Future Directions in the Design, Development, and Investigation of Technology as a Service Delivery Vehicle

Abstract

Treatment outcome research with children and adolescents has progressed to such an extent that numerous handbooks have been devoted to reviewing and summarizing the evidence base. Ensuring that consumers of these advancements in state-of-the-field interventions have the opportunity to access, engage in, and benefit from this evidence-base, however, has been wrought with challenge. As such, much discussion exists about innovative strategies for overcoming the gap between research and practice; yet, no other potential solution that has received more attention in both the popular and academic press than technology. The promise of technology is not surprising given the fast-paced evolution in development and, in turn, a seemingly endless range of possibilities for novel service delivery platforms. Yet, this is precisely the most formidable challenge threatening to upset the very promise of this potential solution: The rate of emerging technologies is far outpacing the field's capacity to demonstrate the conceptual or empirical benefits of such an approach. Accordingly, this paper aims to provide a series of recommendations that better situate empirical enquiry at the core of a collaborative development, testing, and deployment process that must define this line of work if the promise of mental health technologies is going to be a reality for front-line clinicians and the clients they serve. Child and adolescent mental health as a subfield or specialty area in psychology has evolved in a relatively dramatic way from its infancy. As reviewed by others in rich detail, it was not until the early 1960s that "Child Clinical Psychology" became Section 1 of Division 12 ("Clinical Psychology") of the American Psychological Association (APA) (see Erikson, 2013; Routh, 1991; Routh, Patton, & Sanfilippo, 1991, for reviews). In turn, interest evolved for specialty training in child and adolescent service delivery (see Perry, 1978; Routh, 1985a; 1985b, for reviews); however, the "Specialty in Child Clinical Psychology" was not officially recognized by APA until 1988 and Division status, "Division of Child Clinical Psychology" (Division 54; established in 2000), achieved another decade later (with the name change to "Society for Child and Adolescent Psychology" in 2001) (

Navigating the challenges of digital health innovation: considerations and solutions in developing online and smartphone-application-based interventions for mental health disorders

“…Yet clearly the evidence-informed novel e-therapy is not the same as the non-e-therapy version, and may differ in relation to service user engagement, acceptability, therapeutic alliance, processes of change, and ultimately, treatment outcomes. 17 Although some industrial providers have established academic partnerships to evaluate their products once they have been disseminated, evaluating online treatments retrospectively sits at odds with the principle of evidence-based practice and raises difficulties if the research does not produce favourable results. We recommend involving academic partners from the start to ensure that adequate and appropriate evaluation is built into the development plan.…”

Future Directions in the Use of Telemental Health to Improve the Accessibility and Quality of Children's Mental Health Services

“…As we move forward, systematic research and further controlled evaluations are needed to provide a most rigorous empirical foundation for child telemental health (Comer et al 2014a;Jones 2014). Early work on child telemental health entailed single case studies or small case series, followed by detailed descriptions of large hospital-based telemental health practices, open trials, and then waitlist controlled trials (see Myers et al 2007Myers et al , 2008Myers et al , 2010Myers et al , 2011.…”

Incorporating telehealth into health service psychology training: A mixed-method study of student perspectives

“…In order to meet the growing need for a telehealth workforce, [14][15][16] doctoral programs in health service psychology must expand upon the currently limited training available in telehealth. 21,22 The need for expanded training has increased substantially this year, as telepsychology has been central to the mental health services response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.…”

“…In fact, numerous experts have identified telepsychology as a critical area for future growth in the field. [14][15][16] This is further represented by an increasingly supportive policy environment, with emerging avenues that permit the practice of telepsychology across state lines without requiring licensure in each state. 17,18 The present study explored the experiences of individuals who could soon join the growing telepsychology work force: doctoral students in health service psychology (i.e., clinical, counseling, and school) programs.…”