Understand depression through SNS conversations…”Digital Therapy” customized for emotional disorders is coming out

The Ministry of Science and ICT has decided to support research on ways to prevent and manage emotional disorders, including depression based on platform technology. The goal is to create a “digital treatment” that increases access to psychiatric counseling and provides customized services by identifying the degree of emotional disorders revealed on SNS (social media).

On the 17th, Science and ICT Minister Lee Jong-ho visited Hanyang University’s Digital Healthcare Center, which is developing “non-face-to-face emotional disorder prevention and management platform technology in the post-COVID-19 era.”

Not only researchers but also mental health specialists participated in the meeting to discuss ways to spread it to people who are unable to receive regular psychiatric counseling, such as soldiers and students.

In addition, they discussed ways to improve the level of depression by understanding the context of SNS conversations or developing and applying technologies that predict signs of suicide and self-harm to provide more effective services.

Based on the results of the discussion, the Ministry of Science and ICT will consult with related ministries such as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of National Defense to optimize and spread digital emotional disorder management services to suit the characteristics of users such as students and soldiers.

Minister Lee looked around the research site after the meeting and said, “Digital therapy has no drug side effects, can be customized through real-time monitoring and feedback, and is a necessary technology to improve public mental health.”．