In recent years, mental health has become a larger part of the public discourse worldwide. Initiatives like RU OKAY? Day and age-specific mental health education programmes (i.e. primary school and secondary school programmes, for instance) are actively working in reducing mental health stigmas and encouraging open dialogue between students, parents, and teachers on mental health concerns like depression and anxiety.
Today, the way we interact with technology also has the power to both improve and hinder our mental health – depending on how we use it. Some common culprits include the perceived need to be online and ‘available’ all the time, to the unrealistic beauty standards bolstered through social media.
But while technology is often part of the problem, it can also offer some dynamic solutions. Digital mental healthcare is on the rise, making help much more available to those who need it. In this piece, we’ll explore the ways in which technology has made mental health services more accessible.
Increased Accessibility of Mental Healthcare Training
Working in mental health, whether as a therapist, psychologist or psychiatrist, requires professional training. Today, a lot of that training happens online. Those who dream of working in the field can, for instance, study for a graduate diploma in psychology at a reputable educational institute entirely from the comfort of their own home, thanks to advancements in online learning.
The increased availability of mental health training has, in turn, made quality mental healthcare more accessible to the people who need it. What's more, because almost anyone can do an online degree, people from a more diverse range of backgrounds are starting to consider careers in the mental health sector. The increased diversity in practitioners means that patients from a broader range of backgrounds can be paired with a therapist or psychologist who understands their issues from firsthand experience, improving the general quality of care.
Safe Spaces For Mental Health Discourse
By far the greatest impact the internet has had on the world is that it's created spaces where people can come together and interact. While this has caused many obvious problems, the increased ‘smallness’ of the world thanks to the internet has also created many safe spaces where people from all walks of life can come together and discuss issues they might be ashamed to talk about in daily life.
Near the top of this list is mental health. Thanks to the internet, it's now possible to meet friends entirely online and speak about problems like depression in a safe, low-pressure environment. There are also structured communities on platforms like Reddit centred around specific issues, such as social anxiety and being with a narcissistic partner. These safe spaces allow sufferers to connect with people who share their plight, whether they live nearby or are halfway around the world. From a mental health perspective, finding this sense of community is a crucial step in the healing process.
AI-Powered Mental Healthcare
There's a lot of controversy around AI when it comes to mental healthcare, and much of the scepticism is warranted. To be sure, there are too many people who rely on AI chatbots to take the place of human therapists, which is a problem since AI lacks the ability to see things from a human perspective and is also prone to making factual errors. The NHS has gone so far as to call out this practice of AI therapists as ‘harmful’.
However, this doesn't mean that AI is completely useless from a mental health perspective. At the moment, most use cases are in the area of diagnostics. There are plenty of tools that practitioners employ to help screen patients for mental health disorders. Then, once the AI program has made some recommendations, human therapists or psychologists can perform their own tests to confirm the diagnosis and perform the necessary treatments.
If people are uncomfortable immediately reaching out to a mental healthcare specialist, they can use standard AI tools like ChatGPT to get an idea of what mental health issues they're facing. However, it can't be emphasised enough that whatever diagnoses an AI program makes are not definitive, and AI can in no way replace a real-life mental health practitioner during the treatment phase.
Online Therapy and Counselling
Perhaps the most obvious way in which digitisation has made mental healthcare more accessible is online therapy and counselling. Back in the day, individuals looking for mental health help might have had to travel a long way to see a therapist. Today, therapy can happen from the comfort of home thanks to platforms like BetterHelp and Talkspace.
Online therapy and counselling are also possible even outside of these dedicated platforms. A therapist-patient arrangement might start in the traditional, face-to-face manner, and then continue digitally as needs change or simply for convenience’s sake. The rise of digitisation has meant a diversification in the ways that mental healthcare is provided, which means that a wider range of people in a wider set of circumstances now have access to the help they need to improve their mental health.
Telehealth also breaks down traditional barriers such as cost, location and stigma. For many people living in rural or remote areas, digital counselling can be the only practical way to access regular sessions. What’s more, flexible scheduling and a variety of communication formats – including video, voice and even text – make mental healthcare feel more approachable and less intimidating. This accessibility encourages more people to take the first step toward seeking help, often earlier than they otherwise would.
Key Takeaways
There's no doubt that mental health concerns affect people of all ages and demographics, however in recent years, countless studies have shown a massive jump in mental health concerns amongst young people in particular. Mental health practitioners and other industry experts generally agree that evolving relationships with technology is playing a major role in this global rise of mental health crises. But technology is also proving to be our strongest resource in adapting our current mental healthcare systems to boost access to healthcare for patients of all ages.
Above, we've covered some concrete ways that digitisation has boosted the accessibility of quality mental healthcare. If you're currently experiencing poor mental health, these digital-ready care pathways are available to you. And for those who are interested in pursuing a career in the mental healthcare sector, undertaking modern courses that integrate technological skills-building can help you confidently support access to mental healthcare for generations to come.
