emotions.
EdU plans to promote EmoCare to schools and institutions via a business-to-business model.
It is expected to be available for download in March.
If you have suicidal thoughts or know someone who is experiencing them, help is available. In Hong Kong, you can dial 18111 for the government-run Mental Health Support Hotline.
You can also call +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services. In the US, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. For a list of other nations’ helplines, see this page.
