BRiTE is one of the department’s flagship centers for technology and mental health. We bring together a diverse group of multidisciplinary researchers, clinicians, technologists, patients and mental health advocates with a common goal of using innovative technologies to improve the lives of those suffering with mental illness, their families, and communities.


Main Challenge

Traditional in-person treatment approaches and brick-and-mortar clinic settings have limited capacity to provide targeted, scalable, high-quality person-centered care. Consequently, the majority of people suffering from mental illness and behavioral problems struggle with significant unmet mental health needs.

Our Approach

  • Design, development, and testing of cutting edge-technological approaches (e.g., treatment apps, Natural Language Processing, sensors) in the assessment, treatment, and prevention of mental illness and substance use disorders.
  • Repurposing existing technologies (e.g., texting, social media) as mental health treatment and recovery support tools.
  • Strategic partnerships to implement and evaluate novel technology-assisted resources in real-world treatment and community settings

Suzanne Meller, MPH, MSW, LSWAIC
BRiTE Center Coordinator
smeller@uw.edu
206-221-7364

Sample Projects

Assessing the Determinants and Antecedents of Persecutory Thoughts (ADAPT)

Attitudes, readiness, and adoption of digital health in community mental health centers during COVID-19 pandemic

Bolster: Development and testing of a caregiver-facing mobile health intervention to reduce duration of untreated psychosis

Deploying a texting intervention for psychosis; from research to real-world practice

Developing a digital training resource for clinicians learning CBT for psychosis (CBTpro)

Developing digital health resources for young adults with early psychosis and their families

Developing measurement-based care tools for addiction treatment clinics

Development of an mHealth support specialist for early psychosis caregivers in Washington State

Discovering the capacity of primary care front-line staff to deliver a low-intensity technology-enhanced intervention to treat geriatric depression

Discovery of conversational best practices in online mental health support

Feasibility of mHealth technology-enabled service for remote observed therapy of methadone and COVID-19 screening for patients in an opioid treatment program

Impact of the Preventing Addiction-Related Suicide (PARS) Intervention on patients who receive community-based addiction treatment

mHealth in West Africa: developing an evidence-based psychosocial intervention toolkit

mHealth Washington

Mobile RDoC: Using smartphone technology to understand Auditory Verbal Hallucinations (AVH)

Pilot study of mHealth for Veterans with serious mental illness

Understanding practical alcohol measures in primary care to prepare for measurement-based care