What does it take to make behavioral healthcare work for more people?

Much of my research has focused on how digital behavioral health becomes part of everyday care. That work brings some practical questions into focus: Who is an intervention right for? What support helps people benefit from it? And how does it fit into the wider care they may need?

These questions are central to Amwell’s approach to comprehensive behavioral healthcare. They also help explain why we’re pleased to be named a quarterfinalist in the Best in Class track, Mental, Behavioral & Brain Health category, of the 2026 Digital Health & AI Awards. Organized by the Digital Health Hub Foundation, this year’s competition drew more than 1,300 participating companies.

Our submission brought together several parts of the story: access to therapy and psychiatry, evidence-based digital support through SilverCloud^® by Amwell^®, and an approach designed to connect those services as members’ needs evolve.

For me, the value lies in how these capabilities can help more people receive effective support that fits their needs and their lives.

Different needs call for different forms of support

Behavioral health needs vary considerably. Someone managing anxiety may benefit from a structured digital program with human coaching. Another person may need regular sessions with a therapist. Others may require psychiatric evaluation and medication management, or a combination of services over time.

Those needs can change. Digital support may help someone begin care, practice skills alongside therapy, or continue using what they have learned after treatment ends. Clinician-led care remains essential for people whose needs require it.

This is why a comprehensive portfolio matters. SilverCloud’s digital CBT-based programs, virtual therapy, and psychiatry each contribute something different. Together, they offer a broader range of support than any one modality can provide.

For health plans facing growing demand and limited clinician availability, that breadth has practical value. Clinically appropriate digital care can extend support to more members while helping preserve therapist and psychiatrist capacity for people who need clinician-led treatment.

Evidence should tell us whether care is helping

As researchers, we want to understand whether people engage with care and whether that care makes a meaningful difference.

The recent, independently led, NIMH-funded iAIM randomized trial, published in Nature Human Behaviour, offers important evidence for SilverCloud’s role.

Researchers screened nearly 40,000 students across 26 U.S. colleges and universities. They randomized 6,205 students with clinical-level symptoms or elevated risk to screening followed by guided digital CBT-based therapy or screening followed by referral to college-provided care.

Participation reached 74.4% in the digital intervention group, compared with 30.2% in the referral group. The digital intervention group also had a lower prevalence of the measured mental disorders at six weeks, six months, and two years.

What interests me is the combination of participation and sustained clinical benefit at a population level. It supports the value of making structured, evidence-based treatment easier to access and helping people engage with it.

The study evaluated a specific intervention and care pathway in a college population. Its findings inform the broader behavioral health conversation while creating some valuable insights for implementation in other care settings.

Therapy and psychiatry contribute another part of Amwell’s evidence story. The data included in our award submission showed average waits of four days for an Amwell Medical Group therapist and two days for a psychiatrist, with respective provider ratings of 4.9 and 4.7 out of five. These measures describe access and member experience — important dimensions alongside clinical outcomes that indicate a positive healthcare experience.

Making the portfolio work in practice

My implementation research has reinforced how much depends on the experience of various stakeholders (members, clinicians) surrounding an intervention. People need to understand their options, clinicians need confidence in the care pathway, and services need practical ways to support participation.

For a member, that may begin with a conversation about whether digital support fits their needs. It may involve encouragement from a coach, clarity about what therapeutic work requires, or help finding additional care.

Meaningful engagement involves reflection, practice, and building skills people can use in everyday life. Supporting that effort is part of delivering effective care.

The Amwell Platform provides the foundation for our broader ambition: a connected experience spanning digital behavioral health, therapy, and psychiatry. The goal is to make appropriate support easier to find and to reduce the navigation burden as needs change.

That connection also matters within whole-person care. Behavioral health concerns often sit alongside physical health needs. A familiar, trusted care experience can give members a place to return when they need support.

Building on the recognition

We’re proud to be recognized among this year’s quarterfinalists and look forward to the awards at HLTH in Las Vegas this November.

The work ahead is practical: expanding access to different forms of care, supporting meaningful participation, measuring benefit, and making care pathways easier to navigate.

A comprehensive portfolio gives us more ways to meet those needs. Research and thoughtful implementation help us turn that breadth into care people can use and benefit from.