The unmet need for mental health services is reaching an unprecedented level thanks to rising demand and continually falling NHS resources. Monthly referrals to community mental health teams increased by 13 per cent in 2013, and by 16 per cent for crisis services. Yet more than 200 full-time NHS mental health doctors and 3,600 nursing positions have been lost over the same period.
As so many of us now have access to and rely on smartphones, one increasingly popular solution to this problem is apps which provide automated forms of mental health treatment. Apps are relatively inexpensive, widely available and, unlike traditional NHS mental health services, can be used by more than one person at any one time. Some apps, such as Big White Wall, offer a community support service with access to trained healthcare professionals at any time of the day. Others provide automated cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and methods for mood tracking or self-reflection.
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