Ethical Dilemmas of Digitalisation of Mental Health

Digitalisation of health is no longer a new area, neither so in the field of mental health. From the mere digitalisation of healthcare service, we are now in the era of digital therapeutics (Dx). Digitalisation of mental health is an umbrella concept for digital care provision through websites, digital platforms and apps for mental health concerns and psychosocial care. Psychotherapy, psychiatric care and psychosocial interventions are encompassed within this. Digital therapeutics are also a growing set of interventions in the fields of medical and mental health. Coupled with artificial intelligence, digital therapeutics are sophisticated software systems aimed at providing evidence-based therapeutic interventions. Evidence-based results are promising for certain common mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression. With little promise for artificial intelligence based care for dementia and schizophrenia, the larger field of severe mental health problems, crisis interventions and psychosocial care remains unexplored.

COVID-19 raised several questions about the quality of care for individuals where access to care is difficult or risky to the patients. There are no guidelines to address this digitally in a safe and ethical manner. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of digital mental health care is inevitable. Since the importance and usage of digital care for mental health interventions and psychosocial care has been expanding, the urgent need for addressing the ethics has been a concern and need of the hour. There is a need for comprehensive care guidelines for the field of mental health and psychosocial intervention as mental health care takes to digitalisation.

There is much literature discussing the role of digital mental health care, digital therapeutics as well as critiquing the attached ethical dilemmas. Apart from addressing the ethical concerns around digitalisation of mental health, it is of pressing priority to come up with national as well as global standards or guidelines to protect the rights of the patients and mental health practitioners while ensuring the sanctity of care. Though the ethical issues are sufficiently addressed by several researchers, the aim of this Research Topic is to focus on two aspects of this theme: (a): ethical concerns and dilemmas of digital mental health care and (b) recommendations and guidelines for addressing ethical dilemmas in digital mental health care and digital therapeutics for mental health. Primarily, the authors are encouraged to share knowledge and best practices with digital mental health care and digital therapeutics and recommend ethically compliant guidelines that can bridge the loopholes in the current practices of digitalised care for mental health.

Some specific themes that can be covered in this Research Topic are listed below:

1. Ethics of digitalisation of mental health care;

2. Ethical challenges in digital psychotherapy and psychosocial care;

3. Role and efficacy of robot therapists;

3. The future of robot therapy for mental health care;

4. Short term versus long term efficacy of digital mental health care;

5. Digital therapeutics for psychosocial care;

6. Recommendations for addressing ethical concerns in digitalisation of mental health care.

This Research Topic welcomes several types of contribution including original research, reviews, systematic reviews, narrative analysis, case reports, policy papers, and conceptual analyses.