Technology is transforming mental health treatment in South Asia
14-Sep-17, Mental Health Innovation Network
In low and middle-income countries that are constantly dealing with severe health crises such as tuberculosis, malaria and Ebola outbreaks, mental health becomes a problem grossly overlooked, considering one in four people in the world are likely to suffer a mental or neurological disorder, according to WHO.
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Image: MHIN
About 33.9 psychologists are licensed per 100,000 people in the US. India has one licensed therapist for every 200,000 to 300,000 people. Pakistan has only 400 for nearly 200 million people and the numbers only get more dismal for Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and other South Asian countries.
Amid all these problems, technology is one thing that keeps hope alive. The Internet can become one of the most powerful ways of making quality mental health care accessible to large parts of the population.
- ePsyclinic, an online mental health counseling service in India, provides anyone with internet connectivity, access to online therapy
- HealthEminds in India offers the services of trained and licensed counselors to people online
- Pakistan's Taskeen.org is an online mental health resource center that aims to help both patients and caregivers