Use of Visualized Media to Expedite Recovery in Mental Health
As the internet currently dominates most forms of media in today’s society, there is no doubt many internet users are also involved in social media – especially the millennial generation. Statistics show that 8 out of 10 teenagers on the internet use some form of social media. (Madden 2013) However, there are obviously going to be negative effects such as “Facebook Depression”, cyberbullying, and other adverse effects as a result of using social media on a normal basis. Supposedly, “Facebook Depression” is what researchers describe a phenomenon that causes preteens and teens to feel bouts of depression. (O’Keeffe, et al. 2011) Fortunately, where computers can also contribute a solution to upkeep mental health. Computerized therapy is proving to have a lot of potential when dealing with patients. There has been many successful tests for different issues regarding mental health including depression, anxiety, and addiction. (Helgadottir) While artificial intelligence isn’t at the point where natural language processing can be done with ease, adaptation to the client is just as important. By personalizing a treatment program for a client, computers can do much to form a model around specific circumstances of the patient. (Helgadottir) In the future when robots are more plentiful with advancements in technology, they can act as therapeutic entities. Using face recognition software, perhaps emotion can be detected to better adapt to a patient that requires attention. Currently, computerized therapy seems to be effective. Computerized cognitive behavioral therapy has been tested against conventional cognitive behavioral therapy and the results came out about the same. (Andrews, et al. 2010) The major difference is that computerized cognitive behavioral therapy would prove to be cheaper because it requires less time with a therapist, cutting on costs. Furthermore, this opens treatment to those who previously cannot afford an expensive therapist.
Figure 1: Depression Scores on Hamilton Scale for subject groups (Wright 2005)
In figure 1, we can see that those who received computerized therapy were rated to be less depressed than those who were on the wait list (no therapy) and treated by a therapist. (Wright 2005) The future of computerized therapy has a long way to go despite its current efficacy. As we can see with the rise of virtual reality and other technology, there are going to be many possibilities for computerized therapy to expand upon in the near future.
Works Cited (MLA)
Andrews G, Cuijpers P, Craske MG, McEvoy P, Titov N. “Computer Therapy for the Anxiety and Depressive Disorders Is Effective, Acceptable and Practical Health Care: A Meta-Analysis.” PLoS ONE 5(10): e13196. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013196 (2010)
Helgadottir, F. “The Future of Computerized Therapy.” Psych Central. n.p.: n.p., 9 . 26 Sep. 2016. <http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-future-of-computerized-therapy/>.
Madden, Mary, et al. “Teens, social media, and privacy.” Pew Research Center 21 (2013).
O’Keeffe, Gwenn Schurgin, and Kathleen Clarke-Pearson. “The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families.” American Academy of Pediatrics (2011): n. pag. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
Wright, Jesse H., et al. “Computer-assisted cognitive therapy for depression: maintaining efficacy while reducing therapist time.” American Journal of Psychiatry 162.6 (2005): 1158-1164.
