Mental health technology.

Abstract

T is common knowledge that a major factor in improving the living standards of any society is an increase in productivity, the amount of useful work performed per worker. Such advances must obviously depend on the availability of practical knowledge as to how productivity can be increased, and this knowledge has come to be known loosely as technology. As a society becomes more technologically advanced in general, production in those areas that lack technology will become proportionately more expensive and, thus, will eventually command political attention. In contemporary American society, "social" areas such as welfare, police and fire protection, education, library services, and physical and mental health services are some areas that now fall into this category (see, e.g., Baumol & Eymonerie, 1970). At the present time, it is by no means certain that significant increases in productivity can be accomplished in some of these areas, at least as we know them today. Given this situation, there would appear to be three alternate courses of action: (a) accept the increasingly greater expense; (b) attempt the development of appropriate technologies; or (c) experiment with radical changes in ways of meeting the basic societal needs represented by these areas.It seems a fair bet that the solutions that will eventually be reached will involve a complex combination of these and perhaps other avenues of approach. However, it is my hypothesis that the most prominent and also the most viable direction will prove to be through the development of suitable technologies. I wish to direct this hypothesis toward one particular social-behavioral area, namely, mental health. NEEDS AND CAUTIONSTo state a need for technology in social-behavioral areas is certainly not new; in fact, a number 1 Requests for reprints should be sent to Richard I.

Mental health screening: Utility of the Psychological Screening Inventory.

“…Elsewhere, I have addressed the importance of developing and propagating procedures for mental health-related assessment that are maximally cost effective in terms of benefit to the public (Lanyon, 1971(Lanyon, , 1972. Two points made at that time continue to be applicable today.…”

An investigation of computer-assisted cognitive-behavior therapy in the treatment of depression

“…This has been especially true as the use of a computer is directed at the more "professional" aspects of mental health care (Lanyon, 1971), such as diagnosis, testing, and treatment. Resistance to change, however, is an expected component of the change process requiring that careful attention be devoted to the important issues involved on both sides so that an adequate understanding can be achieved (Byrnes & Johnson, 1981).…”

“…completes the entire work process (clinical interviewing, testing, therapy), producing less output at a higher cost per unit (Lanyon & Johnson, 1980). Lanyon (1971) noted that areas such as mental health that lack technology will become more expensive. Thus, three courses of action are available to respond to the needs placed upon mental health delivery systems: (1) accept the increasingly greater expense for mental health services, (2) attempt the development of the appropriate technologies to respond to the mental health needs, or (3) experiment with radical changes in ways of meeting society's mental health needs.…”

“…The development of the appropriate technologies to respond to the demands for mental health care, Lanyon's (1971) second option, is being supported in new research on depression. This research includes the development of short-term psychotherapies (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979) and the use of behavioral technologies in the treatment of depression.…”

Enhancement of adherence to tricyclic antidepressants by computerized supervision

“…Computer technology has been used clinically for psychiatric interviewing (Greist & Klein, 1980;Klein, Greist, & VanCura, 1975) and psychiatric diagnosis (Erdman, Greist, Klein, Jefferson, Salinger, & Olson, 1981), and computerized psychotherapy has been attempted (Colby, 1980;Slack & Slack, 1977). With these technological advances, mental health service delivery may be more effective and more widely distributed to individuals in need (Lanyon, 1971(Lanyon, , 1972.…”