Parent’s guide to using Lumi Nova: Digital therapy enabling children to self manage their worries.

Who is Lumi Nova for?

Lumi Nova is for 7-12 year olds facing difficulties with anxiety, including:

  • Phobias  e.g. Being afraid of spiders or insects, heights, being near dogs, or the dark.

  • Social anxiety e.g. Feeling worried about making new friends, going to social events.

  • Separation anxiety  e.g. Unable to sleep alone, worried about being away from parents, going to school.

Lumi Nova provides Exposure Therapy and should not be used with children who have severe anxiety, are in crisis, have suicidal thoughts or at risk of self harm. See Instructions For Use.

Science behind Lumi Nova

Lumi Nova includes two of the most effective parts of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) that are proven to help treat fears, worries and anxiety. These two parts are psychoeducation - learning about worry, and exposure therapy - facing your fears.

You start by setting some goals for your child to work towards, and then they take on small steps, breaking down their worries and learning that they can face their fears and build their confidence.

Benefits of using Lumi Nova

Use Lumi Nova to help your child:

  • Learn life long skills to self manage their worries 

  • Learn how to break down big worries into smaller, manageable challenges

  • Increase resilience & confidence

  • Better understand and talk about worries through a playful experience

  • Get instant access to a highly effective evidence based therapy

Getting started

Access to Lumi Nova is only available through licensed healthcare providers in the UK. If you’ve been offered Lumi Nova - here’s how to get started:

  1. You will get a text message from us with a link to get started.

    Tap on the link in the text message to watch a short video, agree to the terms and conditions and complete a short survey. You’ll then receive another text message with a link to download the game along with your secret game key.

  2. You will need to spend just a few minutes to set up Lumi Nova for your child.

    Download and activate the Lumi Nova app with your secret game key on an iPhone, iPad, Android smartphone or tablet that your child will play on. You'll then need to shortlist 3 goals for your child to choose from.

    You can only use the game key on one device - if you need help setting up Lumi Nova, please email us on support@bfb-labs.com.

  3. Support your child as they play and grow braver!

    Lumi Nova works best with parent/guardian support. Sit with your child as they play and attempt in game challenges and watch as they grow braver and build confidence! When your child is about to take on real life challenges, we’ll send you a text message to let you know. Be sure to check in regularly and support them with their real life challenges!

FAQs

  • Lumi Nova works best when:

    1. Parents schedule a regular day/time to sit together with their child to use Lumi Nova

    2. Lumi Nova is used at least once a week (and ideally 2-3 times a week)

    3. Children are supported by parents to complete real life (out of game) action challenges

    4. Children are supported to read if they have difficulties reading

    5. Parents check in with children along the way to ask them what they’ve learnt

    6. Parents complete the weekly survey sent via SMS to help keep track of progress

    1. Normalise worries - ‘It’s ok to worry - everyone does it!

    2. Model bravery - ‘I worry too sometimes about _____, but I’ve learned to be brave by _____.’ 

    3. Show confidence - ‘Go on, have a go! I know you can do it!’

    4. Make it fun - ‘Worries can be scary, but we’re going to have a fun adventure together!’

    5. Take a pause - ‘You seem really worried, let’s take a deep breath and then we’ll try again soon.’

    6. Track progress - ‘Think of all the challenges you’ve already completed!’

  • Exposure therapy is part of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, which is the gold standard NHS recommended treatment for young people with anxiety.

    Exposure therapy has been shown to be the "active ingredient" of CBT for young people, but it can be difficult to access due to cost, time constraints, or long waiting times.

    Exposure therapy is the practice of exposing yourself to situations that you are worried about, which helps you learn you can cope with your fears. As part of the process, you break your worries down into smaller steps and tackle them one at a time, building confidence.

    Want to know more about exposure therapy? Read more here

  • Lumi Nova is only available through authorised providers. Click on Get Access to see a list of areas where Lumi Nova is currently available.

Have a question or need support?

Contact support@bfb-labs.com