Blog Post 15-Abbi Herrold

This class has helped to expand my knowledge on healthcare from the patient/consumer's perspective in addition to showing me all the possibilities and capabilities technology has brought to the field of mental health. I have learned about many smartphone apps and websites I had no clue existed prior to this class. Additionally, I have thought more thoroughly about the barriers to healthcare as a part of this class.

No matter what technologies we create there will always remain two barriers: cost and stigma. Even if therapy or healthcare is free one must still have viable transportation and time to get to said therapy. Additionally, regardless of treatment having a mental illness is stigmatizing and is something those who live with mental illness have no choice but to recognize. We cannot socially reconstruct a society that has been condemning mental illness for years through the use of an app, there is much more of a social reform needed. 

Through the duration of this class I have noticed that while these technologies help healthcare be more inclusive, we are still leaving the most vulnerable out: the poor. What about those who do not have access to a smart phone or internet? What about those in third world countries who do not have the means to access mental healthcare? Etc. I am astonished by how far these innovations have reached to help under-served populations, but there is still a long way to go. 

This class has increased my passion as an advocate for mental health awareness and has increased my knowledge of the barriers of the healthcare system. As a future clinician I hope I will be able to serve those who need it most and be able to provide time and cost efficient care. I must be aware of all the variables that may influence my client's treatment and how I can make access to treatment easier for them.