Technology and Mental Health Concentration
PAU Launches the Technology and Mental Health Concentration within its MS in Psychology Degree
Palo Alto, CA – Starting in the fall of 2022, the Master of Science in Psychology program at Palo Alto University (PAU) will offer a Technology and Mental Health Concentration. This concentration will explore the important role technology plays in today’s society, the negative and positive effects of technology on mental health, and the complexity of the interaction between technology and human behavior.
Utilizing technology to enhance mental health is an emerging area of study and PAU is at the forefront of this burgeoning field. Students will learn to identify the impact of technology on human psychology, which digital tools contribute to mental health, and how to develop these digital tools.
Students in this concentration will pair traditional training in graduate psychological science with cutting-edge courses about how technology affects mental health, and how we can use technology to develop new treatments and improve mental health in the future.
Tech and Mental Health Coursework
The Technology and Mental Health Concentration covers current trends in mental health and wellness, and includes these courses:
- Technology and Mental Health for Children and Adolescents: Screen Time, Digital Interventions, and Teletherapy. This course explores the effects of technology on children and adolescents.
- Evidence-based Digital Internet Interventions to Reduce Health Disparities. This course discusses the development and efficacy of technological innovations in healthcare.
- Using Evidence-based Principles of Multimedia Learning for Product Design. Students will learn how people learn and process information and apply this framework to multimedia content design.
- Mental Health and Design in the Digital World (User Experience).
Students will learn how the development of technology has positively affected our wellness, learn the skills and strategies for UX product design, and become leaders of these future trends in mental health.
Careers in Technology and Mental Health
Students who graduate with this concentration become experts in the application of technology—such as smartphone apps, virtual reality, and video games—to enhance mental health in various industries. This concentration prepares students for technology-related employment in the fields of:
- Education and Research
- Media
- Healthcare
- Forensics
- Non-Profits and Government Agencies
- Business and Human Resources
- Mental Health Start-up Companies
- UX Design and Research
Graduates will understand the changing demands of mental health and tech in the workforce, the expansion of mental health and technology in the corporate sector, and the ways in which an understanding of psychology can benefit those who want to work in technology.
Click here to apply or learn more about PAU’s MS in Psychology program, Technology and Mental Health Concentration. Applications are due August 5, 2022.