DIGITAL HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PSYCHOSOCIAL TREATMENT OF CORE SYMPTOMS OF PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS — LITERATURE REVIEW AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS

Abstract

The use of various digital health technologies is increasing in the treatment of psychotic disorders, as well as in psychiatry in general. In this review we present key studies on how technology is practically used to treat cognitive deficits, hallucinations and delusions of psychotic patients. The goal of this literature review is to provide the reader a comprehensive understanding on how technology is currently being utilized in the treatment of psychotic disorders, and to discuss how technology can pave the way towards a more integrative approach of treating psychotic disorders. The search for each symptom category was performed through PubMed and Google Scholar databases over the last 10-15 years. Computer-based cognitive rehabilitation seems to be as effective as the non-computerized equivalent, but has several additional advantages. AVATAR therapy and virtual reality-based treatments show promise in treating both hallucinations and delusions, but more research in this area is required. Digital solutions offer new ways to monitor and assess the different symptoms of psychotic disorders and to administer selfmanagement in the daily lives of patients. Digital health technology belongs to the treatment of psychotic disorders, but it should be further studied in order to more fully understand the underlying psychological mechanisms involved, and to further validate the approaches that will be the most beneficial for large scale clinical use.

Keywords

• schizophrenia
• ehealth
• virtual reality
• avatar-therapy
• hallucinations
• paranoia
• cognitive deficits