The Use of Technology in Mental Health Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists practicing in the area of mental health seek to implement occupation- based interventions, alongside therapeutic use of self, to enable and enhance participation for persons with mental health conditions. The pervasive use of technology in daily occupations, and the necessity for reliance on technology during the recent COVID19 pandemic, has spurred occupational therapists to think about how we can use various technological tools to enhance therapeutic interventions, improve treatment outcomes, and support self-management and well-being. These technological tools range from telehealth to mobile applications and virtual reality systems, which may provide greater accessibility to care, offer valuable resources for promoting recovery and wellness, self-management, and facilitate skill-building in immersive environments. However, there is a need to showcase how these technologies can be integrated into mental health occupational therapy and used within existing models of practice, as well as how their use can influence the effectiveness and efficiency of occupational therapy in mental health care.

The goal of this Research Topic is to examine how technology is deployed in mental health occupational therapy services within health care and other settings, such as home, school and work. In addition, this Research Topic seeks to gather evidence on the effectiveness or efficacy of the use of technology in mental health occupational therapy practice, and to highlight the benefits and challenges of using technology in occupational therapy assessment, interventions and evaluation of outcomes.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

· Understanding how technology influences daily occupations of mental health service users.

· Use of technologies, such as video/teleconferencing, mobile applications, virtual environments, artificial intelligence and internet platforms, to implement and evaluate occupational therapy interventions with service users.

· How technology can be used in mental health promotion and population-based mental health initiatives.

· Acceptability of technological interventions by mental health service users of different age groups, education levels, socioeconomic conditions etc.

· Critical appraisal of how the use of technology fits into occupational therapy philosophy, models of practice and frames of reference.

We welcome manuscripts of various article types, including:

· Original Research
· Scoping or Systematic Review
· Policy and Practice Reviews
· Clinical Trial
· Study Protocol
· Case Report
· Community Case Study
· Brief Research Report

Keywords: Technology, telerehabilitation, mental health, occupational therapy, virtual interventions, mHealth

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.