Jessy is interested in the intersection of human geography, neuroscience, and mental health. Her PhD research explores how the technological promise of neuroscience is advanced through young people’s encounters with eMental health services and smartphone applications (apps) that are designed to assist users in moderating and managing symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress. The research is situated within the UK context of a changing landscape of mental healthcare with transitions towards digital services.
Interviews and open-space advisory groups at a mental health drop-in centre for young people will ground this research in young peoples, mental health professionals and stakeholders’ perspectives. Jessy draws on theoretical work within cultural geographies, new materialism, and poststructuralism to conceptualise relations between mental health technologies, human users, and the social environment; and to problematise how apps - through active and passive functionalities - attempt to capture thoughts, feelings, affects and emotions associated with situated depressive and anxious states.