Computer-guided Behavioral Healthcare: From NASA to Earth

Behavioral health problems cause human suffering, result in lost productivity, drive up costs of care and worsen outcomes. Although effective treatments for mental health disorders exist, many people do not receive them due to cost, access to trained clinicians, logistics, and the stigma of asking for help. NASA faces similar barriers to delivering behavioral health interventions to astronauts flying long-duration space missions. A suite of interactive media programs has been developed to help astronauts prevent, assess, and treat their own psychosocial problems. The “Virtual Space Station” provides a range of computer-automated tools, including electronic Problem-Solving Treatment for depression, or ePST. ePST is a tool to treat depression by helping people solve real-world problems, which improves mood and enjoyment of life. This program will provide an overview of computer-automated treatments for behavioral health problems, an audio tour of the “Virtual Space Station” and ePST.