Psychotherapy is crucial for managing cue-induced cravings. However, most research has focused on explicit drug cues that elicit intense cravings, and recreating such high-risk scenarios in practice can inadvertently heighten cravings afterward, making these approaches impractical or ethically problematic in real-world settings. To address this, we developed a cue-exposure technology probe system, VirtualCravingProbe, which integrates VR simulations with real-time biofeedback to enhance self-awareness in clinical drug psychotherapy. We conducted an exploratory study with twelve patients recovering from methamphetamine addiction using the VirtualCravingProbe system, generating design guidelines for future iterations of an integrated VR and biofeedback-assisted therapy tool. Results revealed qualitative evidence that real-time heart-rate monitoring in VR heightened patients’ awareness of triggers and their craving responses. These findings align with the CBT cognitive-triangle framework, which emphasizes the interplay of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Moreover, the system demonstrated potential to enrich patient–therapist dialogue and support the adoption of effective coping strategies.

Psychotherapy is vital for identifying and managing craving-triggering cues. In this study, we paired virtual reality (VR) drug-cue scenarios with physiological sensors to capture participants’ real-time responses. Qualitative interviews with nineteen patients and six therapists showed that contextual elements resembling past drug-use experiences reliably provoked cravings, while biofeedback data confirmed that VR effectively elicits measurable physical responses. Our findings further suggest that adjusting the completeness and fidelity of VR scenarios to match a patient’s recovery stage can manage craving intensity and prevent urges from persisting beyond each session. Therapists also see opportunities to integrate virtual reality into clinical practice to address challenges from prior sessions and enhance therapeutic outcomes. This paper offers concrete recommendations for developing clinically deployable VR scenarios and outlines implications for future research and therapeutic applications in drug treatment.

Shopping addiction is characterized by unrestrained repetitive purchasing behavior, negatively impacting one's financial stability and social welfare. This study sought to gain insights into the development of self-monitoring devices and data sharing schemes to assist in dealing with shopping addiction. In this two-phase study, the Bergen Shopping Addiction Scale was first used in the pre-study screening survey to identify individuals with a propensity toward shopping addiction. In the second phase, an online survey was conducted, comprising (1) a study introduction and consent form, (2) the main survey, and (3) follow-up demographic questions. Phase II involved 332 participants meeting this criterion and was conducted to examine behavioral tendencies, evaluate prior intervention experiences, and elicit user preferences pertaining to self-monitoring and data sharing. The majority of respondents expressed a preference for systems that facilitate the tracking of shopping behavior and enable data sharing with intimate partners. Based on these findings, we recommend three directions for the further development of support systems: 1) Reduce the burden of mood tracking; 2) Streamline mechanisms for sharing data with key support figures; and 3) Tailor intervention strategies in accordance with key addiction indicators.

Gambling addiction can have a profound impact on the mental and financial well-being of individuals and their families. This paper presents an in-depth study on the development of technologies aimed at promoting collaborative efforts between patients and family members to deal with gambling addiction. The study performed interviews with ten pairs of gambling-addicted patients with a family member, six patients without family participation, and four treatment experts. Thematic analysis was conducted from the perspectives of patients and family members with the aim of identifying key themes underlying the development of the three antecedents of Planned Behavioral Theory: attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. In accordance with the tenets of Prospect Theory, we sought to elucidate the process of attitude formation during editing and evaluation. We also analyzed opportunities and concerns in designing technologies to address gambling addiction. The identified themes provided a basis by which to assess design implications from the perspective of Planned Behavioral Theory. Our analysis revealed three directions for future development: 1) helping patients to make informed gambling decisions through rational editing and evaluation, as suggested by Prospect Theory (attitude level); 2) promoting communication within families to enhance mutual understanding and trust (subjective norm level); and 3) helping patients to develop personal capabilities, while providing a realistic impression of their progress (perceived behavioral control level).

Depression is the most common mental health problem in older adults; however, a lack of understanding in the interaction between physical and social causes hinders effective treatment. Unique issues such as age-specific increases in comorbid physical problems and alienation from social contact can make it difficult for health providers to identify instances of depression. These also make it difficult for depressed older adults to communicate with their social resources, such as friends, family, and health providers. Integrating technology-assisted collaboration with members of patients' social network to observe and manage multi-dimensional factors in depressed older adults' states is a potential way to improve the quality of practitioners' treatment-planning around these multi-dimensional factors, as well as provide assistance for family and friends' involvement in managing the depression. We conducted an interview study on stakeholders' perceptions of depression and communication to understand the opportunities and challenges involved in implementing such collaborative design. Interviewees included 16 depressed older adult patients, 10 of their family members, and two psychiatrists. Our findings reveal new insights into 1) patients' and families' social values and understandings of patients' condition, as well as 2) how these values and understandings influenced decision-making on communicating with each other and acting on depression. These insights have implications for the consideration of information and communication systems to aid depressed older adults' recovery and engagement with social network members.

Drug addiction is a chronic condition, marked by compulsive drug use. In previous research, cue exposure and biofeedback technologies proved effective in drug psychotherapy sessions; however, the focus has generally been on the awareness of cravings and the identification of cues. There has been relatively little research on methods aimed at facilitating therapist-patient communication, particularly from a user-centered perspective. In this paper, we describe a qualitative technology probe study exploring the means by which patients identify cues and perceive cravings as well as the way that they communicate with therapists. Our analysis considers the difficulties in cue identification and craving perception, the interactions between the two, and the means by which these characteristics could impact the design of VR support systems in the future.

Smartphone addiction refers to the problematic use of smartphones, which can negatively impact one’s quality of life and even health. We conducted a two-week technology probe study to explore the use of technologies aimed at improving smartphone addiction among seven dyads of adolescents and their parents. Interviews conducted during and after the probe study revealed that manually reporting lifestyle and well-being data could provide motivation to improve one’s lifestyle and well-being by moderating phone use. Sharing smartphone use data with parents was also shown to head off negative communication loops and foster opportunities to overcome the smartphone addiction.

Technology abuse among adolescents refers to the problematic use of technology devices, and the negative impact it can have on lifestyle and one's physical and mental health. This paper reports on in-depth interviews with 15 dyads of adolescent patients, their parents, and four experts with the objective of unraveling the issue of technology abuse. We conducted qualitative analysis aimed at unpacking the contextual factors affecting technology abuse, and differences between adolescents and their parents pertaining to this issue. Our discussions led us to formulate solutions to technology abuse: (1) motivating adolescents by sending timely reminders and providing interactive micro-incentives; (2) promoting communication between adolescents and their parents by sharing usage data related to device usage; and (3) incorporating social supports to complement parental support, while fulfilling the adolescent's social needs. This paper provides valuable insights into the design of technological solutions aimed at mediating technology abuse.

Our current project involves the development of a wristband-mounted sensor that is meant to function as an alcohol use monitoring system. This paper focuses on the degree to which physical activity influences ethanol concentrations in the vapor secreted from the skin through collecting data from seven recruited participants when they conducting one designated activity, which could presumably affect the accuracy of detection results. We proposes a preliminary design of building a personal alcohol tracking system that can improve the reliability and affordability of current transdermal ethanol tracking devices to accommodate potential interferences presented in daily life and be intuitive to be used to raise the awareness of alcohol use.

Ketamine is an addictive drug that has been shown to inflict considerable physical and mental damage on users. Due in part to its low cost, ketamine has become one of the most popular club drugs among young adults and teenagers in Southeast Asia. This paper proposes a phone-based support system (KeDiary) with Bluetooth-enabled device for the screening of saliva, as a means of assisting ketamine-dependent patients to self-monitor their ketamine use following acute withdrawal treatment. We also conducted a practical experiment to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed system, wherein three ketamine-dependent patients self-administered tests at least once per day over a period of three weeks. Follow-up interviews with the same users helped in the further refinement of the proposed self-monitoring system.

Alcohol dependence is a chronic disorder associated with severe harm in multiple areas, and relapsing is easy, despite treatment. This study proposes SoberDiary, a phone-based support system that enables alcohol-dependent patients to self-monitor and -manage their own alcohol behavior, and remain sober in their daily lives. We tested SoberDiary in a real-life 12-week user study involving 27 clinical patients. The quantitative and qualitative results revealed that SoberDiary helped patients self-monitor and -manage their alcohol-use behavior, and reduced their total alcohol consumption as well as the number of heavy drinking days. Compared with patients who received standard treatment alone, this study demonstrated SoberDiary successfully complemented current alcohol treatment in reducing patients' alcoholic cravings and dropout rate over 3-month study period. Follow-up interviews further revealed the sophisticated use practices and value of SoberDiary.