3.A.3
Telepsychology and digital treatments
ASPPB's competency statement 3.A.3: Technologies in providing psychological services (e.g., telepsychology, digital therapeutics)
Technology now carries much of psychological practice: video and phone sessions, internet-delivered programs with or without therapist guidance, apps, and software tested as treatment, often called digital therapeutics. The 2024 APA Guidelines for the Practice of Telepsychology set out eleven areas, from informed consent and data security to emergencies and emerging technologies. Using any tool well means knowing its evidence, its risks to privacy and safety, and the rules where the client is located.
Key ideas
- Telepsychology guidelines (2024)
- Eleven guidelines: competence; informed consent; data security, management and transmission; data disposal; documentation; interjurisdictional practice; clinical best practices; testing and assessment; emergencies; supervision and training; and emerging technologies (Perle and colleagues, 2026).
- Guided internet CBT
- Therapist-supported internet cognitive behavior therapy produced effects similar to face-to-face CBT in a meta-analysis of 31 randomized trials covering sixteen conditions, with a pooled difference of g = 0.02 (Hedman-Lagerlöf and colleagues, 2023).
- Digital therapeutics
- Software intended to treat a condition, some of it authorized as medical devices. A review of products authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration found the supporting evidence varied widely and that authorization did not uniformly indicate clinical effectiveness (Albitar and colleagues, 2026).
- Evaluating an app
- APA's app evaluation model asks, in order, about the app's background and business model, privacy and security, clinical foundation, ease of use, and whether its data can serve the therapeutic goal (Henson and colleagues, 2019).
- Competence in new areas
- Where generally recognized standards for preparatory training do not yet exist, psychologists take reasonable steps to ensure their competence and protect clients from harm (APA Ethics Code, Standard 2.01e).
Worked example
A psychologist wants clients in CBT to be able to send messages between sessions through a secure app, to report on homework and ask brief questions. Some of the psychologist's clients have had suicidal thoughts in the past.
- Competence and purpose: decide what the messages are for, such as homework check-ins, what belongs in sessions instead, and whether training or consultation is needed for this new practice.
- Security and records: choose a platform that encrypts messages and limits who can see stored data, and decide how messages will enter the clinical record.
- Consent: tell clients how often messages are read, that the channel is not for emergencies, and the privacy risks on their own devices, before anyone uses it.
- Emergencies: agree with each client on a crisis plan and local emergency contacts, since a message may arrive when no one is reading.
A new channel needs a stated purpose, secure handling, explicit consent and a crisis plan before it opens.
Check yourself
An insomnia app is marketed as authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration. What does a 2026 review of such products suggest a psychologist should conclude?
Sources
- Perle, Smucker-Barnwell, Morland and colleagues (2026), A compendium for the 2024 APA Guidelines for the Practice of Telepsychology: Guideline applications and resources, American Psychologist (PMID 40875352), Abstract; the eleven guideline topics
- Hedman-Lagerlöf, Carlbring, Svärdman, Riper, Cuijpers and Andersson (2023), Therapist-supported Internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy yields similar effects as face-to-face therapy for psychiatric and somatic disorders: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis, World Psychiatry (PMID 37159350), Abstract; pooled effect across 31 trials
- Albitar, Ulisse, Feghali, van Oppen, Zell and Elswick (2026), Digital Mental Health: A Narrative Review of FDA-Authorized Products for Psychiatric Treatment and Diagnostic Support, Brain Sciences (PMID 42352585), Abstract; results and conclusions
- Henson, David, Albright and Torous (2019), Deriving a practical framework for the evaluation of health apps, Lancet Digital Health (PMID 33323229), The hierarchical evaluation framework
- American Psychological Association (2017), Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2002, amended 2010 and 2016), Standards 2.01(e), 4.01 and 10.01