The Flix-Mentor

Using creative imagination to mentor to new healthy life strategies, behavior change and living an abundant life.

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Inspiration:

I have a passion for cinema, acting and a burden for the oppressed. In addition, when you're placed in a situation where you have no one to trust, of go to-to for mentorship through it. All you can do is do what you know and love doing, as it was through a senior paper for school that an idea came about for a movie mentorship app that uses the power of cinema to help people. So what if there was a way to combat loneliness, redeem the fatherless, help a patient with a disorder through recovery, and give the at-risk a mentor all from the palm of your hand?

What it does:

Basically, the Flix-mentor uses the power of cinema, creative imagination, features and information to support an opioid's patient's maintenance in recovery. Particularly, those who suffer from substance use/mental disorder to give a second chance by helping them change their behavior and learn new strategies to maintain health by offering an alternative through movie characters. For instance, movies portray virtuous characters who develop or maintain their strengths and use these to overcome obstacles and adversities that can mentor a patient towards recovery and living a better life. To demonstrate, a patient copies the character's healing experience into their own inner movie screen to imitate in the real world and at the same time erase their undesired inner movie. Moreover, the Flix Mentor is a digital role-model of a favorite actor from the movie screen that allows a patient to practice creative imagination in attempt to bring healing and growth. As it provides guidance, positive examples taught through movie characters, offering an alternative perspective from reel-to-real life to give character strengths and virtues that a patient can apply to their own life.

How I built it:

I really couldn't have built this without the help of Appmakr's creation platform, which made it simple and easier to make my own iPhone, Android, and HTML5 mobile formatted website app with hardly no coding required. For example, uploaded custom icons, splash screen images and backgrounds for the main menu page and choosing my own main menu layout to give the app a little more flavor. Next, matching my color scheme and placing a customized background with my logo on each page in my app for consistent brand presence. Lastly, popularizing my app with rich features such as my blogs, latest flix news and podcast feeds, a positive inspirational photo exercise gallery and a preview video in the format of a trailer that showcases the vision of the app. Furthermore, there are interactive options like iSupport Group (live chat room) and Transparency Mapper. Complete in-app bookshelf and the FlixFit music library, all of which help to help a person find healing for the whole-person: Spirit, Mind, and Body. This app is defiantly keeping me occupied for the Summer, during my break from college.

Challenges that humbled me:

Finding ways to make the app creation platform work according to my vision, and adding the right coding to a particular tab to try to make it function the way it should.

Accomplishments that I glory in:

The fact that I used this same method of practicing creative imagination to find healing and growth in my own personal life, then during my recover started developing this dream to help people the same way through an app and seeing it come to life through this SAMHSA Opioid Recovery App Challenge for Devpost.

What I learned:

Cinema in our society is huge as movies are educational, entertaining, and has the power to transform a life. In fact, adding positive psychology and a favorite actor to mentor one through the movies can help a person to rewrite their story, as positive psychology is not about fixing what is broken, but about nurturing what is best within our selves. With this, characters model virtues and strengths as they can become movie-mentors that guide a person through life, from the situations that the character overcomes in the movie to help them find healing and growth. Thus, giving an alternative ending to the patient from reel-to-real life that will set them off in the right direction for a bright future.

What's next for The Flixmentor?

The app version is for young adults to older adults, as I want to complete my B.S. degree in social work and start a non-profit organization that uses this app with my dreams in drama, TV & Film performance. While in the future, I would like to design a version for teens. Yet, for now, I want to keep working on making the app better and find ways to enhance the features to give the users the best experience to help them solve their problems.

Built With

  • app-makr
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Updates

posted an update —

The following support insight 5:

  • The Book feature: supports insight 5 provides a list of books from amazon.com where they can educate themselves on material concerning their opioid recovery, juggling work load, personal life and treatment.

  • The Ministry feature: supports insight 2 by providing a reminder call (that could be used for medications or appointments), and wake up calls (to prevent oversleeping or walking a patient up before an event takes place so they won't miss it).

Insight 5 - Individuals in MAT maintenance are often juggling their work, personal, and treatment schedules. Required Features: There are no required features, but developers are encouraged to provide support for individuals juggling work, personal life, and treatment schedules.

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posted an update —

The following support insight 4:

  • TrigRESCU feature: "While it can be hard to believe, it can only take 30-seconds to change your life. It only takes 30-seconds to change a negative thought into a positive one, and when you practice this on a daily basis, countering your negative thoughts with positive ones, the cumulative effect will be life changing." Says, author Ron Kardashian. With this, TrigRESCU supports insight 4 by aiming to help patients find a way of escape from their triggers, by providing a 30-second mental escape that will alert their body to leave the situation as I believe where the mind goes the man will follow. Moreover, it's a demonstration of how you can change your life in 30-seconds. By, all you need to do is hold your focus on something positive for a whole 30-seconds (without getting distracted), and follow through with 30-seconds of positive action. Thus, in under a minute you've made a positive and valuable change to the flow of your life as it's designed to keep your mind on your recovery.

  • iGroup feature: supports insight 4 by providing an in-app connect group where patients can join with other patient to relate with, do life together, be encourage, and keep good accountability with each other as they can also be coached through positive psychology. As this feature respects the integrity and privacy by being under username and password to protect anything they share with the other users.

  • Flixboi feature: support insight 4 by providing another way from the patients to find inspiration/motivation for their recovery, via following the administrator's journey through his blog that pursues a passion for cinema and acting with mental illness.

  • The whole app is basically a motivation for recovery, because have a Flixmentor will help the patient feel less alone and see them from the movie screen overcome their situation will encourage the patient to do the same in reality.

Insight 4. Individuals in MAT need support in relapse prevention such as warning signs, trigger alerts, and motivations for recovery. Required Features: There are no required features, but developers are encouraged to provide relapse prevention support.

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posted an update —

The following supports Insight 3:

  • TRNmappr feature: provides a way for the patient to be open and transparent by allowing them to post their location on the map to show they are in the right place and not anywhere near a trigger as other users in the app are allowed to hold them accountable.

  • Flix-Fit feature: provides positive, high-energy workout music mixed with spoken words of affirmations to help the patient transform their mind on the move and inspire them to have a fitness plan to help move the mind towards action.

  • Contacts feature: provides the patient with with mutual aid meeting, peer support groups, help lines, hot lines, and even an OCA conference that they can partake in from the app without going to various places to try to find out where these things are as if a person doesn't know help is out there they won't seek it.

  • Action feature: supports insight 3 by providing support for the patient by giving them positive exercises to practice their character strengths that they saw their Flixmentor using in the film, as the patient can imitate their movie characters healing journey to put them on the right track to living a better life.

Insight 3 - Individuals in MAT need support to reduce the risk for relapse, e.g., increase participation in healthy activities, and avoid people, places and things that might trigger drug use. Required Features: Meeting Location Finder: The app must provide opportunities for users to find mutual aid meetings and peer support groups.

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posted an update —

  • The Book feature: supports insight 2 as it provides a list of books from amazon.com where they can educate themselves on material concerning their opioid recovery.

  • The Ministry feature: supports insight 2 by providing a reminder call (that could be used for medications or appointments), and wake up calls (to prevent oversleeping or walking a patient up before an event takes place so they won't miss it).

  • Also in the Ministry feature: it provides recovery support from the community (like support groups and ministries), with recovery materials for a patient for find encouragement and a way to build them self up (like devotional plans and the Bible) to keep them on track.

  • The Usher feature: provides guidance and suggestions for watching films with conscious awareness, and will contain edutainment in the future.

Insight 2. Patients receiving MAT need education and psychoeducational materials for opioid recovery support, e.g., time management, parenting skills, effects of drug use on family, etc. Required Features: The app must provide educational tools and materials including broad and general resources, especially resources that encourage users to discuss content with a recovery coach or clinician, including the resources in the Asset File.

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posted an update —

The Concessions feature: supports insight 1 by containing a MAT Handbook that they can download on to their device to read in one place and have with them always.

Insight 1. Patients receiving Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) need information about possible side effects and drug interactions in a format that is easy to understand and access. Required Features: The app must provide information on common side effects that patients receiving Methadone, Buprenorphine, or Naltrexone treatment experience, how to deal with side effects, and when they are expected to subside. The app must include information on drug interactions with Buprenorphine, Methadone, and Naltrexone.

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posted an update —

Redirector Links: The url chosen for the app can redirect users to different sites, depending on the device you use to access it.

For example...

When people visit: http://bwell.mobi/flixmentor

On an Andriod Device they should be redirected to: http://apps.monk.ee/flixmentor

On an iOS Device they should be redirected to: http://h.bwell.mobi/flixmentor

On other Mobile Devices they should be redirected to: http://h.bwell.mobi/flixmentor

On a Desktop browser they should be redirected to: http://apps.appmakr.com/flixmentor

So, the app should be accessible for everyone on any device from Andriod to iOS to Othe Mobile Devices and Desktop browsers.

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posted an update —

Updated the 'SHOWING' tab with films that depict the use of opioids.

Opioids: Ray Once Upon a Time in America Indochine The Last Emperor Long Day's Journey into Night Pitch Black Pulp Fiction Requiem for a Dream The Man with the Golden Arm The French Connection High Art Who'll Stop the Rain Mona Lisa Chappaqua Lady Sings the Blues Drugstore Cowboy

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posted an update —

I've been ongoingly updating the app, as I add 'the usher' feature that provides guidance linked to videos that share it in a creative way. I may be messing with this later on to try to make it better.

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posted an update —

Went into the app to change the 'Shadow' tab icon, then added a 'Showings' tab with a lists of movies that address topics as this should make it more easier to navigate the app. I will be working on the 'guide' tab later on.

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posted an update —

Also, pertaining to the app’s icon. The icon should now immediately catch the casual browser’s eye. While the title keyword is rich, as it should also be a better representative of my dream business and did my best for it to match the search phrases that the audience will use when they’re looking for me.

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