Can digital innovation be helpful to counselling and psychotherapy in low‐ and middle‐income countries? The case of Ghana

Okyere‐Twum, Ernest

The delivery of psychotherapy and counselling through digital innovation has become an expanding medium, reaching many patients. Today, technological knowledge is crucial for every profession and sector, especially in this era of the COVID‐19 pandemic.The aim of this study was to review and synthesise key literature on how technologically mediated therapy (TMT) can be used to address the challenges around mental health and well‐being within low‐ and middle‐income countries like Ghana.This is a narrative literature review that analysed literature pertaining to mental health and well‐being in Ghana. Two hundred and twenty‐three (223) articles were consulted. Of these, 70 articles were retained to respond to the aim of the review. The selection and extraction of data were based on the following criteria—the quality of reportage, the robustness of study design and the reliability and validity of data collected.Research shows that TMT offers an effective alternative approach in dealing with mental health and well‐being challenges. Instead of the traditional face‐to‐face intervention, TMT has the capacity to reach a greater proportion of a population, ensure the dissemination of large amounts of health information and support the mental health workforce. These were chosen as key themes and discussed in line with key literature that addresses the review's objective.In summary, TMT has the capacity to meet Ghana's mental health needs. Implementing the findings will require, amongst other things, the ethical responsibility of counsellors and psychotherapists to safeguard confidential information shared by patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Counselling & Psychotherapy Research is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)