Togetherall: Safe, Online Peet-to-Peer Community
The Military Sexual Trauma (MST) Peer Support Program of Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre (SMSRC) has partnered with an organization called Togetherall to provide access to a free, online peer-to-peer mental health community. The Togetherall online community platform is being provided to current members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), Veteran and former CAF members, Department of National Defence public service employees, and family members and supporters aged 16+ of any of these groups, who have been affected by military sexual misconduct. The Togetherall community provides the opportunity to share, connect and support one another through a safe online community, in addition to accessing clinically validated tools, assessments, courses, and other self-help resources. Togetherall members are invited to share about their experiences of sexual misconduct but may also share about any mental health challenge they are facing.
What is Togetherall?
Togetherall is a digital mental health and wellbeing organization that partners with 300+ organizations of all shapes and sizes. Togetherall has experience with military communities from many years of partnering with the United Kingdom Armed Forces to support military members, Veterans, and their families. Founded in 2007 as a social impact business, Togetherall’s safe and supportive community is now available to more than 25 million people worldwide.
What is meant by peer-to-peer support?
‘Peers’ refers to members of the general (eligible) public that choose to participate in the community. This community of peers is made up of individuals from all walks of life who can share their experiences and support others struggling with similar issues. When you join Togetherall, you are interacting with members from all clients in Canada, the US, the UK, and New Zealand.
What kinds of support does Togetherall offer members?
Togetherall provides a safe and anonymous place for members to express their thoughts, concerns, and triumphs, without fear of judgement. Licensed mental health clinicians, called Wall Guides, moderate and monitor the online community 24/7 to ensure members’ safety and anonymity. Members can interact with the global peer community or with defined groups around wellness topics and/or roles, including a group specifically for those affiliated with military service. Members can also form their own smaller groups or have one-on-one chats with other members. In addition to the community, which facilitates both written and visual forms of expression, members have access to a variety of self-guided resources, including clinically validated assessments, self-paced group courses, journaling and goal setting tools, and a wide selection of well-being articles.
How can I connect with others with military experience?
Within the peer support community, there are some role-based groups you can join. One of these is a military group. By joining and participating in this group, you will be interacting with others who have experience with military service, either in Canada or in other countries represented in the community. You can also search for “military” or other words associated with military service via the search function.
How can I connect with others who have experienced military sexual misconduct?
On the courses page, you can join the “MST community” group and discuss with others within that forum. Additionally, you can search for specific terms related to sexual misconduct or you can filter by specific tags such as “abuse” or “PTSD/trauma”. You can also post in any of the forums about your own experience with sexual misconduct, without sharing any names or other information that would potentially breach anonymity. Or you can choose to follow posts on topics that are of interest to you without posting yourself. If you prefer to engage with others within the community in more private spaces, you can direct message other members. You can also create a private group conversation and invite other members to engage in a discussion around a specific topic like sexual misconduct. These private conversations would not be visible to the main message board or military group but would still be visible to our Wall Guides for moderation.
What can I post about on Togetherall?
You are welcome to post anything about what you have experienced in the past or are currently experiencing to seek and receive help from other peers. You must avoid sharing any information that may breach anonymity of yourself or others within the platform (i.e., locations, bases, units, names, etc.), and be careful to share information in ways that are not so graphic that they may be triggering to other members of the community. For more guidance on what is expected of members in the community, please check out our house rules.
Who is eligible to access services?
The Togetherall platform and resources are being provided as an online anonymous peer support service through the MST Peer Support Program of the SMSRC. However, the service is available 24/7 and free for all current CAF members, Veterans and former CAF members, Department of National Defence public service employees, and family members and supporters aged 16+ of any of these groups.
How does Togetherall differ from other online services?
Togetherall is unique in that it combines elements of a virtual peer community and overlays it with 24/7 clinical moderation to ensure members have a safe place to express themselves. Similar supports typically offer one or the other of these elements, but rarely both. The well-established global community also allows for a richer member experience and broader scalability, with all new eligible populations adding to the wealth of lived experience.
Is Togetherall a clinical or crisis intervention tool?
No. Togetherall is best suited to those with mild to moderate mental health issues who have a lower level of risk and need for professional intervention. The platform can be used as an additional tool to support individuals struggling with mental health concerns; however, it is not intended to be a crisis service. While there is 24/7 clinical moderation, Togetherall does not offer its members counselling or direct therapy.
Who is providing the clinical moderation?
The Wall Guides/moderators who oversee the virtual platform are bachelor’s and master’s level mental health professionals, typically clinical counsellors, or social workers, that are registered with their relevant professional body and licensed to practice. The clinical moderators are Togetherall employees and are not affiliated with the SMRC, VAC, or DND, nor do they share any information about Togetherall members with these organizations.
What role do these clinical moderators play in supporting members?
The moderators do not provide one on one therapy or counselling. They are monitoring the online community for indicators of those that may require additional support or further intervention. They help keep members safe, refer to other available resources, and help maintain anonymity. Moderators are required to be proactive in responding to members who are in distress and provide them with support, which may involve helping them to seek local assistance from their doctor or therapist or escalating them to necessary emergency services. All comments and interactions within the platform are monitored to ensure that they conform to the House Rules. Moderators are also required to model the behavior encouraged on the site for members to adopt within the community. This includes being welcoming towards new members, providing comments that are non-judgmental and respectful while encouraging others to express their troubles, and ensuring that the platform remains a safe space for all.
What safety measures are in place to protect members?
Ensuring the protection of members is a core component of the service. In addition to the general monitoring for safety/risk as per standard protocols and escalation procedures, including connections to relevant mental health resources, Togetherall ensures the following:
How can I contact a moderator if I have concerns about another member or their behavior?
If you are viewing a post or conversation by a user that you feel is inappropriate or in violation of the House Rules, or if you are concerned about the well-being of another member, you can either: 1) Click “report post” in the thread which will prompt a Wall Guide to review the post and respond if needed or 2) click “Ask a Wall Guide” in the bottom right of the screen which will open a direct message between the member and a Wall Guide to discuss your concern.
How are members supported if there is an emergency situation?
Members always remain anonymous on the platform, both to other members and to the moderators. During the registration process, the platform captures registration data (including phone number, postal code, email address and date of birth), which is stored in a way that is walled off from everyone but the Senior Clinical team, who are responsible for escalations. When a member is identified as potentially being in distress, they are encouraged to de-anonymize and provide the clinical moderator team with additional details such as their name and home address. If the situation warrants immediate intervention and the member has not voluntarily de-anonymized, the moderators loop in their Senior Clinicians who are then able to access the additional registration data as well as IP address to provide to emergency services to facilitate an intervention. If the member is not in immediate distress, self- management, including encouraging the member to access local resources is encouraged.
How familiar are the clinical moderators with the military community and suitable resources?
The Government of Canada and the SMSRC continue to work with Togetherall to ensure their clinical moderators are equipped to understand and support the needs of their members. Canadian military specific resources, as well as resources from the SMSRC, have been included in the platform, and specific referral and escalation resources were provided by the Government of Canada, Veterans Affairs Canada, and the SMRC for the use of the clinical moderators. Both the SMRC and VAC will be providing trainings for Togetherall clinical team members to help them gain a better understanding of the CAF culture.
In what languages is the platform and related resources available?
The services and resources are available in both English and French. Upon registration, a member is asked to choose their language preference. The two communities are separate, and an individual member cannot switch between the two languages. However, a member can create separate accounts in each language utilizing different email addresses.
Does the platform conform to accessibility standards?
The platform follows Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) which defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. For more information, please refer to the platform’s Accessibility standards.
Are there any provisions to provide service to children and youth under the age of 16?
Given its global operations, the different legislations that exist region to region around what age constitutes as ‘minor’, and the regulations around the appropriate age for informed consent, the platform access is restricted to those that are 16 years or older. While the platform is monitored for inappropriate content, some discussions may also be inappropriate for minors. For these reasons, the Togetherall platform is not suitable for children and youth. Instead, consider recommending other dedicated helplines such as Canada-wide Kids Help Phone.
How do I register as a new member?
To register with Togetherall, visit the Togetherall SMSRC registration page that includes additional information and links to register, based on what organization you are affiliated with. Togetherall will also provide marketing materials and QR codes that make it easier to access the registration information. At registration, you will need to provide some basic information, including your email address, phone number, postal code and date of birth for eligibility, before you are sent an email to activate your account. To protect your anonymity, it is recommended that you use a personal device and a personal email address when registering and choose a username that does not contain any part of your name or any other personally identifiable information. After you activate your email link, you will be asked a short series of questions and then you will have access to the platform. Once registered, when revisiting Togetherall.com, use your unique username and password to view the platform and related resources. Note that the information collected at registration is only provided in case of a future need to escalate the member. This information is not shared with the Government of Canada, the DND, VAC, or the SMSRC. Review the FAQs for more information.
How can I help refer individuals directly to the platform?
Clinicians, physicians, other health service providers and those working with vulnerable populations in need of additional support are encouraged to register themselves to become familiar with the user experience. Once comfortable to do so, they are invited to describe the supports on offer and help refer others to the site. Togetherall is a great supplementary resource that can be used as a wait list and discharge management tool to complement existing care plans. It can be introduced before, between, and/or after traditional treatment sessions.
How is member data and confidentiality protected?
When registering with the platform, individuals adopt a pseudonym as their community username, ensuring front-facing anonymity. Any additional information collected during registration, including an individual’s phone number, postal code, email address, and date of birth, is accessible only to Senior Clinicians for the purposes of risk escalation. All personal data related to members who join through this contract will be stored in Canada. For more information, please refer to the platform’s Privacy Policy.
Is my participation anonymous?
Yes, the Togetherall community is anonymous, and all interactions between members are anonymous. All usernames should not contain your first or last name, or any nicknames you are known by or have been known by. Registration information you provide to Togetherall is never shared with the Government of Canada, Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre (SMSRC), Veterans Affairs Canada, or the Department of National Defence. If any personally identifiable information (names, locations, contact information) is shared by members, it is immediately removed from the community.
Still have questions?
For more information, please feel free to contact us with additional inquiries.
