Computer-aided treatments of mental health problems.

Many research systems use computed clinical decisions to aid the treatment of adults with mental health problems. Such systems vary widely in the extent to which they meet all a given patient's needs. Almost all are aids to, not substitutes for, a therapist. Hardly any (a) do every treatment task needed from initial screening to the end of follow-up, (b) work 100% independent of contact with a human clinician or technician, and (c) are widely available and supported. Most systems use desk- or laptop computers, some use handheld computers, and a few use computer-driven phone interviews (interactive voice response). Virtual reality work is embryonic. Computerized systems to aid treatment have promising clinical outcomes in phobic, panic, and obsessive-compulsive disorders, nonsuicidal depression, and smoking cessation. Some of the systems should soon be robust enough to ease the lives of many patients, practitioners, and researchers.