Technology-Based Interventions and Reducing the Burdens of Mental Illness: Perspectives and Comments on the Special Series

• Discuss technology-based treatments in the context of current evidence-based psychotherapies.
• Focus on the extent to which technology can expand the reach of psychosocial interventions.
• Need to examine system-level outcomes to see whether our interventions reach more of the underserved who are in need of services.

This series illustrates excellent advances in the use of technology to deliver psychological treatments. My comments place technology-based treatments in the context of current evidence-based psychotherapies and focus on the extent to which technology can expand the reach of psychosocial interventions. I discuss criteria for the development of novel treatment methods so that our interventions can reach individuals who could profit from psychological services but who currently receive no formal help. Technology-based methods of delivery have excellent benefits and as they continue to be evaluated it would be valuable not only to collect the usual outcome data for individual clients but also to examine system-level outcomes to see whether our interventions in fact reach more of the underserved who are in need of psychological services.