In recent years, there has been a dramatic rise in the demand for mental health care, driven by the evolution of social structures post-COVID-19, workforce capacity constraints, economic pressures, and the effects of climate change, according to Professor Anil Thapliyal, Executive Director of the eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC). According to him, cumulative impact of these factors underlines the urgent need to improve access to timely and easily accessible mental health care. Digitally enabled solutions can be a solution to this, if introduced through a transformative approach and not just in the form of supplementing existing frameworks.
Thapliyal spoke about this during the ICT&health World Conference (28-30 January) in MECC Maastricht and in this first edition of ICT&health magazine, he explains his motivation for this approach.
You are an expert and a sought-after speaker on seamless integration of digital technologies to improve access to mental health care. In a nutshell; Why does this have your special attention and what is its importance?
“Recently, I looked at the most recent documentation on the number of completed suicides in the Netherlands. What struck me was that only 40% of the completed suicides were known to the Dutch Health system. So the bigger question is how do we design comprehensive population mental health strategy that takes into account rest of the 60% of Dutch people who are not reaching out to traditional mental health support services? Is it about stigma, systems navigation? Unfortunately, this challenge does not only apply to the Netherlands but also to the rest of the world. Dr Shekhar Saxena, former WHO Director of Mental Health once famously said – “when it comes to mental health, all countries are developing countries”
For me, this has been a great motivation throughout my career to ensure that access to mental health care improves in which digital plays a key role as a enabler. It must be available quickly and at all times, but in a very accessible way, as crisis does not happen between 9am-5pm between Monday to Friday. We must be able to offer solutions regardless of where someone is; at home, late at night after working hours, over the weekend, behind the laptop, via a smartphone, etc
How can digitization of mental health care be a solution to the current problems?
“Actually, I don’t think that digitization is the most important aspect here, but speaking the language of the client is. Almost all of us use a smartphone, and when I ask people what they think we use the smartphones the most for, response often is to make calls. Unfortunately making a phone call from our phones ranks number 11 activity, number 1 activity from our phone is sending text messages! This underlines the importance of speaking the client’s language. If we don’t, we won’t reach mental health consumers. I am therefore a fervent advocate of authentic co- design, in other words; I am convinced that in order to really make the connection, it is necessary that we design resources and solutions in consultation with the potential end user.
Otherwise we have the risk of missing the point altogether. The point here is that you have to reward all parties equally for their input. We have to take both the professional side and the input of the potential end user seriously.”
Together with mental health users, you have designed several digital initiatives. What is the vision behind this approach?
I operate from the finding that the need for mental health care is far too high. As an example globally there are 280 million people in need of mental health care for major depressive disorder (MDD). But only 160 million people are aware of the need for treatment, only 113 million people seek help and sadly only 46.2 million people receive minimally adequate treatment and only 3.7% people in Low to Middle Income countries (LMIC). Reasons of not seeking help are many and varied ranging from stigma, perhaps they are care-averse or ashamed, financial affordability.
So it is my motivation to reach the people who are not reaching out to traditional mental health support services. In some cases it is more difficult for people to walk into a clinic and express that they need help than to do so more anonymously in a digital way. Then you already cross out stigmatization and shame etc. as possible impeding factors. One can also use digital support between two physical appointments and outside office hours as a complimentary addendum. After all, a crisis does not necessarily take place between 9 and 5 between Monday to Friday. Many mental health professionals look at digital mental health care options as viable alternative as non-medicated treatment option to help people.
If you look at the concrete care for patients with mental health problems and their families/carers, what is the most important challenge?
“The main challenge is to keep the right focus and overview. You need to know what you are looking for, what you need, and where to find it. There is so much going on in the field of mental health care and it is available through many mental health websites, leading newspapers, magazines and publications. It is often difficult for people in crisis to navigate through myriad of options available out there. Aka; It is often looking for the needle in the haystack. This applies to both professionals and clients. If designed properly mental health systems navigation, can be just the right blessing for people seeking to reach out to mental health services in a timely manner because it is still too often the case that people do not know what options for help are available and how they can get access to the right help. I can give you an example of a situation where a digital mental health solution saved the life of someone who was in great psychological distress.
A young woman in Canada who was in severe psychological distress resorted to self-harm and suicide attempts time and time again. She then ended up in the emergency room, where not much more was done other than wound care, after which she was sent home again. Nothing was done about the underlying cause, so this situation repeated itself over and over again. Until one day she came across a digital solution on her smartphone in the form of a helpdesk, where she spoke to someone who could support her in an empathetic way, and believed in the pain and suffering she was going through. She calls it the “aha moment” where for the first time she felt fully heard and validated and from there on saw all the reasons to live. It turned out that help could be offered digitally on the spot and when needed. What else is open at 3am on Saturday morning. This young woman has now obtained a masters degree and is living a productive life with a promisingly bright future, whereas otherwise things might have taken a completely different turn without the intervention of the digital help she received.
Digital mental health care, or digital therapeutics, is broadly categorised in the following three types. Firstly, the low complexity - high volume. You have to think of mindfulness-like applications such as headspace and CALM etc. These applications are more of a preventative nature and wellbeing focussed. The second type falls under the heading of mild-moderate complexity and mild to moderate utilisation. Example of this are - Thubble and SAM in the Netherlands, Just a Thought in New Zealand and Kooth in the UK. These non-medicated treatment solutions have impressive evidence-base and efficacy data. If healthcare professionals were all aware of these applications, this could partly prevent the need to prescribe medication and contribute substantially to the well-being of patients with mild to moderate mental health symptoms. The third type falls under the heading of high complexity - low volume and is aimed at clinical settings and serious problems such as addiction care. This form also has different versions in various countries CHESS Health from the USA and Psyomics from the UK
In January 2025 you gave a keynote speech at the ICT&health world Conference in MECC Maastricht under the title ‘Reimagining Mental Health Care: Leveraging Digital Solutions for Enhanced Access and Outcomes’. Why do you think traditional care is no longer adequate and why is it necessary to transform mental health care?
“I wouldn’t argue that traditional care is no longer sufficient, because for the 40% of people who do find access to care, the traditional mental health support services work wonderfully for them. Traditional care therefore has its own value and we should certainly respect that.
But that doesn't mean there aren’t blind spots. We must remain aware of this, as well as of the fact that stigma that still exists in many shape and forms. My approach is therefore not to replace traditional mental health care, but to investigate how we can supplement it with the digital mental tools and services as a complimentary addendum. I told my story in Maastricht based on the idea that changes must come from the combination of all the stories of speakers during the conference. My key message was: Let's join hands!”
What does it take to achieve effective implementation of mental health technologies?
“Thats a good question and you can take the standard as a starting point or a modified design. In my opinion, a good implementation of digital applications has nothing to do with digital standards but more to do with getting comprehensive digital ecosystem right. Applications that can only be used for a year or two are of limited use. The starting point needs to be creating sustainable and scalable systems of mental health care. A sustainable ecosystem can be defined on the basis of five pillars.
The first is to co-design digital mental health solutions in partnership with the people with mental health lived or living experience, the second is to have a digital mental health policy and strategy in place, the third pillar is workforce development or clinician engagement. This must be in order across the entire spectrum of regulated and unregulated mental health workforce i.e. psychiatrists, psychologists, general practitioners, nurses, counsellors, social workers, peer support workers and health improvement practitioners to name a few. The fourth pillar is academia undertaking research and evaluation, and the fifth pillar is industry which makes scalable digital mental applications possible. It is important to consider the industry as the party that is part of the solution. As I have always said that “the only way to make a symphony is to let each maestro play their own instrument”. So you can’t say that one pillar is more important than the other, because each pillar makes a specific and indispensable contribution. And by sharing power and balance equally, together we can ensure equality that is sustainable and that benefits the people who need it.”
Can you give examples of scalable and sustainable digital mental health solutions as you envision?
“I could name dozens of examples, but to highlight one; the Government of the of Newfoundland and Labrador Province in Canada. Good care or improvement does not necessarily or exclusively have anything to do with money. But often it has more to do with good leadership, having a strong vision and the courage to take risks. From years of my work in this niche domain there is a great collaboration example enabled by synchronous alignment between political will and the executive branch of commissioning in the Provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. For me, this example is the best example worldwide of how good mental health care that is both scalable and sustainable works in real life.
In addition, eMHIC is organizing major annual event, it’s 10th Digital Mental Health Global Congress in Toronto, Canada this year 19-21 November 2025 with the participation of the United Nations, UNICEF and all eMHIC member countries, with the theme ‘Global Mental Health Equity: Digital Solutions for an Interconnected World”. I am a member of a UN Expert Advisory Group that is working on mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS) in humanitarian settings that can be deployed worldwide. So also for people who do not have a shelter and food security and people who live in refugee camps. People who have nothing but the device in their hands.”
What is the role of eMHIC in all this and why did you choose to use your expertise for this organization?
“We are a humble mental health charity but a very high-impact global organization working with a laser-sharp focus on looking at the role of digital technologies to improve timely access to mental health information, care, support, and treatment. What the organization is trying to do is to propagate development through collaboration by encouraging people-to-people connection and trust between all member states. Some people choose a career because they are fiscally motivated and others choose out of the motivation to make a difference. I belong to the latter category.
What drives you in life and how does that influence your leadership style and your ambitions as an executive director?
“What drives me in life and what I value very much is strengthening cooperation between organizations, enabling collaboration with a view to make this world a better place for everyone. The seed of that visionary quest was born in 1999 when I worked in my own Family Therapy practice. The waiting time even in those days in primary care was 18 weeks which I found totally unacceptable. My conclusion was that even a week, or even two days, can be too long and I started exploring how digital technologies can improve timely access to mental health information, care, support, or treatment.
Based on the developments you are pursuing in the field of mental health care, do you have a message or tip for your fellow directors?
I have the following 8 messages!
- The first is to embed digital mental health care in policy. Let’s get it right by design.
- Number two is to build digital mental health champions for change
- Number three is to enable workforce development
- Number four is to foster and promote collective ownership of digital mental health. So don’t just leave it to psychiatrists and psychologists, but work together in all areas.
- Number five is to enable timely access to mental health at the time and place of persons choosing
- Number six is to enable development of a comprehensive systems navigation to make sure every citizen has a good overview of the mental health help available to them. In times of crisis people are cognitively challenged and simple task such as seeking help can become quite daunting.
- Number seven is to focus on partnership and collaboration.
- Number eight is to embrace authentic co-design principles by including people with mental health lived or living experience.
Curriculum
Professor Anil Thapliyal is a distinguished leader in the field of digital mental health, currently serving as the Executive Director of the eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC). He is dedicated to enhancing global mental health through innovative digital solutions that prioritize the needs of service users, their families, and caregivers. His philosophy emphasizes that “if digital mental health solutions do not work for those with lived experience, their families, and carers, then they do not work at all,” reflecting a user-centric approach that drives his initiatives.
Under Professor Thapliyal’s leadership, eMHIC has emerged as a premier global think tank within the digital mental health sector, fostering scalable and sustainable solutions by uniting governments, health organizations, lived experience leaders, academics, and industry stakeholders. His collaborative efforts with numerous governments and global health bodies—including the United Nations, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the APEC Digital Hub for Mental Health—demonstrate the extensive influence and trust he commands, highlighting the global impact of his work.
He has served as an advisor to the special committees at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in New Zealand on Mental Health and Data & Digital. He has been a key advisor to the eMental Health Section at the World Psychiatric Association and UNICEF. In 2020 he was appointed a Leadership Fellow at St George’s House, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, UK.
In recognition of his unique expertise in the Digital Mental Health domain, he has been appointed to the core group of international experts advising the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed in developing an implementation plan for the roll-out of Mental Health and Psychosocial support services (MHPSS) in Humanitarian Settings. He is often invited to Parliamentary Think Tanks and present to All Party Committees on Mental Health Substance Use and Addictions in various countries around the world.
Mental health care will continue to be an important part of the ICT&health World Conference in 2026. The conference will be held from 27-29 January at the MECC, Maastricht.
