Tick For The Tech

Technology can make a difference to mental health, but it comes with challenges.

- Marc Wilson

There seems to be an app for everything these days. Health generally, and mental health specifically, is no exception. The Ministry of Health website has a variety of initiatives focusing on mental-health support that leverage the ubiquity of cellphones and technology.

Some of these are very much ground-up. Lifehack, for example, involved recruiting young folk, putting them in close proximity to each other and seeing what comes out. Several of the projects that sprang from this process involve social media.

Another initiative that has promise, and also reveals the challenges of rapidly changing technologies, is SPARX. Developed by the adolescent health research group at the University of Auckland, SPARX is a free, game-like, self-help, online therapy program. It incorporates cognitive behavioural principles in role-playing games, providing young people experiencing depression and/or anxiety with tools to help manage their lives. It teaches five ways of protecting against depression: problem-solving, being active, positive cognition, social skills and relaxation.