Online Delivery of Mental Health Care

Low-income Americans have a higher risk of suffering from common mental illnesses, and lower rates of receiving treatment. More generally, the majority of Americans suffering from common mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety do not receive any treatment. We propose an RCT with 2,000 US adults to test whether online and app-based psychotherapy tools are a cost-effective way of delivering mental health care to low-income Americans. We will (a) identify barriers to take-up and estimate the effectiveness of subsidies and incentives to increase take-up and (b) evaluate the effectiveness of the online and app-based mental health care services. We will randomize participants into a control group or two treatment groups which receive price subsidies or incentives for use. We will measure whether our treatments increase the use of such psychotherapy services, and estimate impacts on depression, anxiety and stress, as well as downstream labor market outcomes and physical health benefits.