Researchers conducted a study on the effectiveness of e-Mental health services in Australia for individuals living in rural and remote areas who are at an elevated risk of mental health problems. Text-based services were found to be particularly beneficial for those concerned with privacy and self-presentation, as they offer clients an opportunity to reflect on the therapy session after it has ended, and allow researchers to analyze language use patterns and explore how these relate to mental health status. Using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count tool, client-therapist text messages were analyzed to examine whether the resulting word counts related to the participants' presenting problems or their self-ratings of mental health at the completion of counseling. The study found that word use patterns could be used to differentiate whether a client had one of the top three presenting problems and predict their self-rated mental health after counseling had been completed.
The findings of the study suggest that e-Mental health services using text-based communication can be an effective tool for managing mental health problems in rural and remote areas. These services can overcome barriers to help-seeking, such as poor access, stigma, and entrenched stoicism. The use of text-based communication in therapy sessions allows for privacy and self-reflection, and the analysis of language use patterns can provide valuable insights into clients' mental health status. The study offers a promising avenue for the development of more effective e-Mental health services, which could improve mental health outcomes for individuals in remote areas.
Read the research: Predicting Mental Health Status in Remote and Rural Farming Communities: Computational Analysis of Text-Based Counseling
