Here is a sneak peek into Chapter 8 of our new book Digital Therapeutics for Mental Health and Addiction: The State of the Science and Vision for the Future (Elsevier Link):

A digital therapeutic alliance in digital mental health

Benjamin Kaveladze (a), Stephen M. Schueller (a,b)

(a) Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA, (b) Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA

Technologies are increasingly being used to provide mental health interventions — either as conduits to professionally delivered care or as technological interventions. Despite a rich history of the concept of therapeutic alliance in psychotherapy interventions, researchers have struggled to define and measure digital therapeutic alliance (DTA) in a way that accounts for the unique constraints and opportunities of digital mental health interventions (DMHIs). We define DTA as a user-perceived alliance with a DMHI, including both human and technological components of the intervention. While people are sometimes averse to the idea that they could have a relationship or alliance with a digital tool, they may become more open to this idea as technological advances, such as artificial intelligence, make DMHIs more responsive and tailored to particular individuals. A more comprehensive understanding of DTA could help to design DMHIs that are more engaging and effective, increasing their impact.