I wrote: Najwa Taha
As part of strengthening the role of technology in mental health and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s interest in promoting the mental health of community members through interactive platforms, which help educate them on the importance of positive and purposeful use of technology , the Labayh platform launched – labay For psychotherapy, an initiative entitled “Your psychology matters most” to promote mental health, through which it provides (free tests) psychological measures (anxiety and depression measurements) to platform users, as are the diseases most common affecting mental health.
In this context, Bassem Al-Biladi, co-founder and CEO of the Labbeh platform, underlining the importance of mental health education and awareness campaigns targeting different ages and its importance for the individual and society, has stated: “To this day, the stigma towards psychological treatment still dominates the thoughts of many, as statistics show that 52% of those in need of psychological treatment have decided to overcome it on their own rather than seek adequate psychological care.
“Your Psychology is Most Important” initiative to promote early diagnosis of mental illness coincides with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2030 Action Plan and Global Vision, which all member states of the World Health Organization are committed to to implement, with the aim of improving mental health through the development and implementation of plans to promote mental health. The Labeh platform reflects an effort to provide comprehensive and integrated mental health and social care services in community settings, as well as a greater focus on mental health issues and issues faced by individuals and groups in society, as health mental health is an integral part of the public health system.
Al-Biladi said, “The Labbeh platform has so far registered 1.2 million users, and according to data received from user responses to the application’s psychological measures, more than 345,000 users have tested for anxiety.” As for the depression test, around 417,000 users were taken and the data revealed that around 118,000 people had experienced a ‘high likelihood of depression’ level.
He added, the labor movement in Labia is in full swing, to reduce the spread of negative psychological phenomena, especially those that have recently spread in societies, to change the misconceptions of citizens and to remove the stigma of mental illness. Therefore, Labaih offers its users the possibility to address the challenges related to their mental health through an innovative tool, and thus it will help them lead a positive lifestyle and activate more the role of technology in our lives.
For his part, Mazen Al-Rakini, Executive Director of Technology and Growth at the Labaih Platform, said, “Over the past few years, the Labaih Platform has brought about a radical and tangible change in the world of mental health and has made great strides. to improve the life of society. Through the platform, we have developed guidelines and developed new tools to improve mental health. The better, raise psychological awareness and address the stigma of society, and provide comprehensive and integrated mental health and social care services.
He added that depression and anxiety are the most common mental disorders, and the resulting loss of productivity costs the global economy about $1 trillion a year, and that governments allocate less than 2% of their budgets national mental health. Therefore, we provide, through the platform, a series of standardized questions that initially help people assess their condition and know the current level of infection so that the specialist can provide a better service.
Al-Rakini stressed that the Labaih platform’s plan aims to enrich Arabic content on mental health in order to raise awareness and help everyone spread hope and improve lifestyles. The Labeyah platform’s ‘Your Psychology is Most Important’ initiative is an important and ongoing step to spread positivity and optimism among the citizens of the Kingdom, aiming to support mental health for different age groups and an emphasis on leading role of initiatives and programs concerning mental health and instilling a culture of recovery from mental disorders and rehabilitation, which contributes to improving the quality of life of citizens and to cope with the changes occurring in societies.