Mental health innovation is the need of the hour. Innovations in this sector are imperative and long due because of the rampant spread of mental health issues. Although we have classifications such as the DSM (American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and ICD (World Health organization’s International Classification of Diseases) most mental health issues go undetected. Innovations are required in terms of quicker and accurate diagnoses, evidence based therapies and newer medicines.

According to the latest World Health Organization report on depression released in 2016, almost 7.5% of Indians suffer from major or minor mental disorders that require expert intervention . Innovations in the mental health sector have come in terms new diagnostic tools using mobile applications to detect illnesses, new therapies which support the working individuals’ time schedule and newer medicines which have lesser side effects. Mobile applications which give a quicker and cheaper access to mental health professionals are a boon for patients who can’t afford regular treatment in terms of time and money.

The Google play store is flooded with mental health applications, though a few actually stand out. Let’s take the example of a trending mobile application which has claimed to actually address multiple mental health issues. IntelliCare is a free, state-of-the-art suite of 13 skill-focused apps created by researchers at Northwestern University in an NIH-funded study that is poised to revolutionize how mobile apps help treat anxiety and depression. The IntelliCare apps take a multi-faceted approach to treating factors linked to anxiety and depression such as social isolation, lack of activity, sleep problems, and obsessive thinking. What sets it apart is that it’s the only smartphone app of its kind being field tested across the country by clinical psychologists in conjunction with the national institutes of health. IntelliCare is currently an ongoing national research study. The IntelliCare suite of thirteen different IntelliCare apps offers a multi-faceted approach for the treatment of anxiety and depression. It also offers fresh techniques to help make your life feel more meaningful … mantras to re-frame your explanatory style, strategies for moving your body more, sleeping better and much, much more .

Mental health care innovation is something which has a lot of scope and can target users across geographies and strata. The only question is how many people in a developing country like ours even own a smartphone to access such apps? How many people are aware of such apps? And can such apps eventually replace the physical presence of a therapist?