Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34505369›Full record

ArticleWorld psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA)2021

The growing field of digital psychiatry: current evidence and the future of apps, social media, chatbots, and virtual reality.

John Torous, Sandra Bucci, Imogen H Bell, Lars V Kessing, Maria Faurholt-Jepsen, Pauline Whelan, Andre F Carvalho, Matcheri Keshavan, Jake Linardon, Joseph Firth

2 registry-linked trialsOpen access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 509 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
509citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
87.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT07239778 phase2not yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

The PEDAL Intervention - Reducing Affective Lability in Bipolar Disorder - a Randomised Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorOslo University HospitalRan2025 to 2026Enrolled120ConditionsBipolar Disorder (BD)ArmsTraditional group psychoeducation for bipolar disorder, Group psychoeducation with digital elements and focus on affective lability
NCT07702526 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Effects of an Eye-Movement Intervention on Cognitive Impairment in Individuals Across Illness Stages of Schizophrenia: Protocol for a Stratified Randomized, Active-Controlled, Assessor-Blinded Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorShanghai Mental Health CenterRan2026 to 2028Enrolled160ConditionsSchizophrenia, Cognitive Impairment, Clinical High Risk for PsychosisArmsEye-Movement Training, Finger-Controlled Game Training
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

509 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,025 citations in OpenAlex.

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  3. Digital and AI-enhanced psychosocial interventions in breast cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
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449 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 9 institutions in 5 countries.

John TorousDivision of Digital Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Sandra BucciDigital Research Unit, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
Imogen H BellOrygen, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Lars V KessingPsychiatric Center Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Maria Faurholt-JepsenPsychiatric Center Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Pauline WhelanDigital Research Unit, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
Andre F CarvalhoDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Matcheri KeshavanDivision of Digital Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Jake LinardonDeakin University, Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development and School of Psychology, Burwood, VIC, Australia.
Joseph FirthDivision of Psychology and Mental Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Manchester Academic Health Science Centre · GBDeakin University · AUHarvard University · USMassachusetts Mental Health Center · USRigshospitalet · DKUniversity of Copenhagen · DKUniversity of Melbourne · AUUniversity of Toronto · CAWestern Sydney University · AU

Funding

Digital Phenotyping for Computational Models of Relapse Prediction in Early Course PsychosisK23MH116130 · NIMH · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · PI TOROUS, JOHN · 2018 to 2021
$872k
Medical Research Council MR/T021780/1NIMH NIH HHS K23 MH116130
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic has largely increased the utilization of telehealth, mobile mental health technologies - such as smartphone apps, vir-tual reality, chatbots, and social media - have also gained attention. These digital health technologies offer the potential of accessible and scalable interventions that can augment traditional care. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive update on the overall field of digital psychiatry, covering three areas. First, we outline the relevance of recent technological advances to mental health research and care, by detailing how smartphones, social media, artificial intelligence and virtual reality present new opportunities for "digital phenotyping" and remote intervention. Second, we review the current evidence for the use of these new technological approaches across different mental health contexts, covering their emerging efficacy in self-management of psychological well-being and early intervention, along with more nascent research supporting their use in clinical management of long-term psychiatric conditions - including major depression; anxiety, bipolar and psychotic disorders; and eating and substance use disorders - as well as in child and adolescent mental health care. Third, we discuss the most pressing challenges and opportunities towards real-world implementation, using the Integrated Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (i-PARIHS) framework to explain how the innovations themselves, the recipients of these innovations, and the context surrounding innovations all must be considered to facilitate their adoption and use in mental health care systems. We conclude that the new technological capabilities of smartphones, artificial intelligence, social media and virtual reality are already changing mental health care in unforeseen and exciting ways, each accompanied by an early but promising evidence base. We point out that further efforts towards strengthening implementation are needed, and detail the key issues at the patient, provider and policy levels which must now be addressed for digital health technologies to truly improve mental health research and treatment in the future.

Indexed as

chatbotsdigital healthdigital phenotypingimplementationmental healthmHealthpsychiatrysmartphone appssocial mediavirtual reality

Identifiers

PMID34505369
PMCPMC8429349
OpenAlexW3197232629

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.