Understanding Mental Health Apps

Understanding Mental Health and Counselling provides a critical introduction to key debates about how problems of mental health are understood, and to the core approaches taken to working with counselling and psychotherapy clients. In drawing out the differences and intersections between professional and social understandings of mental health and counselling theory and practice, the book fosters critical thinking about effective and ethical work with mental health service users and therapy clients. With chapters by noted academic writers and service-user researchers, and content enlivened by activities, first-person accounts and case material, the book provides a key resource for both counselling and psychotherapy trainees and those interested in the broader field of mental health.

Mental health researchers are increasingly looking towards digital health tools to gather day-to-day lived experiences of people living with mental health conditions, by using apps and wearable devices complementing episodic clinical assessments. One of the key goals of collecting longitudinal real-world multimodal data (RWD) is to help build personalized computational models that may help explain the heterogeneity in clinical outcomes, mechanisms of action, and pathophysiology of mental health disorders across individuals.

Health and fitness apps collect various personal information including name, email address, age, height, weight, and in some cases, detailed health information. When using these apps, many users trustfully log everything from diet to sleep patterns. However, by sharing such personal information, end-users may make themselves targets to misuse of this information by unknown third parties, such as insurance companies. Despite the important role of informed consent in the creation of health and fitness applications, the intersection of ethics and information sharing is understudied and is an often-ignored topic during the creation of mobile applications. Privacy Concerns Surrounding Personal Information Sharing on Health and Fitness Mobile Apps is a key reference source that provides research on the dangers of sharing personal information on health and wellness apps, as well as how such information can be used by employers, insurance companies, advertisers, and other third parties. While highlighting topics such as data ethics, privacy management, and information sharing, this publication explores the intersection of ethics and privacy using various quantitative, qualitative, and critical analytic approaches. It is ideally designed for policymakers, software developers, mobile app designers, legal specialists, privacy analysts, data scientists, researchers, academicians, and upper-level students.

“GRASPED Mental Health Across the Lifespan: Marketing for Wellness and Support" offers a groundbreaking exploration into the intersection of marketing and mental health advocacy. This comprehensive collection is designed to guide marketers in promoting mental health services, products, and initiatives with sensitivity and impact. Addressing mental health issues from childhood through older adulthood, the set provides insights into the nuanced needs of various age groups and the importance of tailored marketing strategies. It emphasizes ethical considerations, the power of storytelling, and the role of digital platforms in spreading awareness and reducing stigma. For brands committed to making a difference in the mental health space, this guide is an invaluable resource for fostering understanding, support, and positive change. In an era where mental health awareness is more critical than ever, marketers have a unique opportunity to contribute to the well-being of individuals across the lifespan. “GRASPED Mental Health Across the Lifespan: Marketing for Wellness and Support" introduces a holistic approach to marketing mental health solutions, emphasizing the need for compassion, authenticity, and informed strategies. This guide encourages marketers to go beyond conventional tactics, using their platforms to challenge stigma, promote accessibility to mental health resources, and support community well-being. Through a combination of research-driven insights and practical advice, this introduction sets the stage for marketers to lead with empathy and innovate in ways that resonate deeply with audiences seeking mental health support. The unique selling proposition of “GRASPED Mental Health Across the Lifespan: Marketing for Wellness and Support" lies in its specialized focus on marketing within the mental health domain, bridging the gap between commercial objectives and societal well-being. Unlike broader marketing manuals, this set is meticulously tailored to the sensitive nature of mental health, offering a blueprint for ethical, impactful marketing practices. It distinguishes itself by providing age-specific insights and strategies, ensuring that marketing efforts are as inclusive and effective as possible. This guide is indispensable for any brand or marketer aiming to navigate the complex world of mental health with integrity, offering a pathway to not only achieve marketing success but also to make a meaningful contribution to mental wellness in society.

With the immense amount of data that is now available online, security concerns have been an issue from the start, and have grown as new technologies are increasingly integrated in data collection, storage, and transmission. Online cyber threats, cyber terrorism, hacking, and other cybercrimes have begun to take advantage of this information that can be easily accessed if not properly handled. New privacy and security measures have been developed to address this cause for concern and have become an essential area of research within the past few years and into the foreseeable future. The ways in which data is secured and privatized should be discussed in terms of the technologies being used, the methods and models for security that have been developed, and the ways in which risks can be detected, analyzed, and mitigated. The Research Anthology on Privatizing and Securing Data reveals the latest tools and technologies for privatizing and securing data across different technologies and industries. It takes a deeper dive into both risk detection and mitigation, including an analysis of cybercrimes and cyber threats, along with a sharper focus on the technologies and methods being actively implemented and utilized to secure data online. Highlighted topics include information governance and privacy, cybersecurity, data protection, challenges in big data, security threats, and more. This book is essential for data analysts, cybersecurity professionals, data scientists, security analysts, IT specialists, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the latest trends and technologies for privatizing and securing data.

A pointed look at the state of tech-based mental healthcare and what we must do to change it Proponents of technology trumpet it as the solution to the massive increase in the mental distress that confronts our nation. They herald the arrival of algorithms, intelligent chatbots, smartphone applications, telemental healthcare services, and more—but are these technological fixes really as good as they seem? In Therapy Tech, Emma Bedor Hiland presents the first comprehensive study of how technology has transformed mental healthcare, showing that this revolution can’t deliver what it promises. Far from providing a solution, technological mental healthcare perpetuates preexisting disparities while relying on the same failed focus on personal responsibility that has let us down before. Through vivid, in-depth case studies, Therapy Tech reveals these problems, covering issues including psychosurveillance on websites like Facebook and 7 Cups of Tea, shortcomings of popular AI “doctors on demand” like Woebot, Wysa, and Joy, and even how therapists are being conscripted into the gig economy. Featuring a vital coda that brings Therapy Tech up to date for the COVID era, this book is the first to give readers a large-scale analysis of mental health technologies and the cultural changes they have enabled. Both a sobering dissection of the current state of mental health and a necessary warning of where things are headed, Therapy Tech makes an important assertion about how to help those in need of mental health services today.

Community college student mental health is a critical topic among community college leaders, faculty, and staff. Mental health concerns among community college students are more prevalent and more pronounced than among students at four-year institutions. The recent pandemic has further amplified students’ mental health concerns. Poor mental health can negatively affect student success outcomes such as persistence within courses, grade point average, and credential completion. Even though the research in this area is growing, additional work is necessary to fully grasp the scope and details of the issue. Within this book, Latz outlines the contours of the issue by explaining what is already known. She then uses data from a study involving interviews with community college faculty to further explain the issue from their unique and important vantage points. Readers will learn about both the professional lives of community college faculty and their experiences with and perspectives of their students, many of whom navigate mental health issues. The book is concluded with robust recommendations for community college leaders who are seeking ways to better support their students.