Experts urge huge
expansion of online therapy for mental illness
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[April 04, 2017] LONDON
(Reuters) - A "massive and growing" mental health burden across the
world can only be tackled successfully with a major expansion of online
psychiatric resources such as virtual clinics and web-based
psychotherapies, specialists said on Tuesday.
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With resources tight and the global mental health system only
serving around 10 percent of patients even now, specialists speaking
at the European Congress on Psychiatry (ECP) said the web is the
only option for significant extra treatment capacity.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week mental disorders
- in particular depression - are now the leading cause of ill health
and disability worldwide.
Rates of depression have risen by more than 18 percent since 2005,
the WHO says, and a lack of support for mental health combined with
a common fear of stigma means many do not get the treatment they
need. [L2N1H70MW]
Michael Krausz, a professor of psychiatry at the University of
British Columbia in Canada, and a leading specialist at the World
Psychiatric Association, said "E-mental health" should be a major
part of the answer.
"Through a proactive approach we can create an additional virtual
system of care which could build capacity, improve the quality of
care and make mental health care more effective," he told the ECP.
Web-based psychological treatments such as online cognitive behavior
therapy (CBT) have proven effective in several conditions including
depression and anxiety. Krausz said there is also potential for
online CBT to be modified for conditions such as post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD).
"Online assessments, web-based psychotherapies,... and online
research strategies will significantly change the field," he told
the congress.
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Technologies like virtual reality and artificial intelligence can
also be used in certain therapies for anxiety, and various online
games and apps are being developed to support treatment of
depression in children.
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In another example, scientists at King's College London have
developed an avatar-based system to help treat people with
schizophrenia who hear distressing voices.
(Reporting by Kate Kelland,; Editing by Stephen Powell)
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