  Effective communication and strong therapeutic relationships are critical to
successful mental health interventions. For example, in 1957 Carl Rogers, a
pioneer of person-centred therapy, proposed that an empowering relationship
could, in and of itself, create the necessary and sufficient conditions for
positive therapeutic outcomes [1]. Whilst modern psychological theories no
longer favour an exclusive focus on relationships, positive relationships and
the dynamics of client-therapist communication remain cornerstones of mental
health intervention theories. A more recent meta-review concluded that across
all interventions models, irrespective of the theoretical approach, the quality
of the relationship between therapists and clients is the second leading
determinant of successful clinical outcomes [2]. Over the past ten years we
(David Coyle and Gavin Doherty) have designed and evaluated a wide range to
systems that provide support for psychological (or talk- based) mental health
interventions [3]. Here we briefly consider two recent examples. In each case
our aim was to enhance communication and reshape clinical practice in a manner
that empowers patients. gNats Island is a computer game that supports
face-to-face interventions for adolescents [4]. MindBalance is an online
treatment programme for adults experiencing difficulties with depression [5].
