<p>Bengaluru: The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans) has issued guidelines for the safe and responsible use of technology, digital mental health applications, and key recommendations for stakeholders.</p>.<p>The recommendations come after a three-day conference on digital technologies and mental health.</p>.<p>A committee of experts presented six key recommendations to build a strong mental health ecosystem. These include constituting a high-powered committee to shape a national, tiered governance framework for mental health apps, and setting up a national directory for voluntary listing of apps meeting basic requirements to encourage transparency and responsible innovation.</p>.<p>To help users select the right app, an end-user friendly repository of mental health apps was recommended for virtual stores. A digital mental health literacy course for mental health service providers, ministry-approved guidelines for stakeholder groups, and a full-fledged department for applied research on digital mental health applications were also proposed.</p>.Bengaluru: Nimhans hosts conclave on mental health survey.<p>Dr Seema Mehrotra, Professor and Principal Investigator of the NIMHANS-ICMR Centre for Advanced Research, spoke about a systematic review of mobile apps accessible to users in India, pointing to concerns, including privacy and safety vulnerabilities, collaboration deficit, and crisis support deficit.</p>.<p>Dr Nitin Anand, Professor of Clinical Psychology and SHUT Clinic, Nimhans, stressed the need for a distress mechanism to track digital distress, address cyber incidents, and provide access to support services such as Tele-MANAS (14416).</p>.<p>On parental responsibility, Dr Anand said parents must supervise and regulate technology use at home through self-regulation. The experts said preventive programmes on early parenting education during pre-parenthood and early childhood stages can make a difference.</p>.Teachers to be trained by Nimhans experts to identify technology addiction in students.<p>Schools were advised to define screen0time norms of under one hour per day, address cyber misconduct, and ensure counselling support.</p>.<p>The experts also called for policy changes to address the digital divide between government and private institutions, covering differences in access, training, and usage patterns, along with modifications ensuring inclusion for neurodiverse, disabled, queer, and other marginalised communities.</p>.<p>The government was advised to strengthen services through specialised clinics such as the SHUT Clinic and the Nimhans Digital Detox Helpline for managing psychosocial issues.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans) has issued guidelines for the safe and responsible use of technology, digital mental health applications, and key recommendations for stakeholders.</p>.<p>The recommendations come after a three-day conference on digital technologies and mental health.</p>.<p>A committee of experts presented six key recommendations to build a strong mental health ecosystem. These include constituting a high-powered committee to shape a national, tiered governance framework for mental health apps, and setting up a national directory for voluntary listing of apps meeting basic requirements to encourage transparency and responsible innovation.</p>.<p>To help users select the right app, an end-user friendly repository of mental health apps was recommended for virtual stores. A digital mental health literacy course for mental health service providers, ministry-approved guidelines for stakeholder groups, and a full-fledged department for applied research on digital mental health applications were also proposed.</p>.Bengaluru: Nimhans hosts conclave on mental health survey.<p>Dr Seema Mehrotra, Professor and Principal Investigator of the NIMHANS-ICMR Centre for Advanced Research, spoke about a systematic review of mobile apps accessible to users in India, pointing to concerns, including privacy and safety vulnerabilities, collaboration deficit, and crisis support deficit.</p>.<p>Dr Nitin Anand, Professor of Clinical Psychology and SHUT Clinic, Nimhans, stressed the need for a distress mechanism to track digital distress, address cyber incidents, and provide access to support services such as Tele-MANAS (14416).</p>.<p>On parental responsibility, Dr Anand said parents must supervise and regulate technology use at home through self-regulation. The experts said preventive programmes on early parenting education during pre-parenthood and early childhood stages can make a difference.</p>.Teachers to be trained by Nimhans experts to identify technology addiction in students.<p>Schools were advised to define screen0time norms of under one hour per day, address cyber misconduct, and ensure counselling support.</p>.<p>The experts also called for policy changes to address the digital divide between government and private institutions, covering differences in access, training, and usage patterns, along with modifications ensuring inclusion for neurodiverse, disabled, queer, and other marginalised communities.</p>.<p>The government was advised to strengthen services through specialised clinics such as the SHUT Clinic and the Nimhans Digital Detox Helpline for managing psychosocial issues.</p>
