How do we overcome negative beliefs about mental health and treatment? For many people, the stigma associated with participating in mental health treatment is their barrier to receiving services to help resolve depression, anxiety, and other problems that affect their well-being. Although the mental health system does not deliberately create a stigma that separates people from care, systemic exclusion and cultural myopia from its origins cause it. It’s like someone tells you,’The solution to the problem can be found on the other side of this gap, but no bridge can help you cross it. Millions of underrepresented people—mainly black, Latino, LGBTQ+, and disabled communities—are trapped on the edge of the divide. Building bridges is our responsibility as mental health professionals, as well as a systemic responsibility.
The huge gap was split from the beginning. Traditional talk therapy practices, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which is the gold standard for the treatment of many mental health problems, were originally designed to adapt to clients whose income and time are at their disposal-financially and professionally independent people meet regularly-with treatment Teacher face to face. This socio-economic threshold has led to a culture of the rich and the poor: those who are “right” to enjoy nursing benefits and those who are relegated to silent suffering. To quote Billie Holiday, “get what you get; those who shouldn’t lose.” The traditional care model prevents many people from accessing high-quality mental health care and perpetuates inequality in mental health.
Digital therapy as a shameless equalizer
The recent growth of digital therapy (DTx) for mental health has begun to bridge this gap. Using software as the intervention method, DTx’s patient-oriented 24/7 access, scale consistency and affordability structural advantages are providing effective treatment alternatives for more and more traditional mental health care, including face-to-face CBT DTx represents a new generation of mental health care, in which traditionally underserved communities have easier access to care. However, while the logistics and cost benefits are fundamental advancements, this advancement obscures the greater prospects of DTx in reducing mental health stigma. This promise has been largely ignored by the excitement of adopting DTx. As we have seen in the recent teletherapy boom, When face-to-face treatment becomes the norm, marginalized groups continue to be left behind — In person or via computer. During the pandemic, remote treatment is mainly used by people who have had face-to-face treatment before. In fact, although mental health problems have increased in the past year, the use of mental health care has not. This is partly because information alone is not enough to eliminate negative beliefs about mental health problems or what it means to seek mental health care.
The pervasive social stigma surrounding mental health can cause people to avoid or withdraw from treatment due to shame, fear and negative stereotypes, lack of understanding by family and friends, or perceptions of “weakness” in seeking help.When interacting with therapists, these fears and worries often surface—they always start with strangers—and Marginalized people feel stronger.
In addition to these external factors, the private aspects of traditional face-to-face treatment can also cause patients to stop treatment, which is more common among underrepresented populations.in A study, 53% of people of color reported experiencing micro-attack during psychotherapy. In addition, the intrusive (usually repetitive) process of personal history, distrust of the healthcare system based on history and persistent discrimination and prejudice, and labeling mental health struggles as obstacles often become obstacles to those who have experienced it. Obstacles.This Highest pressure burden Seek or stay in care. As a black lesbian psychologist, I have personally experienced systemic and practitioner biases that prevent many people like me from participating in therapy. The prejudice that the people inside the system usually don’t see is too obvious to us.
Can DTx complete the building of inclusive bridges?
It boils down to: DTx will not judge or discriminate if it is intentionally developed and within the framework of cultural response. DTx provides mobility, access to evidence-based solutions, and low-cost features. It also brings additional benefits of privacy (reducing patient concerns about exposure to public judgment) and consistency (reducing the risk of experiencing micro-attacks from on-site therapists) And impartiality (reduce judgments related to clinical disease labels). More importantly, the entertaining nature of DTx and the skill-based approach transformed from traditional CBT can attract people who feel that they have no luxury or do not want to sit in the therapist’s office and talk to strangers.If applied deliberately in software where people can participate in ways that address their specific needs, digital CBT can promote Improve the fairness of clinical results.
However, although the nature of DTx eliminates the existence and cultural prejudice of people sitting across the room, the software is also developed by people, and their own prejudices can be reflected in their program choices. DTx is still in its infancy and has a long way to go, so now is the time to self-examine-pay more attention to how DTx differentiates rather than copy the prejudices inherent in traditional mental health care. For example, how is the information presented so that it can be delivered in a culturally appropriate way? Is it closed captioning? Does its idiom reflect the understanding of user culture? Do they have different language options?
In order for DTx to realize its potential to cover underrepresented populations, a new standard needs to be adopted: creating a culturally responsive development framework that puts fairness at the forefront of user experience. In order for all people to participate in treatments that directly address their concerns without judgment and actually help them feel better, focusing on fair product development will be the key to building bridges.
