Computer-aided treatments of mental health problems.
Isaac M Marks, Susan M Shaw, Richard Parkin · Clinical Psychology Science and Practice · 1998
Many research systems use computed clinical decisions to aid the treatment of adults with mental health problems. Such systems vary widely in the extent to which they meet all a given patient's needs. Almost all are aids to, not substitutes for, a therapist. Hardly any (a) do every treatment task needed from initial screening to the end of follow-up, (b) work 100% independent of contact with a human clinician or technician, and (c) are widely available and supported. Most systems use desk- or laptop computers, some use handheld computers, and a few use computer-driven phone interviews (interactive voice response). Virtual reality work is embryonic. Computerized systems to aid treatment have promising clinical outcomes in phobic, panic, and obsessive-compulsive disorders, nonsuicidal depression, and smoking cessation. Some of the systems should soon be robust enough to ease the lives of many patients, practitioners, and researchers.