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Digital and Technological Approaches to Mental Health Treatment

Revital Ordan, psychiatric nurse, Director of the Ambulatory Array, Mental Health Division, Ministry of Health
3 September 2025

Mental health treatment is undergoing a digital revolution. Today, with the help of advanced technologies, patients can receive remote treatment for a variety of mental health problems, in a more convenient and accessible manner.

How it works

  • Remote therapy: Video calls, chat or telephone calls allow for therapeutic sessions without the need to physically arrive at the clinic.
  • Apps and technologies: Designated software and apps assist in diagnosis, monitoring the progress of treatment and even the treatment itself.
  • Hybrid therapy: This approach allows for a combination of remote therapy using technological means and physical meetings with the therapist.

Advantages of treatment using technological means

  • Accessibility and convenience: Remote therapy saves time and allows access to treatment even for those who live in remote areas.
  • Unique experience: Available, interactive and personalized.
  • Rapid assessment: Accurate diagnosis and rapid referral to appropriate treatment.
  • Mental state monitoring: There are apps that allow for ongoing monitoring of mood and symptoms.
  • Personalized treatment plan: For the needs and desires of each patient, while effectively monitoring the progress of treatment.
  • Coordination between therapists: Collaboration, continuity of care, and coordination of care between professionals allow the patient to benefit from a therapeutic envelope.
  • Professional supervision: Mental health specialists supervise the content and effectiveness of the treatment. Technologies approved by health organizations (HMOs and hospitals) and the Ministry of Health generally incorporate alert systems or the option, if needed, to contact professionals directly, for example via chat.

For more information, you can contact your HMO or your healthcare provider.

The use of technology for medical purposes, including in the field of mental health, is becoming common and accepted. Psychological treatment using technological and digital means makes therapeutic services accessible and can be suitable for patients with a variety of conditions, such as mobility difficulties, living in remote locations that require a long travel time to the treatment site, or a large workload that does not allow for timely treatment.

There are two main ways to integrate technology into mental health treatment:

  • Remote treatment with a therapist

    Via telephone, video call or chat.

  • Treatment provided by digital means

    An app, software, or technological accessory, which are used for diagnosis, assessment and monitoring or treatment that is recognized by the insuring HMO or its service providers.

Digital or hybrid therapy

The service can be provided digitally only (without face-to-face meetings) or hybridly, that is, a combination of face-to-face therapy sessions with video and chat sessions, or therapy via an app or website with a human therapist who accompanies the process in the background. For example, a face-to-face meeting once a month and online sessions in the weeks between. Another example of hybrid therapy is when most of the therapy is done using technology, and the human therapist accompanies the process remotely using technological means, sometimes combining online or physical sessions (telemedicine).

Who is digital therapy suitable for?

When the need arises or the possibility of conducting remote therapy is offered, it is important that the therapist clarify with the patient their preferences and abilities as part of the therapeutic dialogue. These are the aspects that must be verified:

  • Digital orientation: Knowledge, skill, and familiarity with digital systems in a way that allows the patient to operate and use the various technological means.
  • Appropriate equipment: Does the patient have the equipment required for remote treatment, for example computer, internet, smartphone or tablet.
  • Physical conditions: Those that are suitable for conducting a conversation or therapeutic work quietly, with concentration, comfort and privacy.

The importance of the relationship between the therapist and the patient

Along with the use of telemedicine services, the face-to-face meeting between the patient and therapist is of great importance, and therefore the recommended treatment is often hybrid. This combination allows enjoying the benefits of a direct human meeting, alongside the advantages of a remote meeting or the use of treatment technologies.

However, it is important to note that in terms of treatment effectiveness, no significant difference was found between face-to-face treatment and treatment by a human therapist carried out using digital means. In addition, it was found that when a therapeutic-technological envelope is added to the treatment, this can certainly help and advance the goals of the treatment.

Advantages of treatment combining technologies for the patient

A combination of technologies in treatment, done professionally and adapted to the patient, can in most cases provide

Optimal accessibility

Provide a more accessible, comfortable, and convenient treatment package – for example, the ability to remotely connect to a meeting, consult with the therapist, or receive and renew prescriptions for medications that require regular follow-up, approvals, and referrals.

Rich therapeutic experience

Provide a high-quality, interactive, and interesting therapeutic experience that motivates and recruits for therapeutic work, which can sometimes be challenging and complex.

Transparency and partnership

Contribute to transparency and partnership between the therapist and the patient.

The contribution of technology to treatment management

The advanced technological means that exist today assist and optimize the ability of therapists and professionals to conduct follow-up, provide a rapid response to the patient, and assist in several ways:

  • Clinical assessment of the patient's condition and rapid referral to a therapeutic channel that is suitable for their condition.
  • Frequent follow-up and monitoring of the patient's mental state: Often, follow-up is built into the technological system automatically and continuously.
  • Coordination of care and sharing of information between several therapists from different mental health professions who are treating the same patient.
  • The system, using an algorithm consisting of a series of rules, can prioritize for the professional therapist the urgency of the need to handle a service request. The system can also alert the need to initiate contact with the patient, based on the data received in the system about him.

Technological means for mental health treatment

There are technologies that focus on online treatment, similar to a face-to-face meeting with a therapist, and alongside these technologies that allow the therapist to receive reports on actions not in real time and work with the patient accordingly. There are also self-care technologies, which allow patients to treat themselves, when the mental health professional does not work with them directly, but is only present in the background and supervises the treatment process.
Treatment with the help of apps or through various websites and software is usually based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) protocols, motivational approaches and psycho-educational interventions.
These interventions are common and accepted in the field of mental health treatment and the innovation is actually their translation into digital or hybrid treatment.

Today, more and more technologies are based on artificial intelligence (AI), through which they combine diagnostic and therapeutic protocols from a variety of therapeutic approaches and allow the patient a fluent conversation and an interactive and empathetic experience.

Examples:

  • The therapist, subject to the consent of their patients, receives from the treatment app an indication of the mood, level of functioning and symptoms according to the questionnaires that the patients fill out.
  • As part of exposure therapy to an anxiety-provoking object, the patient can rate an anxiety-provoking situation in real time, in an app installed on the mobile phone. This rating is transmitted to the therapist and used by them to continue the therapeutic work.
  • A patient with an eating disorder can fill out an eating diary, which is reflected to the nutritionist who is treating her.
  • An intake interview call for initial assessment or support and assistance calls, using AI (artificial intelligence). In addition, in the near future and with the advancement of artificial intelligence tools, they will also be able to be integrated into the treatment itself.

A watch that provides an indication of various characteristics, including heart rate, walking, hours of sleep and wakefulness, or a medication pencil case that provides an indication of whether the patient has taken their medication today and can also remind the patient when to take it. The information is displayed in graphs and sometimes also as instructions and alerts – first for the patient and then for the therapist, so that he can assist.

Used for treatment with gradual exposure to an anxiety-provoking object or for body image therapy, for women and men dealing with eating disorders. In addition, they can also assist with guided imagery, that is, leveraging the benefits of technology for a recognized practice in mental health treatment.

Treatment using therapeutic apps that is not done in front of a therapist may raise certain concerns among patients. It is important to know that the indication for these treatments is for mild or moderate cases, when the treatment is structured and based on cognitive behavioral protocols that are accepted in the clinical world. Artificial intelligence technology (AI) is currently used mainly for initial assessment and support purposes. In any case, there is professional supervision and control of the content and the effectiveness of the intervention by mental health experts. This supervision is done through structured mechanisms that examine the effectiveness of the treatment and its progress. In certain situations, the system is able to identify and warn about situations in which the involvement of a professional is needed. Along with all of this, the system also allows you to seek help, guidance, or treatment at a higher intensity.

Information security, privacy and confidentiality of the patient

When treatment is done remotely, directly through the HMOs' apps or with their clear referral to therapeutic technology, it is likely that the entire process is done securely from end to end, in accordance with the Director General's circular on standards for operating a remote healthcare service (Hebrew). However, when it comes to referring to an external provider or using technology that is not in the HMO's app, it is worth checking with the insuring HMO or the professional treating or referring party that the service does indeed meet the standards in the field.

Remote treatment for children

Unlike treatment for adults, treatment for children is often done together with the parent, through joint play activities, and in combination with various physical means, such as dolls, cards, a sandbox, and more. In treatment using technology, interactive games can be incorporated, such as puzzles, memory games, matching games, and the like. Sometimes, the therapist is replaced by a cartoon character or animated videos, which accompany the child during treatment. In other words, the treatment is based on familiar and prevalent methods in face-to-face treatment, and the difference is in the platform that creates the therapeutic environment.

It is important to note that digital treatment for children, which takes place when the child is physically with the parent, creates a unique experience that combines the most important human connection in the child's life with interactive, high-quality, fast and accessible treatment that is tailored to their needs and encourages their participation in the therapeutic process.

Remote treatment for teens

Teenagers and young people often have difficulty in arriving for treatment, mentally engaging in it and adapting it to their priorities. For these reasons, they often have difficulty persisting in treatment and drop out. Using technological means, such as various apps, allows adolescents to connect with the treatment and persist in it over time. Flexibility and adaptation of the therapeutic framework and tools can make it easier for them to deal with different barriers that characterize adolescence, allowing them availability and accessibility, interactivity, the possibility of choosing and switching between alternatives, conversation at eye level and creating a partnership with the therapist to achieve the common goal (agreed upon, hopefully). It is important to emphasize that adolescents and young adults need a therapeutic relationship based on trust with a permanent therapeutic figure and the definition of the boundaries of the sector within which they can operate. In this sense, a combination of the conditions made possible by technology and the human connection with the professional therapist can yield the desired results.

Mental Health Hotlines of the HMOs

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