Family Digital Mental Health Interventions: Aligning Design and Systemic Practice Principles

Digital mental health is growing rapidly—but are we designing it with families in mind?

New Research Publication

Family Digital Mental Health Interventions: Aligning Design and Systemic Practice Principles

Published by Mental Health and Digital Technologies

Who is this research relevant to?

This new publication explores how the design of digital mental health interventions can better align with systemic and family-centred practice principles. It is essential reading for mental health practitioners, digital health developers, service managers, policymakers, researchers, and organisations designing online support services.

Key Insights

1. Digital mental health tools are often designed for individuals, creating opportunities to better incorporate family and relationship contexts.
2. Family-centred and systemic practice principles can strengthen the relevance and effectiveness of digital supports.
3. Intentional design choices can help foster connection, collaboration, and engagement among family members.
4. Integrating practice wisdom into technology development may improve user experience and outcomes.
5. Cross-sector collaboration is critical to developing digital solutions that are responsive to the realities of family life.

Why this matters

With increasing investment in digital mental health services, there is growing recognition that technology must complement - not replace the relational aspects of care. This research offers timely guidance for creating more inclusive and effective digital supports.

Research in Practice