Telehealth and eHealth interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder

- Telehealth and eHealth tools may improve mental health services for trauma survivors.
- A wide array of eHealth tools can be used to overcome common barriers to care.
- Technologies such as video teleconferencing and computerized CBT have strong evidence.
- Newer tools such as mobile apps are popular but have limited evidence of efficacy.
- The promise of technology-based interventions has not yet been fully realized.

This paper presents existing research describing how telehealth and eHealth technologies can be used to improve mental health services for trauma survivors, either by enhancing existing treatment approaches or as a stand-alone means of delivering trauma-relevant information and interventions. The potential ways in which telemedicine technologies aide in overcoming barriers to care is first addressed in terms of providing mental health treatment. We then outline how different telehealth and eHealth tools can be used for key therapeutic tasks, including the provision of self-guided interventions, remote delivery of psychotherapy, and augmentation of psychological treatments. We conclude by discussing key emergent issues that are shaping current and future use of telemedicine technologies as part of the continuum of care for trauma survivors.