Trimbos institute

TRIMBOS is the National Institute of Mental Health and Addiction in the Netherlands. It is an independent foundation operating under Dutch law. As a leading centre of excellence, the institute contributes to the synthesis, enrichment, implementation and dissemination of knowledge with regard to mental health and addiction problems. The Institute is a WHO Collaborative Centre (formal status awaiting). I.COM is the Innovation Centre for Mental Health and Technology of Trimbos. The centre aims to improve the quality and accessibility of care for people with psychological problems through the use of innovative ICT devices. It’s focus is on the development, evaluation and implementation of digital interventions for mental health disorders including depression.

The main tasks of the Trimbos institute in the ICT4Depression project relate to the development of treatment modules for depression, the development of support models for therapy and validation of the treatment system in primary care. Furthermore, the Trimbos is responsible for the dissemination and exploitation.

Trimbos is well suited to this task as it has a broad experience in developing digital devices for depression, anxiety, problem drinking and in validation research by means of randomized controlled trials. Several of these interventions have been integrated in routine practice (“colour you life” and “master your mood” for adults and youngsters respectively). I.COM has been granted by the Dutch Ministery of Health the Mental Vitality project which aims to increase the reach of depression treatment by means of digital devices throughout the care spectrum. Mental Vitality includes 13 projects and 6 new web-based interventions, all aimed at the prevention and treatment of depression.