How Conversational Automation Improves Mental Care Access for the Self-Reliant Generation
As mental health issues grow, discover how chat AI helps connect more clients with mental care services.
Mental health issues are growing, especially among the younger generations. While nothing will ever replace the value of a human therapist, Anu Shukla, Co–founder and Executive Chairman, Botco.ai talks about a few ways chat AI can help connect more clients with that invaluable assistance.
You may already know that 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year, a figure commonly cited by organizations such as NAMI to encourage people to seek help. As knock-on effects from the pandemic continue to reveal themselves, ecological concerns mount, and younger generations grapple with the notion that they may always be economically worse off than their parents, mental health issues are becoming an increasingly prominent concern among young people.
What can be done to address these rising needs? That is where the good news starts. The increasingly common tech solution of conversational automation, which, according to our study, 89% of mental health executives say makes it easier for patients to access mental health treatment, is particularly well suited for addressing the concerns of younger potential clients.
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Why Young People Struggle to Access Mental Healthcare
There is no question about the ongoing, widespread need for mental health services. However, certain perceived barriers to mental healthcare access are common across the population, particularly for young adults who often have the most to gain from mental health intervention. Here are five of the most commonly identified reasons that young people refrain from seeking mental health treatment:
- Stigma related to mental illness, causing people to either deny the issue entirely or refrain from openly seeking help.
- Confidentiality and trust with potential mental healthcare providers.
- Difficulty identifying the symptoms of mental illness.
- A self-reliant attitude that discourages seeking help from others.
- Lack of accessibility due to cost, transportation, or other concerns.
Young people already feel disappointed by the systems that were supposed to help them, and many have internalized the belief that if they want to solve their problems, they will have to do it themselves. They are less likely to go looking for help, magnifying the effect of each potential friction point between young people and the care they need. Fortunately, conversational automation, also known as intelligent chat, is already showing promise in addressing many of these concerns.
How Conversational Automation Helps Young People Access Care
Conversational automation powers many chat windows you have likely seen pop up in the corner of websites in recent years. The automated agents offer to help you with any concerns or questions you may have, giving you and other visitors like you a new way to engage with a brand and access important materials. While conversational automation is seeing widespread adoption across industries, several of its foundational aspects make it particularly effective for addressing the above-noted roadblocks to mental health access in young people.
Counteracting stigma
AI chat does not judge. When people know they are speaking to an automated agent, they are not worried about what another person thinks of them. Therefore, people will more likely be honest with their answers. Prospective patients can simply ask about whatever issues or treatments they have in mind. This process helps both inform and ease minds ahead of a therapy session.
Assuring confidentiality
While professional mental care offices adhere to strict standards regarding confidentiality, people who are new to the world of mental health treatment may not know that. All they know is that there is a person on the other end of the phone, and likely someone they do not know very well, if at all. On the other hand, tech-savvy people often have a built-in expectation of anonymity when dealing with writing down their feelings online, making them feel more at liberty to share their true feelings. That makes talking to a chat agent an ideal first step toward proper mental care.
Answering questions
Presenting conversational AI as the first stop for prospective patients means they will always have access to a powerful tool for answering their questions. There will be no need to wait through extended hold times or for the office to hire an additional front office staff. It is easy for providers to outfit their conversational agent with all the information prospective patients may need on provided services, business hours, insurance, and more.
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Removing hesitancy to “be a bother”
Trying to be a self-reliant person is admirable, up to a point. Unfortunately, it is all too common for people to minimize their own problems and not want to “be a bother” by bringing them to other people’s attention, sometimes waiting until a situation is barely tenable before finally asking for help. On the other hand, conversational automation agents exist to answer questions and help guide people to the care they need. There is no worry about making somebody take time out of their day to answer their questions, just immediate access to the info they need.
Better accessibility leading up to virtual sessions
The percentage of mental health facilities that offer telemedicine increased from 38% in 2019 to 68.7%, according to SAMHSA data. The jump in virtual mental healthcare was driven by pandemic-driven shifts in essential services, though it had already been steadily increasing in preceding years. Since more and more patients are already accustomed to handling their mental care needs remotely, conversational agents can help streamline the entire journey right in the browser window.
Even as conversational automation grows in capability, it is unlikely that the value of an educated, motivated human mental health professional will ever be diminished, and that is not the goal. Instead, mental care professionals can start integrating intelligent chat into their web presences now to give more clients effective means of accessing the care they need.
Have you incorporated chatbots as part of your mental health services? How has it helped customers and your organization? Share with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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