Conversations about mental health in the United States have shifted in recent years. Awareness has increased, and so has public willingness to engage with questions of care. Yet one issue persists: access to evidence-based services remains uneven. The gap between what is known to work and what is actually available has become a central concern across psychology, public health, and related fields.

At the same time, digital tools have introduced new possibilities for reaching individuals who have historically been underserved. These developments raise important questions. Can technology meaningfully extend care? Under what conditions does it succeed or fail? And how can such tools remain grounded in a nuanced understanding of human behavior?

The summer course Psychology 474: Digital Mental Health engages these questions directly. This course invites students to examine both the promise and the complexity of integrating digital innovation into mental health care.

We had the opportunity to ask the course’s instructor, Dr. Deborah Jones, about the course and its impact.

Q: What excites you most about teaching Psychology 474: Digital Mental Health this summer?
A: “There is a mental health crisis in the United States and we in mental health increasingly need to think outside the box, including with regard to how to leverage innovations in digital tools, to get evidence-based assessment and treatment to those who need it most.”

Q: What’s one idea or concept from the class that tends to surprise students the most?
A: “I think they are most surprised by the central tenant of the class, which is how few people have access to evidence-based mental health services.”

Q: What originally sparked your interest in this field? What keeps you curious or energized about this subject year after year?
A: “My research focuses on children, families, and other caregivers who traditionally have challenges accessing evidence-based mental health care. Given that most individuals have a mobile phone, including those with low-income, we realized technology created an avenue to democratize evidence-based interventions toward better access, engagement, and outcomes. What keeps me curious and excited about this field and class is that the range of digital tools keeps evolving!”

Q: What advice would you give to students considering taking your course?
A: “This is a very active course with a range of individual and group work, various types of assessments and assignments that aim to help students think critically about what we are reading and they are learning, and we even have a field trip to a digital health company started by those with connections to UNC Chapel Hill.”

Q: What’s one lesson or insight you hope stays with students long after summer ends?
A: “I tell my students often that there are so many roles for psychology and neuroscience majors and minors to play in the digital mental health space because we need those who understand human behavior richly and deeply to be at the table when we are designing, developing, and proposing to use these tools with our clients.”

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Professor Jones’ responses point to a broader shift in how mental health care is being conceptualized. The recognition that access remains limited—even where effective treatments exist—reshapes how students often approach the field. It encourages them to think beyond individual-level interventions and to consider systems, infrastructure, and modes of delivery.

At the same time, the course makes clear that digital innovation is not simply a technical challenge. Its success depends on careful attention to behavior, context, and equity—areas where training in psychology and neuroscience remains essential. In this sense, the course positions students not as passive observers of change, but as potential contributors to an evolving area of practice and research.For those interested in engaging these questions in a focused and applied setting, Psychology 474: Digital Mental Health offers a substantive introduction through UNC Summer School.