Technological Interventions for Depression

Dozens of trials have shown that guided internet-based interventions are effective in the treatment of depression with comparable effects as face-to-face therapies. Unguided internet interventions have smaller but probably still significant effects. Internet interventions have also been tested in many settings and populations, including people with comorbid general medical disorders, older adults, children and adolescents, perinatal depression and routine care. Prevention studies have found promising effects for internet interventions. New technological developments such as smartphones and serious games are changing the field rapidly. Technological interventions will change mental health care dramatically in the coming decades.