Dr. John Torous, Digital Psychiatry, and Delightful Mental Health

It is not surprising to hear that everyone’s state of anxiety is pretty high. We are all facing a very uncertain future. Turning on the news, which I recommend doing only in moderation, it is easy to get caught up in the frightening images and metrics as the pandemic spreads. Enter digital psychiatry and e-mental health tools. Technically speaking, digital psychiatry refers to any electronic device or mechanism through which people can get information about or assistance with their mental health. And it might be the future of mental health careBut what does this mean for patients and the clinicians, as well as caregivers and healthcare professionals? Besides, does any of this stuff work? How does it impact the clinical workflow and clinical profession? And what does it mean for privacy and security?To help answer these questions and more, we have Dr. John Torous, psychiatrist and Director of the BIDMC Digital Psychiatry Clinic. John has been engaged in this topic for some time, and is one of the leaders in the field. He also created the LAMP app, an open-source tool that clinicians and patients can use to track symptoms and onset of chronic mental illness. You can say he knows a lot about digital psychiatry.John drops by the Experience by Design studio to talk digital psychiatry, COVID-19 responses, and the future of clinical mental health. Hope you enjoy our discussion.