Current and Future Trends in Internet-Supported Mental Health Interventions

“…health interventions appear to hold great potential—they offer direct, convenient access to resources that a person might otherwise not have, especially because nearly two thirds of all people with diagnosable mental disorders do not seek treatment (Kessler et al., 1996; Regier et al., 1993).”

“A literature review conducted by Fjeldsoe, Marshall, and Miller (2009) clearly showed that SMS-delivered interventions have positive results at least on short-term behavioral outcomes.”

“For example, some received ‘personalised’ feedback in the form of information based on an assessment or data that was entered into the intervention, which can vary in its degree of personalisation (Barak & Grohol, 2011; Musiat et al., 2012).”

“(Barak and Grohol 2011).”

“Since then many other CBT-based interventions have been developed and evaluated for the treatment of different mental health problems (Barak and Grohol, 2011).”

“Some practitioners have chosen to exchange text messages with clients informally, for example, when clients wish to cancel or reschedule an appointment or provide the social worker with a btief update duting a ctisis (Barak & Grohol, 2011; Zur, 2011).”

“However, it is important to recognise that the popularity of particular sites can change quickly, as the continued demise of MySpace demonstrates, and emphasises the importance for research in this area to be undertaken regularly to keep up with the ever-changing landscape [32].”

“The presence of these online psychological services is expected to not only increase, but branch out and utilize short message services (SMS), smart phone applications (apps), computer games, and virtual worlds (Barak & Grohol, 2011).”

“A variety of technology-mediated mental and behavioral health services are available [2,3], with a growing body of evidence supporting their efficacy (eg, [4-7]).”

“Its features could be translated into health services and offer easy access [1,3], safeguarded anonymity [4], and opportunities to receive help without the fear of stigmatization [6].”

“…was considered the most appropriate modality, possibly for its similarity with traditional face-to-face counseling (rather than text-based modalities); this finding was in line with previous studies (Backhaus et al., 2012; Barak & Grohol, 2011; Centore & Milacci, 2008; Mora et al., 2008).”

“Some clinicians believe that maintaining online relationships with clients on social networking sites can be used as a therapeutic tool (Barak and Grohol 2011; Graffeo and La Barbera 2009; Lannin and Scott 2013); they claim that informal contact with clients on social networking sites empowers…”

“The Internet has been proposed to be an efficient platform to engage, educate, and intervene in the younger generation’s health concerns, especially for those who are not easily engaged by traditional methods [8,9].”

“To address this, attempts have already been made to structure parts of the field, for example for specific technologies, e.g., internet-supported mental health interventions (5, 6), smartphone apps (7) or for particular domains, e.g., for emotion regulation in clinical psychology (8).”

“Cyber counseling or e-Therapy is considered a realistic way of responding to the demand for mental health services, a demand which is expected to increase exponentially in the coming years (Barak and Grohol 2011; Norcross et al. 2002; Schmidt and Wykes 2012).”

“While much of the literature on peer support is based on offline face-to-face settings, online peer support has evolved rapidly in recent years [22, 23], also for mental health issues [24] exemplified through different types of interventions and target groups [25–27].”

“Despite vigorous debate within the field, a number of studies have postulated the mental health support benefits of online technologies (Mackinnon et al., 2008; Barak and Grohol, 2011; Burns et al., 2013).”

“…care involves technologies that support compassionate care and are used by health professionals and/or patients, including uses such as shared gaming time between health professionals and patients to facilitate bonding time [35,56], mental health apps [26,47,64], and patient portals [41,48].”

“An increasing number of studies on Internet-based interventions, many based on CBT (iCBT), indicate their efficacy in supporting use of constructive self-management strategies in individuals living with chronic illness [12-15].”

“For those who are open to the inclusion of technology in social work practice, there remains considerable debate regarding whether technology should be implemented as a supplement to or substitute for traditional face-to-face approaches (Barak & Grohol, 2011; Wodarski & Frimpong, 2013).”

“Furthermore, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, has now been set in motion to cover and regulate the privacy and security of all technology-based healthcare transactions (Barak and Grohol 2011).”

“…vary in form and purpose, and include online counseling and psychotherapy, the use of psychoeducational websites, online support groups, self-help interventions and career assessment and guidance services (Barak & Grohol, 2011; Rummell & Joyce, 2010; Tirel, Rozgonjuk, Purre, & Elhai, 2019).”

“More-over, online interventions offer an affordable and easily accessible avenue for services, particularly benefiting marginalized and minority communities, as well as adolescents and college students residing in geographically remote regions (Barak and Grohol, 2011).”

“conducted and published regularly to keep up with the ever-changing landscape [34].”

“The opportunities afforded by programs and services that aim to treat and manage mental health problems have been recognized for over two decades [15,16].”

“a prevention and intervention method [17].”

“For example, such interventions may be appropriate for individuals who have difficulty accessing psychological treatment or do not want to utilize face-to-face treatment [1-5].”

“Although studies have highlighted the advantages of tailored interactive health information [37,38], for pragmatic reasons, we developed a simple static information website with text, pictures and graphics.”

“Indeed, a broad understanding of best practices for mobile apps and technology for direct practice is still unavailable in the literature (Barak & Grohol, 2011).”

“The delivery of clinical social work services online is increasingly common.. Social workers may refer their clients to psycho-educational websites, Smartphone Apps, or self-guided interventions (Barak & Grohol, 2011) to use as supports in conjunction with therapy.”

“There is a growing use of technology in the treatment of mental health, including text messages (Barak & Grohol, 2011).”

“This has enriched the counseling profession and upgraded performance (Barak & Grohol, 2011; Kraus, 2011c).”

“Online mental health interventions have the potential to reach people in a convenient, timely and cost-effective way (Barak & Grohol, 2011).”

“Although such interventions have been found to be efficacious, barriers to accessible, reliable, and consistent internet connection keep these interventions beyond the reach of traditionally underserved populations [18].”

“Victims may get information and help via hotlines, support groups, websites, blogs, and online forums (Barak & Grohol, 2011).”

“Moreover, online interventions have the potential to reach people who are unwilling or unable to receive face-to-face help, for example, those who live in remote areas or those with decreased mobility (30).”

“However, providing e-therapy and using Internet therapeutic programs may require technical skills from both clients and social workers in order to overcome glitches with hardware and software (Atkinson et al., 2009; Barak and Grohol, 2011; Grady et al., 2011; McCarty and Clancy, 2002).”

“Online counseling refers to a professional counseling help in which the counselee and the counselor communicate with each other via electronic devices (Barak & Grohol, 2011; Bloom, 1998; Richards & Vigano, 2012, 2013).”

“Asynchronous communication (e.g., emails) means that the client’s and practitioners communication do not occur simultaneously (Barak & Grohol, 2011), whereas synchronous communication (e.g., video conferencing) means that the sessions occur in real time (Elleven & Allen, 2004).”

“For this reason, psychologists and non-governmental services increased and strengthened online counselling therapy, or e-therapy [40].”

“These sources consist of literature [21, 51], audio sources [8] and the internet [4, 25].”

“These online interventions can be delivered in many different formats including psychoeducation, self-help programs, chat support groups, interactive health coaching, and professional-led online therapy [9].”

“Online counseling is a common e-mental health intervention offered at youth helplines across the world [7,19] and is described by Barak and Grohol [20] as a “mental health”

“This is the great advantage of mental health interventions using new technologies [39,62].”

“Digital health interventions have proliferated in recent years [1], and evidence suggests they can improve management of mental health issues, including substance use disorders (SUDs) [2,3].”

“Several systematic and critical reviews argue that teletherapy can result in client outcomes that are comparable to the outcomes from face-to-face counseling sessions [9, 20, 32, 71].”

“Web-based interventions provide various opportunities for extending services to people with mental health [9] and behavioral problems, as they provide an effective way of reaching people, including the parents of children, as with our program.”

“Online interventions have been shown to be effective for a range of health, mental health, and behavioral outcomes in both children and adults (Barak & Grohol, 2011; Cushing & Steele, 2010).”

“Ford et al [7] emphasized the importance of equitable access to these virtual educational tools to prevent a knowledge gap between those with and without access to these advanced technologies [91].”

“…review the research evidence supporting the efficacy of mental health apps for mobile devices Scientific based mental health apps are still lacking Barak & Grohol (2011) Summarizes the research for online mental health interventions Cost-effective, convenient, and reach a more diverse population…”

“Future research will also need to map the affordances, constraints and experiences of online counseling as it evolves with technological advancements such as automation and platform changes (Barak & Grohol, 2011; Miner, Milstein, & Hancock, 2017).”

“Attention is turning to the future research agenda in e-mental health (Andrews and Williams, 2014; Barak and Grohol, 2011), where issues such as how to personalise and promote engagement with e-therapy programs have been highlighted as requiring attention (Cavanagh and Millings, 2013a).”

“Barak and Grohol (2011) divide online mental health interventions into five categories: online counseling and psychotherapy, psychoeducational websites, interactive interventions, online support groups and blogs, and other types of interventions.”

“Similarly, individuals with limited mental health literacy or high levels of mental illness stigma may find that such interventions overcome these barriers [43].”

“Email exchanges are asynchronous which means that the client’s and counselor’s communication do not occur simultaneously (Barak and Grohol 2011) and that responses are delayed (Richards and Viganó 2013).”

“In the helping professions, there is an emergence of literature exploring the use of video games in counseling and psychotherapy (Barak & Grohol, 2011; Ceranoglu, 2010; Griffiths, 2003; Horne-Moyer, Moyer, Messer, & Messer, 2014).”

“Such features have also previously been found to facilitate improvements in health outcomes (Barak & Grohol, 2011; Free et al., 2013; Maher et al., 2014; Sillence et al., 2007).”

“…gradually accommodating new relational patterns by developing practice skill sets that can successfully deal with social media (Holmes, Kozlowski, & Hermann, 2014), provide therapeutic distance counseling (Barak & Grohol, 2011), and support effective distance super-vision (McAdams & Wyatt, 2010).”

“New strategies, such as gami fi cation [24], are promising to help patients with staying motivated when using health IT.”

“For clients, email-based counseling, chat-rooms, cybertherapy, online self-help and support groups, and numerous counseling information websites provide the convenience of professional services regardless of time and location (Barak and Grohol 2011).”

“Web-based interventions, in general, are cost-efficient and effective [50, 51] and would prove an affordable option for carers of people with BD who may not seek out in-person treatment for themselves.”

“Themes of safety in anonymity, exposure and detachment online have been debated in research exploring the ‘disinhibition effect’ whereby anonymous online communities have been thought to develop differing types of interactions when compared with personalised ‘realistic’ interactions.(16,17) Additionally, our themes co…”

“…geographical barriers for parents to receive psychoeducation, higher fidelity, greater accessibility, convenience, and reduced time and costs (Aqdassi et al. 2019, Aqdassi et al. 2021, Barak and Grohol 2011, Breitenstein et al. 2014, Hammond et al. 2012, Khanna et al. 2007, Ristkari et al. 2019).”

“Like Horgan and Sweeney (2010) and Barak and Grohol (2011), we assume that the Internet could be a notable channel for adolescents with mental disorders to share their concerns.”

“Despite limitations, this research contributes valuable insights for future interventions, emphasizing the importance of personalized approaches, interactivity, and long-term follow-ups for sustained impact on maternal and child health.”

“Beneficial uses for social media in child welfare Technology, including social media, offers cost-effective opportunities to support interventions and maintain contact with clients and stakeholders (Barak & Grohol, 2011; Bell et al., 2014).”

“…or smartphones, are seen as having the potential to improve temporal and geographical access to mental health services, lower attitudinal barriers (e.g., stigma, shame) [13] and are generally cost-effective [14], thereby reaching a wider public with lower costs and shorter waiting times [15].”

“Other professions’ negative attitudes toward the technology-based system or differences between frameworks may be confusing and related to the acceptance of a new intervention (24,45,46).”

“In the area of mental health, Internet-based interventions for depression have undergone significant development [2].”