This Issue – Meet some of the fantastic keynote speakers who will be presenting the upcoming ISRII conference, learn more about the Implementation Special Interest Group.

#ISRII12 Conference

We are excited to welcome you to Limerick in just a few short weeks for the #ISRII12 conference. The full conference program is now available online! Go to ISRII's Schedule of Events to start planning your time at #ISRII12 or visit the registration page if you haven’t registered yet – Don’t worry it’s not too late!

We introduced our fantastic Day 1 keynote speakers in a previous newsletter issue, but make sure you don’t miss our other wonderful keynote speakers who will be presenting on days 2 and 3.

Professor David Mohr

David C. Mohr, Ph.D., trained as a psychologist, is Professor of Preventive Medicine in the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, with appointments in Departments of Psychiatry and Medical Social Sciences, and the Director of Northwestern University’s Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies (CBITs; www.cbits.northwestern.edu). Dr. Mohr’s research lies at the intersection of behavioral science, technology, and clinical research, focusing on the design, evaluation, and implementation of digital mental health technologies and services. He has developed and evaluated numerous web-based and mobile interventions for depression and anxiety.  While there has been much research over the past decades demonstrating the effectiveness digital mental health interventions, successful implementation in healthcare settings has been elusive.  To address this research-to-practice gap, an overarching goal of Dr. Mohr’s current work is to design, evaluate and sustainably implement digital mental health services in real-world healthcare settings.

Dr. Mohr’s research has been consistently funded for more than 30 years by the NIH, other federal agencies, and numerous foundations, resulting in over 300 peer-reviewed publications, and more than 25 book chapters.

Doctor Sarah Vigerland

Dr. Sarah Vigerland is a clinical psychologist and director of the Child and Adolescent Internet Psychiatry Unit in Stockholm, Sweden. Dr. Vigerland’s clinical work and research focus on the development, evaluation, and implementation of internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) for children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders (e.g., anxiety disorders and depression). Dr. Vigerland has been involved in numerous ICBT trials and has been instrumental in the implementation and dissemination of ICBT for young people in Sweden. In 2022, she was awarded Digital Psychologist of the year by the Swedish Psychological Association. 

Doctor Alexis Whitton

Dr. Alexis Whitton is an NHMRC Emerging Leader and Co-Director of a NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Depression Treatment Precision at the Black Dog Institute, University of New South Wales (UNSW). She completed her PhD at UNSW, and postdoctoral training at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, before joining the Black Dog Institute in 2020. She co-wrote Australia’s first tailored web and smartphone-based intervention for depression, which has over 200,000 users and has been integrated into primary mental health care in Australia. Dr. Whitton currently leads several projects aimed at identifying novel approaches to subtyping depression, including by leveraging advances in artificial intelligence and digital phenotyping methodology, for the purposes of improving treatment precision.

Associate Professor Charles Jonassaint

Dr. Charles Jonassaint is an Associate Professor of Medicine and a practicing clinical health psychologist with an MHS in epidemiology. He has clinical expertise in chronic disease self-management and cognitive behavioral therapy interventions and has had extensive experience working with health disparities populations, namely, adolescents and adults living with sickle cell disease. He completed his graduate training at Duke University and went on to do a Masters in epidemiology and clinical research fellowship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is currently funded through the National Institute of Health and the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute to lead a program of research in sickle cell disease focused on designing and testing evidence-based digital health interventions for pain and mental health.

The Implementation - Special Interest Group

In response to a survey of members, in 2023 ISRII launched an Implementation - Special Interest Group (I-SIG). The aims of I-SIG include showcasing examples of digital services from around the world, and supporting members involved in implementation to share advice and experiences.

The first I-SIG webinar was held in September 2023 and showcased fantastic work in the US (Dr. Fred Muench), Canada (Dr. Heather Hadjistavropoulos), and Sweden (Dr. Erik Forsell).

The second I-SIG webinar was held in March 2024 and had 300 registrants from more than 20 countries. This webinar featured reports of impressive work from Ireland (Dr. Derek Richards), Australia (Dr. Jen Nicholson) and Sweden (Dr. Kristofer Vernmark).

The I-SIG is now planning to host a Panel Discussion at the upcoming ISRII Conference in Limerick, which will feature 6 experts in implementation discussing their experiences and learnings, and their advice for the future.

The I-SIG convenor, Dr. Nick Titov (nick.titov@mq.edu.au), is planning additional I-SIG webinars and he would be pleased to hear from people who would like to share their experiences of implementation.

Information about the I-SIG and other ISRII webinars and links to recordings are available on the ISRII website.