Goodville team R&D work in the context of mental health: in tune with the challenge of modernity

In October 2021, the next 21st congress of the World Psychiatric Association was held. This organization unites the largest (in comparison with other specialists – cardiologists, rheumatologists, endocrinologists, etc.) number of professionals working in the same field - mental health. More than 250,000 specialists from 121 countries (psychiatrists, psychotherapists, psychologists, social workers and representatives of other related professions) are united by a common idea – the fastest possible "return to service" of people who have met with mental disorders. Forums of this kind bring to the discussion of professionals advanced technologies for the provision of assistance and recovery of a person after suffering mental and behavioral disorders.

In modern psychiatry, we are talking not only about the treatment of signs of the disease (for example, medications), but also the highest quality restoration of a person in his social environment (family, professional environment) with a high level of functioning (professional productivity, emotional well-being, cognitive flexibility, etc.).

A number of problems have to be solved by specialists working in the field of mental health in the modern world. One of the most relevant has manifested itself in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. We are talking about the need to ensure the continuous provision of psychiatric care in situations of quarantine measures, lockdown. In other words, it is necessary to preserve the ability to identify those in need of help, accompany them during treatment, and support them during recovery from illness. The problem is particularly acute in countries with low and middle income per capita, where, despite the exceptionally high need for such assistance, the imperfection of health systems is unable to provide those in need (the so-called "MH treatment gap" - the difference between those who need help and those who receive it).

One of the unique approaches to solving this problem is the use of digital technologies. Behind the prospect of their development and implementation is the future of such a branch of psychiatry as electronic psychiatry (E-psychiatry). The possibilities of this approach are endless. They relate to interventions with a wide range of conditions - from situations with a low risk of mental health problems against the background of stress experienced to detailed painful manifestations of severe mental disorders, for example, depression. If we are talking about low-risk situations, then interventions, for example, are focused on monitoring the condition and preventing the development of disorders through counseling. The widespread introduction of psychoeducational interventions around the world with the help of digital technologies, for example, through gadgets, allows an individual to acquire skills of controlling the situation in terms of caring for his health in general and mental health in particular. In the case of a high risk of developing mental disorders in clinically significant situations, digital technologies allow for diagnostic procedures and therapeutic interventions, providing constant dynamic monitoring of the patient's condition.

Undoubtedly, the use of digital technologies has its limitations in applying to the assessment of mental health (data security, ethical aspects, lack of personal communication, etc.). At the same time, their advantages determine the prospects of combined use along with routine clinical practice. The Congress of the World Psychiatric Association mentioned at the beginning of the message focuses on promising and problematic areas of the use of digital technologies in the field of mental health. If we are talking about their use in the diagnostic process, it is extremely important to ensure the reliability of their use for an objective assessment of a person's mental status. For this purpose, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are used. Approaches focused on the use of integrated systems for analyzing human behavior, taking into account his current mental state, deserve special attention. It is this direction that has been actively developed by the Goodville team for two years based on the use of data obtained in game content to determine the response profile of a potential user in comparison with the status of his emotional well-being.