From telehealth and TikTok to artificial intelligence and virtual reality, the mental health care industry is embracing technology — but it’s making many clinicians uneasy. From concerns about the ethics of mental health influencers to the inaccuracy of mental health advice on TikTok and to complaints about teens misdiagnosing themselves, many experts are uncomfortable about the role technology is playing in mental health support.
But technology can also help solve what’s arguably the industry’s biggest issue: access. Given the ongoing mental health crisis and the fact that many people lack adequate access to quality mental health care, it’s essential to strike a balance between technological innovation, the pace of clinical validation, and high ethical and safety standards to ensure that rigorous, culturally centered mental health support is widely available at a time when it’s so desperately needed.
Technologically dubious past
Mental health clinicians and researchers have not historically prioritized technology and marketing. Training for mental health clinicians and scientists typically focuses on delivering therapy or conducting research, without a heavy focus on technology or industry. In my own experience as a clinical psychologist, I’ve seen colleagues minimize things like marketing and treat working in the mental health tech industry as less rigorous than working in academia or traditional health care settings.
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