CHA Continuing Education

The pandemic rapidly accelerated a transition to the use of digital mental health tools for both the prevention and treatment of mental health symptoms. Technology is expanding clinicians' capacity to provide care remotely and to enhance treatment outcomes, while also reducing barriers to learning therapeutic skills through the dissemination of a plethora of apps in both the public and clinical domains. While many patients and clinicians have started using telemedicine, everyone can benefit from learning best practices to ensure safety and effectiveness in this new setting. This course will introduce learners to the burgeoning field of digital mental health.

We will present a taxonomy of digital interventions, including those which are provided in the context of a professional relationship/therapeutic contract and those which are provided as self-help tools. We will also describe the differences between consumable and non-consumable interventions, and the potential to reach very large numbers of people worldwide with the latter. Finally, we will discuss the latest evidence for the prevention of mental disorders such as depression, and the opportunity to make preventive interventions widely available using digital tools.

The task of learning how to start adding technology to one's practice, and researching the breadth of what is available, can feel daunting. This course will lay an introductory foundation of key concepts in the field to enhance participants' knowledge and confidence. We will summarize the various purposes for using technology, review targeted apps for specific conditions, discuss legal and ethical issues as well as best practices and explore how these new digital tools can be utilized equitably and safely in clinical practice and the promotion of community mental health. We welcome all clinicians and healthcare administrators in the mental health space.

Adrian Aguilera, PhD
Associate Professor, University of California Berkeley School of Social Welfare; Founder, Digital Health Equity and Access Lab (dHEAL); Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UCSF and San Francisco General Hospital

Alinne Barrera, PhD
Professor, Department of Psychology, Palo Alto University

Emily Benedetto, MSW, LCSW
Program Manager, Primary Care Behavioral Health Integration, Cambridge Health Alliance

Terika McCall, PhD, MPH, MBA
Assistant Professor, Division of Health Informatics, Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health

David Mohr, PhD
Director, Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies (CBITs); Chief of Behavioral Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine; Professor of Preventive Medicine (Behavioral Medicine), Medical Social Sciences and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Fellow, American Psychological Association and Society for Behavioral Medicine

Ricardo F. Muñoz, PhD (Course Director)
Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology, Palo Alto University; Founder, Institute for International Internet Interventions for Health (i4Health); Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, University of California, San Francisco; Fellow, American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Stephen Schueller, PhD 
Associate Professor, Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine; Executive Director, OneMindPsyberGuide.org; Co-Director, Dissemination & Implementation Unit, UCI ICTS

Zev Schuman-Olivier, MD (Course Director)
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Center Director, Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, Cambridge Health Alliance; Director, Mindful Mental Health Service, Cambridge Health Alliance; Director of Addiction Research, Cambridge Health Alliance; Faculty Affiliate, Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, Dartmouth

Donna Sheperis PhD, LPC, NCC, CCMHC, ACS, BC-TMH
Professor, Associate Department Chair of Counseling, and PAU eClinic Director, Palo Alto University