Research

In this section, you’ll find my research outputs, all freely accessible through PDF links.

Currently, I’m primarily involved in running a large precision trial in India that aims to improve outcomes for depression and make healthcare delivery more cost-effective. Alongside this, my work has focused on a series of projects examining how artificial intelligence can improve the supervision, training, and quality of psychological treatments at scale, leveraging data from large randomized trials conducted in India, the UK, Canada, and the United States. This program of work includes BRIDGE-AI, a project selected for the MEXA Generative AI for Mental Health Research Accelerator (funded by the Wellcome Trust), which focuses on developing an AI-based feedback tool to support non-specialist counselors in India. In parallel, I’m exploring future directions for a digital intervention we developed to treat adolescent depression in rural South Africa and Uganda, and a chatbot to support non‑specialists in delivering therapy in India.

 

Published work

  1. Kazdin, A. E., Pozuelo, J. R., Harris, M. G., Stein, D. J., (…) Vigo, D. V. (In press). Patterns and predictors of the transition between minimally adequate treatment and effective treatment coverage for mental disorders: Results from the World Mental Health Survey. International Journal of Mental Health Systems.
  2. Stein, D. J., Kazdin, A. E., Baldwin, D. S., Harris, M. G., Hwang, I., Pozuelo, J. R., … & WHO World Mental Health Survey collaborators. (2026). Anxiolytic Medication Use in Low‐Middle‐and High‐Income Countries: A World Mental Health Surveys Report. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental. PDF here.
  3. Shafran, R., Bond, L., Carlbring, P., Cohen, Z., Creed, T. A., Davey, E., … & Wade, T. D. (2025). From Innovation to Implementation: Artificial Intelligence in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Training and Supervision. Behaviour Research and Therapy. PDF here. 
  4. Pozuelo, J. R., Vigo, D. V., Kazdin, A. E., Harris, M. G., Stein, (…), Kessler, R. C., & World Mental Health Survey collaborators. (2025). Predictors and barriers to minimally adequate treatment among treated individuals with mental disorders: Results from the World Mental Health Survey. International Journal of Mental Health Systems. PDF here.
  5. Dallison, S., Moffett, B., Makhubela, P., Nkuna, T., Pozuelo, J. R., van Heerden, A., & O’Mahen, H. (2025). Using Generative AI to Co-design Digital Mental Health Interventions With Adolescents: Thematic Analysis of Participatory Workshops in Rural South Africa. Journal of Medical Internet Research. PDF here. 
  6. Smith, C. W., Sorsdahl, K., Pozuelo, J. R., & van der Westhuizen, C. (2025). Psychometric properties of the English-language Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-16 for 15-18-year-old adolescents in the Western Cape of South Africa. SSM-Mental Health. PDF here.
  7. Agrawal R, Monteiro K, Narasimhamurti NS, Sharma S, Suryawanshi A, Bariya A, Narvekar S, Bagnoli L, Saxena M, Magoun L, Parsekar SS, Pozuelo JR, Lesh N, Sood M, Sharma T, Yadav H, Bhan A, Nadkarni A, Patel V. (2025) A Conversational Agent (PracticePal) to Support the Delivery of a Brief Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression in Rural India: Development and Pilot-Testing Study. JMIR Formative Research. PDF here. 
  8. Pozuelo JR, Lahiri A, Singh RSP, Kushwah A, Khanduri M, Shukla A, …. & Patel, V. (2025). Optimizing Treatment for Depression in Primary Care Using Psychotherapy Versus Antidepressant Medication in a Low-Resource Setting: Protocol for the OptimizeD Randomized Controlled Trial. BMC Psychiatry. PDF here.
  9. Moffett, B.*, Pozuelo, J. R.*, Musenge, E., Makhanya, Z., O’Mahen, H. A., Craske, M. G., … & Stein, A. (2025). A Behavioral Activation Digital Intervention Incorporating Gamification and Peer Mentor Support for Adolescent Depression in Rural South Africa: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial (the DoBAt Study). JAACAP Open. PDF here. 
  10. Roest, A. M., de Vries, Y. A., Pozuelo, J. R., … & Kesler, R. (2025). Comorbidity and temporal associations between mental disorders among college students in the World Mental Health International College Student Initiative. Psychiatry Research. PDF here.
  11. Pozuelo, J.R., Nabulumba, C., Sikoti, D., Davis, M., Onoria, J., Kinyanda, E., van Heerden, A., O’Mahen, H.A., Craske, M.G., DoBAt & Ebikolwa Consortium, Sulaiman, M., Stein, A. (2024) A narrative-gamified mental health app for adolescents in Uganda: a mixed-methods feasibility and acceptability study. JMIR Serious Games. PDF here.
  12. Pozuelo, J. R., Moffett, B. D., Davis, M., Stein, A., Cohen, H., Craske, M. G., … & O’Mahen, H. A. (2023). User-Centered Design of a Gamified Mental Health App for Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa: Multicycle Usability Testing Study. JMIR Formative Research. PDF here.
  13. van Heerden, A.C, Pozuelo, J. R, Kohrt, B. A. (2023). Global Mental Health Services and the Impact of Artificial Intelligence–Powered Large Language Models. JAMA Psychiatry. PDF here.
  14. Pozuelo, J. R.*, Bradenbrink, R.*, Stierna, M. F.*, & Sterck, O. (2023). Depression, violence and socioeconomic outcomes among refugees in East Africa: evidence from a multicountry representative survey. BMJ Ment Health. PDF here.
  15. Rowe,  K., Pozuelo, J. R., Nickless, A., Nkosi, A. K., dos Santos, A., Kahn, K., Tollman, St., Wagner, R.G., Scerif, G., Stein, A. (2023). The adolescent HIV executive function and drumming (AHEAD) study, a feasibility trial of a group drumming intervention amongst adolescents with HIV. AIDS Care. PDF here.
  16. Moffett, B. D.*, Pozuelo, J. R.*, van Heerden, A., O’Mahen, H. A., Craske, M., Sodi, T., … & Stein, A (2022). Digital delivery of behavioural activation therapy to overcome depression and facilitate social and economic transitions of adolescents in South Africa (the DoBAt study): protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial. BMJ open. PDF here.
  17. Pozuelo, J. R., Desborough, L., Stein, A., & Cipriani, A. (2021). Systematic review and meta-analysis: depressive symptoms and risky behaviors among adolescents in low-and middle-income countries. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. PDF here. 
  18. Pozuelo, J. R., Kilford E.J. (2021). Adolescent Health Series: Adolescent Neurocognitive Development in Western and Sub-Saharan Africa. Tropical Medicine & International Health. PDF here.
  19. Graham, C., & Pozuelo, J. R. (2021). Do High Aspirations Lead to Better Outcomes? Evidence from a Longitudinal Survey of Adolescents in Peru. Journal of Population Economics. PDF here.
  20. Pozuelo, J. R., Stein, A., Blakemore, S. J., Kahn, K., Dercon, S., & Pettifor, A. (2020). Cash transfers in adolescence: a developmental perspective. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. PDF here.
  21. Graham, C., & Pozuelo, J. R. (2017). Happiness, stress, and age: How the U curve varies across people and places. Journal of Population Economics. PDF here.
 

Work in progress

DIAGNOSIS
  • I have several papers in progress that use large-scale epidemiological data to understand the distribution, determinants, and mechanisms of common mental disorders across diverse populations and settings. A central strand of this work draws on the World Mental Health Survey to examine patterns of treatment use, discontinuation, and adequacy for common mental disorders across countries. Ongoing analyses focus on predictors of anxiolytic and antipsychotic medication use and discontinuation, as well as transitions between minimally adequate and effective treatment, to identify where along the care pathway patients drop out of treatment and which factors contribute to this across countries.
  • Examining the relationship between depressive symptoms, executive function, and risky behaviours: testing a mediation model in a cohort study of adolescents in Africa. This study uses a six-wave cohort study of adolescents in rural South Africa to explore the extent to which depressive symptoms impact executive function, and tests a mediation model between depressive symptoms and risky behaviours through executive function. This paper was developed as part of my PhD research, and can be found here. 
developing low-cost interventions
  • Peer Mentor Training and Supervision for a Digital Adolescent Depression Treatment in South Africa and Uganda: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation. This study assessed the feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity of a training and supervision program for peer supporters of a digital mental health intervention in South Africa and Uganda. A study preprint is here. 
Optimizing treatment

  • Development of a Baseline Battery to Optimize Depression Treatment Assignment: Balancing Breadth and Brevity. This study used a multi-step process—including literature review, expert input, piloting, and machine learning—to develop a comprehensive yet practical baseline assessment battery for guiding personalized depression treatment in primary care settings in India. A study preprint is here. 

  • A Pilot Study of a Precision Treatment Trial Comparing Psychotherapy and Antidepressants for Depression in Indian Primary Care Settings. This pilot study tested the feasibility of conducting a precision randomized control trial in eight primary healthcare centers in India. A study preprint is here. 

  • Using Artificial Intelligence to improve the efficiency and reach of therapist training. Although supervision is a critical component of service delivery, it is time and resource-intensive. Large language models (LLMs) could help reduce training and supervision time by providing high-quality, real-time feedback to psychological providers.

    In parallel, I am developing papers that examine core methodological questions in AI for mental health research, including the role of preregistration as a bridge between natural language processing and mental health research, and the opportunities and challenges of using simulated AI patients in psychotherapy research.

Location Department of Global Health and Social Medicine | Harvard University | Boston, MA | 02115
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