Telemental health: A status update

Abstract

A rather large body of literature now exists on the use of telemental health services in the diagnosis and management of various psychiatric conditions. This review aims to provide an up-to-date assessment of telemental health, focusing on four main areas: computerized CBT (cCBT), Internet-based CBT (iCBT), virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET), and mobile therapy (mTherapy). Four scientific databases were searched and, where possible, larger, better-designed meta-analyses and controlled trials were highlighted. Taken together, published studies support an expanded role for telepsychiatry tools, with advantages that include increased care access, enhanced efficiency, reduced stigma associated with visiting mental health clinics, and the ability to bypass diagnosis-specific obstacles to treatment, such as when social anxiety prevents a patient from leaving the house. Of technology-mediated therapies, cCBT and iCBT possess the most efficacy evidence, with VRET and mTherapy representing promising but less researched options that have grown in parallel with virtual reality and mobile technology advances. Nonetheless, telepsychiatry remains challenging because of the need for specific computer skills, the difficulty in providing patients with a deep understanding or support, concerns about the "therapeutic alliance", privacy fears, and the well documented problem of patient attrition. Future studies should further test the efficacy, advantages and limitations of technology-enabled CBT, as well as explore the online delivery of other psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological modalities.

Developing a Brief Suicide Prevention Intervention and Mobile Phone Application: A Qualitative Report

“…Though the literature mostly examines the use of this technology based intervention within the fields of physical medicine (e.g. obesity), there is a growing literature that supports it’s applicability to the field of mental health (Aboujaoude, Salame & Naim, 2015). …”

Correction to: An Interprofessional Framework for Telebehavioral Health Competencies

“…One of the most rapidly growing areas of use for information technology is telebehavioral health (TBH) in the delivery of behavioral health (BH) services (in this paper, BH refers to both mental health and addictions treatment). TBH has been demonstrated to be an effective mode of treatment for a variety of presenting problems, with outcomes comparable to therapy provided in-person when diagnoses and settings are controlled (Aboujaoude et al 2015;Godleski et al 2012;Hilty et al 2013;Luxton et al 2016). TBH is gaining increased acceptance both among practicing clinicians (Glueckauf et al 2017) and consumers (Gros et al 2016;Roberts et al 2017).…”

Quality of Smartphone Apps Related to Alcohol Use Disorder

“…Internet-based treatments and smartphone apps were suggested as a possible way to improve treatment access among people with AUDs and substance use disorders [4,5]. A number of studies reported that a large proportion of people with mental and substance use disorders appear to be ready to use the Internet and smartphone apps for health purposes [6,7,8,9,10,11]. Furthermore, people who use such computerized interventions in natural settings, at least those who participate in self-assessment procedures, were repeatedly found to have substantial symptoms [12,13].…”