The Top Innovations in Mental Health Care and Technology
In this era of consistent technological innovations and development, every industry is moving towards more efficient and user-friendly methods. The healthcare industry is also taking steps in that direction. While most of the health technology focuses on physical issues, mental issues are not given as much importance. Technology offers great potential to deal with mental health disorders if used the right way.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that 20 percent of children aged between 13 to 18 in the United States either currently or at some point had a mental illness. Mental health and behavioral problems (e.g. depression, anxiety, and drug use) are reported to be the primary drivers of disability worldwide, causing over 40 million years of disability in 20 to 29-year-olds. (source). Even with such staggering statistics, mental health is not treated as an actual issue due to the stigma surrounding it. This stigma along with the systemic flaws limits access to mental health care. While people are searching for affordable and easier paths to improve and maintain their mental health, companies and researchers are increasingly working to make such technology available to people. Here are a few innovations that make mental health provisions much more accessible and affordable:
Artificial Intelligence and Bots
Robots may not be able to act as therapists, but they can help clients and therapists with the processes involved in treating mental illness and improving overall mental health. It has been found out that more people tend to open up to robots and artificial intelligence systems as they feel more secure. Bots and Artificial intelligence can provide a sense of emotional satisfaction to people as they can truly be themselves with them. It helps them lead a better and happier life.
Telemedicine, Online Therapy, and Internet support groups
Telemedicine helps healthcare professionals evaluate, diagnose and treat patients that aren’t physically present near them. The services reduce costs, help patients feel comfortable, and also improve access for patients who can’t or won’t see a professional in person. Companies are making mental healthcare much more user-friendly and easy on the pocket by connecting people with licensed therapists online. Online therapy allows people to be more discrete and avoid the social stigma about mental health. It also reaches a wider audience as it gives them various modes of communication apart from a face-to-face interaction. The internet is a great platform to share and speak about things, online support groups for problems such as depression, anxiety etc can help people a lot as they would not feel like they are the only ones fighting this battle.
Mobile Applications
Wouldn’t life be so much more simple if we could access medical health as easily as we could access our phones? Well in this day and age it’s possible. There are a lot of apps present on cellular devices to help you manage as well as take care of your mental health. These applications help people cope with the symptoms, share their stories and even deal with emergencies. Not only do such applications help patients, but also help researchers get data that could help with future innovations.
Mental health is as important as physical health. The world is slowly understanding this fact, because of which, we are able to see innovations taking place in this field. We can only expect bigger and better things from this point onwards.
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