Customized Content Suggestions Such as Art Therapy and Physical Activities Based on Mild, Moderate, and Severe Levels
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 31st that it will pilot the ‘Mind Health App Service’ from September, allowing young people to self-diagnose feelings of depression and anxiety through a smartphone app and manage their mental health with customized content such as games, art, and physical activities based on the diagnosis results.
The ‘Mind Health App’ is a digital app that diagnoses and helps recover mental health status through diagnostic tools and content developed based on clinical data from psychiatric specialists. It enables mental health management without worrying about others’ views or visiting hospitals or counseling centers, which is expected to be especially helpful for young people familiar with mobile environments.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will pilot the ‘Mind Health App Service’ for 500 young people participating in the ‘Youth Mental Health Management’ support project. The ‘Mind Health App Service’ is part of Seoul’s ‘Youth Mental Health Management’ support project. Since 2019, Seoul has managed the mental health of over 5,000 young people through this project. It has established itself as an essential support project to protect the social safety net for youth, being benchmarked not only by other local governments but also by the central government.
Within the ‘Mind Health App,’ users can sequentially diagnose their mental health through three types of diagnostic tools: ?a ‘Digital Depression Scale Test’ that uses emoticons and sounds for easy and simple screening, ?a verified ‘chatbot’ (diagnostic questionnaire) created by psychiatric specialists, and ?a ‘Cognitive and Emotional Screening Game’ that measures psychological states such as cognitive control ability, free association, and social responsiveness.
After completing the diagnosis, users can check their mental health status as mild (light depression), moderate (moderate depression), or severe (severe depression), and three types of customized therapeutic content are recommended based on the diagnosis results. As the user’s depression test results and activity performance data accumulate, the customized content recommendation algorithm becomes more advanced.
To enhance the effectiveness of using the ‘Mind Health App,’ Seoul provides support through dedicated counselors in the ‘Youth Mental Health Management’ support project to encourage continuous app usage among participating youth. The app usage data of participants is utilized as supplementary material for counseling to facilitate effective consultations.
Kim Cheol-hee, head of the Seoul Future Youth Planning Group, said, “We hope that young people familiar with mobile environments can easily check their mental health status through the ‘Mind Health App’ and manage it in a timely manner to recover their mental health.”
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