Technological adjuncts to enhance current psychotherapy practices: a review.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychotherapy
• Digital Health

Background:

• Traditional face-to-face therapy has limitations in patient response, adherence, and dropout rates.
• Existing reviews on technology in psychology do not specifically address adjuncts for in-person therapy.
• There is a need to explore methods for improving traditional psychotherapy services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review technological adjuncts that supplement or enhance traditional face-to-face psychotherapy.
• To identify technologies that can be incorporated into existing therapy models.
• To assess the potential of technology to improve therapy outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of technological adjuncts in psychotherapy.
• Focused on technologies designed to supplement, not replace, face-to-face therapy.
• Included mobile phones, personal digital assistants, biofeedback, and virtual reality.

Main Results:

• Technological adjuncts show potential for improving patient response, adherence, and reducing dropout rates in therapy.
• Specific technologies like mobile phones, PDAs, biofeedback, and VR offer unique benefits.
• Current literature has limitations regarding the integration and efficacy of these adjuncts.

Conclusions:

• Adjunctive technologies can significantly enhance traditional face-to-face psychotherapy.
• Further research is needed to fully understand the integration and impact of these tools.
• Incorporating technology offers a promising avenue for improving mental health treatment delivery.