Technology, society, and mental illness: challenges and opportunities for assessment and treatment

Technology is rapidly changing society, and many activities now require the ability to use technology. This situation has the potential to lead to problems for several populations, including the elderly, the disadvantaged, and people with severe mental illness. In this column, we review the state of technology as it affects daily activities. We then review previous efforts to use technology positively for both the assessment and treatment of psychiatric conditions, including posttraumatic stress disorder and severe mental illness. We conclude that technology-based interventions and assessment strategies have the potential to deliver benefit to a wide array of older people and those with severe mental illness, including reaching people who would not have had access otherwise.