Innovation Story: Angela McMillan, Founder of Elemental Health

About Elemental Health

Angela McMillan is a Counseller who helps young people going through difficult times. She started her company, Elemental Health, in 2015 after working with schools and colleges.   

Building on her own lived experiences, Ange’s training is trauma sensitive and focused on creating an inclusive space for everyone. 

Ange has taught thousands of people around the world – including teachers, parents and children – using smart and helpful strategies that work.  

As well as Ange’s counselling to help teenagers overcome anxiety, she coaches parents and carers to understand how to support children who feel worried or anxious. 

Find out more about Ange and Elemental Health

Elemental Health × Media Cymru: Using immersive technologies to reduce anxiety in young people 

Elemental Health’s Media Cymru projects have focused on using immersive technologies, such as augmented reality (when you can see things on a screen that aren’t there in real life), to help young people feel less anxious or worried.  

Ideas Lab  

Ange joined Media Cymru’s Ideas Lab in 2022 where she started thinking about how technology could help young people’s anxiety.  

Seed Fund  

In 2023 she was awarded funding for the research and development of her idea.  

Development Fund 

By 2024, Ange teamed up with Cardiff Youth Service and design agency Sugar Creative. They produced an app using augmented reality to help young people feel calmer and manage their worries. The app was tested with young people and was proven to reduce their anxieties.  

We talked to Ange about her journey of building an augmented reality app for young people… 

About me and Elemental Health 

I’m Ange McMillan, I started Elemental Health to help young people who feel worried or anxious. We do this through talking therapies, helping parents and caregivers, and group activity.  

We work with young people who are anxious or neurodivergent, usually between 10 and 25 years old. 

Our project with Media Cymru 

We received funding from Media Cymru to create an augmenting therapy group programme for teenagers, aged 13-18. We wanted to see if using immersive technology could help reduce anxiety. 

Using Augmented Reality (AR) to reduce anxiety 

We asked: How can we use immersive technology to help young people feel less anxious? Augmented Reality (AR) is different from virtual reality (VR). AR adds things to the real world around you, while VR takes you to a completely different place. 

Building an AR Game 

I developed an AR game and tested it with young people to see if it could help reduce anxiety. I wanted to learn whether the technology was suitable to use therapeutically. After testing, we did more research and development (R&D) with Media Cymru’s Development Fund. 

Creating an AR Therapy Experience for young people 

With Sugar Creative and other partners, we built an AR therapy experience for use on a mobile phone. It’s meant to be used with a therapist or youth worker during a session. 

Imagine you’re in a new place, and a plant appears in front of you. This plant represents you. By mixing technology and therapy, we wanted to help reduce anxiety and make people feel more connected. 

From our pilot tests, we found that using AR in therapy helped reduce anxiety and made young people feel more connected. We’re going to do more tests in schools soon. 

Using technology in a creative and playful way 

I love using technology in playful and creative ways. Play therapy works well for young people, and it’s important for them to feel connected, even if they sometimes feel alone. 

We built our AR app from scratch because not many therapists use AR. Some therapists and Youth Services use gaming technologies – like Minecraft or Roblox – but in terms of developing something with a therapeutic approach, I don’t know of many.  

We have designed the app, but the hope is for young people to help design it in the future. 

View Elemental Health’s Augmenting Therapy Brochure for further information

Where the idea began… 

Over three years ago, I worked with YEPS Youth Service to help children who were worried about going back to school after COVID. There were many reasons for them not wanting to go back into education.  

We worked with the young people and asked them what they wanted, and they told us they liked gaming and innovation. This made me think about how many young people in Wales don’t have access to these things. 

These young people had visions for the future, but education wasn’t necessarily serving those needs. And that’s where my idea around an augmenting reality therapy experience started.  

Helping anxious young people through technology 

I wondered how we could use technology to help anxious young people. Many neurodivergent individuals don’t like traditional therapy, but they feel comfortable with technology. So, we wanted to use technology in a good way, with the help of young people and their families. 

Not every young person likes tech, like not everyone likes painting. So, we need to add more tools to help therapists and think about teaching therapists how to use technology in a safe and ethical way. 

Launching my new company – Augmenting Therapy 

I have set up a community interest company called Augmenting Therapy. This company uses immersive technology to help people through therapy.  

We are now working with more schools and partnering with a large mental health charity in Wales. 

Many young people, families, and schools want to access augmented reality (AR) therapy. I didn’t realise how many people were interested in using technology to feel better. 

How Research and Development (R&D) funding changed my business 

Media Cymru funding has helped my business grow and reach more people.  

With the help of the R&D funding, I have started a new part of my business, learned new ways to do research and how important it is to listen to young people. 

My Lessons Learned  

Sometimes, lots of people have ideas about what you should do and how you should do it.  There’s often pressure to be a commercial success. But for me, it’s more important to be values-driven and help young people. 

My goal was to stay true to my mission and not get lost in business talk. You can be successful and keep your values. 

A community interest company might not make lots of money, but it’s the best way to help people who need support. My mission is to make this help accessible and inclusive for everyone. 

Hopes for the Next Decade 

Developing Immersive Technology Services 

I hope we can get funding to create a whole service using immersive technology like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and gaming. I want to train youth professionals to use this technology and help young people. My dream is to bring this programme into schools with support from government. 

Making Welsh Media More Inclusive 

The Welsh media sector needs to be more inclusive. Sometimes, media organisations say they’re inclusive, but that’s not always true. We should let more people from creative industries share their ideas. 

Further funding support 

One big challenge is that while we can get funding, we often must match fund it. It’s difficult for freelancers or small businesses to take such big risks. We need more grant funding to help with innovation.  

Supporting Creative People in Wales to tell their stories 

We have so many amazing stories to tell in Wales. How do we make it possible for young creatives to tell their stories? Many people don’t realise what they can do with the right support. I hope more programs like Media Cymru exist so more people’s stories can be shared with the world.