Internet interventions are behavioral treatments made for Web or mobile device delivery. Our goal is to improve quality of life by promoting health, and by ameliorating physical symptoms and emotional troubles. Internet and mobile-based interventions provide physical and mental health interventions in a manner that is both economical and wide reaching.

Internet-based interventions can provide much needed service to people who do not have easy access to mental health care services, such as: people who are on waiting lists (e.g., for a depression group); people who cannot travel to clinics due to physical, economic, or other limitations; and people who fear stigma of going to a mental health clinic. Internet-based interventions are also useful as adjuncts to routine treatments, as well as means of prevention of relapse and recurrence.

On a global level it is very difficult for many to obtain health and mental health resources and treatment. However, the amount of people who have access to the Internet and cell phones is ever increasing. By using these increasingly prevalent technologies as means of administering interventions and providing them in languages such as English, Spanish and Mandarin, reaching underserved populations globally is now an attainable mental health goal.

Our vision is to continue developing internet and mobile-based health interventions (including text messaging and Apps) in as many languages as possible. Not only are we developing these interventions, but we are also testing their efficacy and examining for whom they yield intended results. We plan to make our findings available to users, so they can make informed choices about whether to spend their time trying them. Doing this will allow people with little means anywhere in the world to have access to quality evidence-based health and mental health resources at little to no cost to them.

For PDFs of our published work, you can e-mail us at i4health@paloaltou.edu.