Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust has reported on findings from a 100-day improvement challenge with the trust’s Talking Therapies service and NHS Impact, which looked to help those aged 65 and over gain confidence with using online tools and digitally enabled therapies.
More than 240 people took part in the survey, with 96 percent stating that they used technology such as a phone, tablet, or laptop at home. Rebecca Morley, team manager and lead, shared: “We wanted to know what was preventing people from using the internet to access digitally enabled therapies at home…Key recurring themes in the results showed that older adults were worried that online therapy is less personal and several people were unaware that online face‑to‑face therapy is available.”
Elsewhere, findings showed that between August and September 2025, there was strong engagement with video appointments, with only four percent of those appointments missed, compared with six percent of telephone and 12 percent of face-to-face appointments. “These results suggest that video appointments may offer a more convenient and acceptable option for many older adults,” Rebecca noted.
Next steps for the team will be to explore how to make digital cognitive behavioural therapy feel more personal, the trust reports, collaborating with service users and partners to help reach people who may have not used the service or accessed mental health support before. A pilot offering video call assessments is being expanded, with outcomes to be reviewed to inform improvements to patient care and experience. An information pack is also being developed, with the intention of sharing this with people prior to assessments to let them know what to expect.
“Ultimately, the learning gained through the Digital Innovation Trailblazer will help us build a more inclusive, accessible and responsive talking therapies service particularly focusing on our older adults across North Yorkshire,” Rebecca said.
Wider trend: Digital mental health
A study exploring informed consent for ambient documentation using generative AI in outpatient care has highlighted nuances including that patients are more likely to self-censor when talking about mental and sexual health or illicit activity during consultations. 74.9 percent of patients reported being comfortable or very comfortable with the use of ambient documentation, with this rising to 81.6 percent when provided with basic information about the technology. However, when participants were given information on AI features, data storage, and corporate involvement, this decreased to 55.3 percent.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has published three recommendations on the use of AI in mental health and wellbeing, developed during an online workshop event bringing together more than 30 international experts in AI, mental health, ethics, and public policy. The event, held as a pre-summit event for the India AI Impact Summit 2026, was attended by researchers, clinicians, policy makers, and advocates, WHO explains. One of the topics discussed related to the potential risks and challenges around growing use of generative AI tools “neither designed nor tested for mental health”, particularly by young people.
Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust has introduced three innovations within its digital patient record system to allow for the electronic capture of peer support outcomes. The innovations include the Hope, Agency and Opportunity (HAO) outcome measure, a dedicated peer support intervention tab, and an intended activity SNOMED code. According to the trust, the introduction of these measures means peer support activities and outcomes can be recorded more consistently, building a better understanding of the impact peer support workers have on people’s recovery, and generating evidence to support the development of lived experience roles in mental health care.
