Rise to Stardom: Mental Health and Digital Interventions in the Context of COVID 19
摘要
The phrase “No one is left untouched by a disaster” has been true at a global scale in the context of COVID 19. The recognition of the shared phenomenon of psychological suffering and the spread of technology like that of smartphones among others has brought digital mental health services to the forefront (signified in the title as Rise to Stardom) as an innovative approach. Since it addresses key challenges of access and scale-up of interventions during disasters, it is more likely to stay. Thus, it becomes imperative to reflect on the opportunities and challenges that each disaster and the emerging interventions, poses to the progress in multidisciplinary mental health sciences. This chapter is based on the review of secondary literature and eight digital mental health services in the Indian context, sampled from the items available in response to a google search for digital mental health services in June 2020, that is in the first phase of COVID 19. The predominance of digital mental health intervention challenges the progress in mental health sciences during disasters, as most services are stand-alone and individualistic in its approach, psychologically oriented and overshadows the emphasis on the social origin of distress. Finally, the chapter puts forth a twofold strategy of integrating standalone services and strengthening of social interventions by drawing from existing social science understanding of vulnerability to distress and illness, and its social origin, to address the pressing needs on the ground.