Exploring Mental Health Providers' Willingness to Integrate Digital Applications for Gen-Z Students

Mental health services have expanded significantly throughout recent years, alongside the virtualization of said services since the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, digital mental health applications (DMHAs) are now widely available. Generation-Z college students are a demographic that both grew up with this technology and is associated with a high risk of mental illness development during their time in higher education. Integration of familiar technology and necessary mental health services could potentially help address their unique psychological needs. This study explores mental healthcare providers’ perspectives on incorporating DMHAs into their therapy services to Gen-Z college students. An anonymous survey was distributed to 20 mental health professionals and their views on technology in their practice. Data was then analyzed using sentiment analysis, a machine learning technique that determines whether a participant’s opinion had a positive, negative, or neutral sentiment. Preliminary findings reveal that approximately 45% of sentiments were positive, 33% were negative, and 22% were neutral. While professionals expressed willingness to integrate a certain degree of technology into their practice, there were still concerns raised regarding ethics, confidentiality, technological challenges for both patients and providers, and potential disruptions to the therapeutic relationship. These findings suggest that although DMHAs can offer potential benefits to the patient, issues related to confidentiality, ethics, and technological competency may limit widespread adoption in mental health practices.