Proceedings of the ACM CHI conference on Human factors in Computing Systems
Abstract
The field of digital mental health is making strides in the application
of technology to broaden access to care. We critically examine how
these technology-mediated forms of care might amplify historical
injustices, and erase minoritized experiences and expressions of
mental distress and illness. We draw on decolonial thought and critiques of identity-based algorithmic bias to analyze the underlying
power relations impacting digital mental health technologies today,
and envision new pathways towards a decolonial digital mental
health. We argue that a decolonial digital mental health is one that
centers lived experience over rigid classification, is conscious of
structural factors that infuence mental wellbeing, and is fundamentally designed to deter the creation of power differentials that
prevent people from having agency over their care. Stemming from
this vision, we make recommendations for how researchers and designers can support more equitable futures for people experiencing
mental distress and illness
