NFTs in Mental Health
If you are reading this, I assume you have some basic knowledge of what Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are. If not, I encourage you to do some reading on it! An oversimplified explanation is that it is a token of ownership of some form of digital data stored in a blockchain.
The NFT space has been booming since 2017, and what started as a movement in the field of art and digital art expanded to numerous industries such as music, writing, games, and more. One such field is mental health and wellness.
When people use the word blockchain in healthcare, rarely is mental health inclusive. It refers to other facets of the industry and how blockchain has created solutions for them.
With mental health becoming increasingly crucial amongst populations of countries across the globe, I can say it was about time there were more projects dedicated to it. There have been a few projects which focused on mental health and tried to contribute in different ways. A couple of examples are given below:
The MoonWhips NFTs for Mental Health
MoonWhips is an NFT project that tried to generate money that would be donated to charities and organizations that worked towards mental health. The project began with a unique series of 11,111 NFTs inspired by the 80s pop culture era. Today, it has evolved into what it calls itself a universe that includes limited edition lifestyle items, art figurines, a native blockchain game, and more.
The project gained traction from various celebrities who believed in the cause and invested in their NFTs. However, this is a passive way of contributing to the field, where the project didn’t actively get involved with use cases that were mental-health oriented.
The DinoMonks NFTs for Mental Health
The DinoMonks project was more active in its approach. It leveraged NFTs as an access pass or utility token to let people access various mental health services. These include workshops on understanding the subject, a Discord group or community where no topic was taboo, and people could talk about their mental illness and experiences without hesitation, and more.
Besides all this, there would be numerous other resources to strengthen the community and build awareness amongst themselves.
While these are merely two examples of mental health initiatives in the mental health and wellness space, numerous projects are emerging across the globe with the intent to create a better mental space via NFTs.
Conclusions around NFTs for Mental Health
NFTs, since 2021, have been valued more if they provide relevant utilities. This transformation in how people perceive NFTs can be tapped into to give them a space where their mental health is at the forefront.
People should be able to access numerous resources to become more aware, reach out for professional help if needed, and even connect with like-minded people who’ve had mental health issues, thus building a safe space filled with empathetic individuals.
All of this and more can be possible through NFTs, imagine holding an NFT that allows you to have monthly free consultations or coaching. I believe we have yet to see the potential of NFT on mental health and psychology. It will be fascinating to see how new projects work towards this niche.
Author: Christopher Lee, B Psych Science (Hons); Masters of Psych (Clinical); MAPS
Christopher Lee is a Brisbane psychologist with a keen interest in helping teenagers and young adults with trauma, behavioural and relational issues. In addition to speaking English, Cantonese and Mandarin fluently, Christopher uses evidence-based therapy techniques such as CBT, ACT, EFT, and DBT. 
To make an appointment with Christopher Lee try Online Booking. Alternatively, you can call M1 Psychology Loganholme on (07) 3067 9129 or Vision Psychology Wishart on (07) 3088 5422.