Talkit: Localized, Anonymous Depression Caretaker

In recent years, the increase in mental disorders among university students has raised concerns about the effects that these disorders have on an individual's life and the community as a whole. Depression, being the most prevalent mental illness, is being tackled via various methodologies. However, in a developing country like Pakistan, the stigmatization of mental health, low mental health literacy, distrust of professional therapists and lack of data privacy laws have resulted in barriers, disallowing individuals from catering for their mental well-being. In this work, we introduce an anonymous, focused and moderated online safe space along with self-therapy techniques to university students of Pakistan as a mobile application to encourage them to open up about mental health. With Patient Health Questionnaire used as the mental health indicator, the System Usability Scale and acceptability survey proved our application to be an acceptable option for the Pakistani context.