General Questions
What is MHTS?
MHTS stands for Mental Health Technology Standards. It is a set of seven publicly available structural and ethical requirements for technologies intended to regulate, support or influence emotional and mental states.
Who created MHTS?
MHTS is an initiative of the International Mental Health Infrastructures (IMHI) Group.
Why was MHTS created?
No safety standard set specific design safeguards for digital mental-health technology; existing standards are largely general or process-based. MHTS was created as the first to do so, addressing risks associated with technologies affecting emotional and mental states, particularly when users are vulnerable to psychological manipulation, unnecessary surveillance, barriers to support and dependency-generating design.
Is MHTS internationally applicable?
The standards are published for international consideration and voluntary adoption. However, applicable laws, clinical requirements and technology regulations differ between jurisdictions.
Is MHTS free to use?
The published standards are publicly accessible without a requirement to purchase the document. The existence of an open public standard should not be interpreted as granting rights beyond any applicable published terms.
Is adoption mandatory?
MHTS v1.0 is a voluntary public standard. It does not itself establish a legal obligation to adopt MHTS. Other legal or regulatory requirements may apply independently.
Applicability
Which technologies are covered?
MHTS concerns technologies intended to regulate, support or influence emotional and mental states. Examples include relevant digital mental-health applications, self-guided emotional-support tools and interactive mental-health systems.
Does MHTS apply to AI chatbots?
AI chatbots intended to provide emotional or mental-health support fall within the types of technologies MHTS is designed to address. Their conversational interfaces, data flows, engagement mechanisms and human-support pathways should be evaluated against the published requirements.
Does MHTS apply to wellness applications?
A wellness application may be relevant if its intended purpose or functionality involves regulating, supporting or influencing emotional states. The applicability of individual requirements should be considered in relation to the actual technology and its intended use.
Does MHTS apply to clinical technologies?
MHTS may be relevant to clinical digital-health technologies, but it does not replace clinical standards, medical-device regulation or professional obligations.
Does MHTS apply to Psychological First Aid technologies?
Yes. The published MHTS introduction expressly includes technologies that may apply Psychological First Aid teachings, training or certification for public use.
Does every website discussing mental health need to comply?
MHTS is directed at technologies intended to regulate, support or influence emotional and mental states. A general information website and an interactive acute-distress intervention may have substantially different purposes and functionality. The relevant scope should be examined rather than assuming that all websites discussing mental health perform the same role.
Privacy & Data
Can MHTS-conforming technologies use analytics?
Only measurement approaches consistent with the published requirements can be considered. MHTS prohibits cookies, cross-site tracking, third-party behavioural profiling and undisclosed data flows. Privacy-preserving aggregate measurement may be possible without these mechanisms. Actual implementation must be examined.
Are cookies permitted?
No. MHTS Standard 2 explicitly prohibits cookies.
Can personal information be collected?
Standard 1 prohibits capturing names, email addresses and identifiable personal data within the mental-health technology covered by the requirement. The objective is to make stabilisation available without extracting identity.
Does avoiding names and email addresses establish anonymity?
No. A system may identify individuals through technical identifiers, retained network information or other data. Anonymity requires examining actual information capture and processing.
How can effectiveness be measured without tracking individuals?
Some outcomes can be measured through non-identifiable aggregate information. For example, a service may collect anonymous completion counts or optional, non-identifying responses concerning perceived emotional change. The methodology must be designed so that the information cannot reasonably identify people. The resulting evidence should be interpreted according to its limitations.
Must collected data be made public?
Standard 7 requires public access to the non-identifiable data collected by the technology, together with a clear explanation of how effectiveness and impact are measured. Publishing identifiable information is not permitted by the other MHTS requirements.
Can third-party services be used?
MHTS expressly prohibits third-party behavioural profiling and requires confirmation that no third-party behavioural data processors are used. It also prohibits undisclosed data flows. Other technical services must be evaluated according to their actual function and data practices. Their mere description as hosting, infrastructure or analytics services does not establish conformance.
Design & Safety
Why does MHTS prohibit streaks?
Standard 5 prohibits streak-based retention systems because they can use a person's vulnerability to build dependence, which conflicts with their independence and mental-health interests. The intended purpose of mental-health support is to benefit the user, not to encourage habitual return for its own sake.
Are all notifications prohibited?
No. The published requirement specifically prohibits notifications designed to reactivate vulnerability, alongside shame-based reminders and other dependency-generating mechanisms. Notifications should be evaluated according to their actual purpose and design.
Why must stabilisation come first?
MHTS Standard 4 establishes that, in relevant distress states, physiological regulation should precede reflection, analysis or education. The purpose is to avoid introducing unnecessary cognitive demands before attempting immediate stabilisation. This is an MHTS design requirement, not a claim that one intervention sequence is clinically appropriate for every situation.
Does MHTS prescribe particular psychological exercises?
No. MHTS establishes structural and ethical requirements rather than a complete clinical intervention protocol. Developers must separately consider the suitability and evidence base of their specific interventions.
Must a technology provide human support?
Standard 6 requires clear access to real human emotional-support services. This does not necessarily mean the technology provider must operate its own counselling or crisis service. Relevant external pathways may provide access, provided the published requirement is satisfied.
Are emergency services required?
Yes. Standard 6 requires clear access to local emergency services. The implementation should be appropriate to the intended users and their locations.
Can an AI system replace a therapist?
MHTS prohibits digital tools from positioning themselves as substitutes for human care or claiming authority over treatment. AI may provide certain forms of assistance, but it must not misrepresent its capabilities or obstruct appropriate professional support.
Compliance & Verification
How is MHTS compliance checked?
Technologies can be reviewed against the seven published standards. This involves examining the relevant functionality, architecture, interfaces, data practices and publicly available information. An online self-assessment is also available at mhts.org.
Can organisations assess themselves?
Yes. The published MHTS resources provide a compliance self-assessment. Self-assessment should accurately reflect the technology's actual operation and the evidence available.
Is MHTS certification available?
The published v1.0 materials establish an open standard and compliance self-assessment but do not describe an independent accredited certification programme. A self-assessment must not be represented as independent certification.
Can a technology conform to only some standards?
A technology may satisfy some requirements while failing others. An organisation can describe those findings accurately. However, partial satisfaction should not be presented as complete conformance with all seven standards.
Does MHTS conformance prove clinical effectiveness?
No. Conformance with structural and ethical requirements is separate from evidence that a technology produces particular clinical or psychological outcomes.
Can MHTS replace a security audit?
No. MHTS addresses specified privacy and ethical-design requirements. A technology may still require broader security testing, clinical evaluation or regulatory assessment.
Governance & Regulation
Who maintains MHTS?
MHTS is published as an initiative of the International Mental Health Infrastructures (IMHI) Group.
What is the current version?
The published version referenced in this documentation is MHTS v1.0.
How are the standards updated?
The official standards page identifies the published version. This documentation does not assume an amendment or consultation process that has not been publicly established. Readers should refer to the official website for the current requirements.
How does MHTS relate to existing industry standards?
MHTS complements other frameworks by addressing specific ethical and structural safeguards. It does not replace established health-app quality standards, clinical-evidence frameworks, privacy legislation or medical-device regulation.
Does voluntary adoption have legal implications?
Adopting MHTS does not itself create a universal regulatory approval or exemption. An organisation's public representations about its product and conformance should nevertheless be accurate and consistent with applicable law.