The American mental health care system has had some very fundamental problems for a while now: there are too few therapists, way too few psychiatrists, and it all adds up to not enough people getting the care they need. With COVID, the system needed to make some rapid changes that might go a long way to addressing the problems. 

Dr. Anthony Sossong is a psychiatrist and he does a lot of work on telehealth platforms. He says the technology has been in place for a while and even though there are some glitches, the necessity of long-distance psychiatry has brought some gifts. Doctors can see more people, which is especially important in underserved communities. 

Chet Wisniewski, an online security and privacy expert, joins us with a look at the app side of behavioral health. He examines the fine print on apps like Talkspace and reveals the personal information you give up for the convenience of hand-held therapy. 

We also hear about the ups and downs of the new online mental health world from some of our listeners and learn a bit more about Preshies, the new online mental health discussion group that we started.

Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun. 

Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at [email protected].

Help is available right away.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

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John's acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is available here. https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-hilarious-world-of-depression/

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