JMIR Mental Health

The global health pandemic has affected the increasing older adult population, especially those with mental illnesses. It is necessary to prevent cases of cognitive impairment in adults early on, and this requires the support of information and communication technologies for evaluating and training cognitive functions. This can be achieved through computer applications designed for cognitive assessment.

The use of mental health apps (MHAs) is increasing rapidly. However, little is known about the use of MHAs by racial and ethnic minority groups.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict between limited mental health care resources and the rapidly growing number of patients has become more pronounced. It is necessary for psychologists to borrow artificial intelligence (AI)–based methods to analyze patients’ satisfaction with drug treatment for those undergoing mental illness treatment.

Caregivers play a critical role in the treatment and recovery of youth and young adults at risk for psychosis. Caregivers often report feeling isolated, overwhelmed, and lacking in resources. Mobile health (mHealth) has the potential to provide scalable, accessible, and in-the-moment support to caregivers. To date, few if any mHealth resources have been developed specifically for this population.

Phobic disorders are characterized by excessive fear of a stimulus that can affect the quality of a patient’s life. The lifetime prevalence in adults is 7.7% to 12.5%. The current literature provides evidence-based inferences about the effectiveness of in-vivo exposure therapy (IVET) in treating phobia. However, this method can put the therapist and the client in danger, with high drop out and refusal rates. A newer approach for exposure therapy using augmented reality technology is under assessment.

Patients with major depression exhibit circadian disturbance of sleep and mood, and when they are discharged from inpatient wards, this disturbance poses a risk of relapse. We developed a circadian reinforcement therapy (CRT) intervention to facilitate the transition from the inpatient ward to the home for these patients. CRT focuses on increasing the zeitgeber strength for the circadian clock through social contact, physical activity, diet, daylight exposure, and sleep timing.

Despite a growing evidence base that internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (iCBT-I) is associated with decreased insomnia severity, its efficacy has been minimally examined in veterans.

Increasingly, college science courses are transitioning from a traditional lecture format to active learning because students learn more and fail less frequently when they engage in their learning through activities and discussions in class. Fear of negative evaluation (FNE), defined as a student’s sense of dread associated with being unfavorably evaluated while participating in a social situation, discourages undergraduates from participating in small group discussions, whole class discussions, and conversing one-on-one with instructors.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is relatively common among school-age children. Technology-based interventions, such as computer-assisted training programs, neurofeedback training, and virtual reality, show promise in regulating the behaviors and cognitive functions of children with ADHD. An increasing number of randomized controlled trials have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of these technologies in improving the conditions of children with ADHD.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into everyday life has galvanized a global conversation on the possibilities and perils of AI on human health. In particular, there is a growing need to anticipate and address the potential impact of widely accessible, enhanced, and conversational AI on mental health. We propose 3 considerations to frame how AI may influence population mental health: through the advancement of mental health care; by altering social and economic contexts; and through the policies that shape the adoption, use, and potential abuse of AI-enhanced tools.

Mental disorders impact both individuals and health systems. Symptoms and syndromes often remain undetected and untreated, resulting in chronification. Besides limited health care resources, within-person barriers such as the lack of trust in professionals, the fear of stigmatization, or the desire to cope with problems without professional help contribute to the treatment gap. Self-guided mental health apps may support treatment seeking by reducing within-person barriers and facilitating mental health literacy. Digital mental health interventions may also improve mental health related self-management skills and contribute to symptom reduction and the improvement of quality of life.

Freely available and asynchronous implementation supports can reduce the resource burden of evidence-based practice training to facilitate uptake. Freely available web-based training videos have proliferated, yet there have been no efforts to quantify their breadth, depth, and content for suicide prevention.