Prof. Sigal Zilcha-Mano of University of Haifa is at the forefront of transforming mental health care by moving beyond a one-size-fits-all approach to psychotherapy. Her work has helped shift the field from focusing on average treatment effects to understanding the dynamic, person-specific pathways of change. In a conversation with AFUH, she shared how her research focuses on understanding why individuals respond differently to therapy and how treatments can be tailored to each person’s unique needs. Her work, including the development of the Trait-Like / State-Like (TLSL) framework, has clarified why individuals respond differently to therapy and how long-standing predispositions interact with moment-to-moment emotional processes.

Her work, particularly in depression, examines the condition as a highly personal experience rather than a uniform diagnosis. By combining clinical insights with advanced data-driven tools — including patterns collected from smartphones, such as sleep, movement, speech, facial expressions, and digital social activity — Prof. Zilcha-Mano and her team aim to identify early signs of mental deterioration and intervene before conditions become chronic.

Earlier this month, she was awarded the prestigious ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) grant to develop SMARTH MDD, an innovative AI-based system that translates over a decade of clinically grounded research into a practical platform capable of providing personalized, proactive mental health care on a global scale.

You recently received this ERC PoC grant. What does this mean to you personally and professionally?
Our work in the Psychotherapy Research Lab focuses on identifying individual-specific mechanisms of change — understanding what works for each patient. Over the past decade, we’ve contributed important insights on how different people benefit from different therapeutic approaches. This grant allows us to move from basic science to applied research, developing platforms like SMARTH MDD that identify mental health patterns for each individual and match them with the psychotherapy most likely to help. Translating our research into real-world impact is truly exciting.

When you talk about “personalized treatment,” what does that mean in practice?
Depression, for example, is highly prevalent but manifests very differently in different people. Personalization means identifying each individual’s unique characteristics so we can provide the treatment most likely to be effective from the start. We focus on psychotherapy, though our methods could also apply to other mental health interventions.

Can you describe your research focus more broadly? What drives your work?
Many patients have told me they felt therapy was “one-size-fits-all.” Clinicians try to personalize, but often rely on trial and error. Our goal is to shorten that process. We’ve developed technology that identifies each person’s “signature” — patterns revealing what contributes to their depression, anxiety, or other mental health challenges — so we can provide targeted treatment without lengthy trial and error.

What kind of technology are you using?
SMARTH MDD collects data from smartphones — such as sleep, movement, speech patterns, facial expressions, text sentiment, and social activity — and integrates it to build a personalized profile for each user. We also use structured paradigms in our clinic. Together, these tools allow us to understand a person’s mental health dynamics and match them with the treatment most likely to help.

Why focus on depression?
Two reasons: it is among the most prevalent mental health disorders, and it is highly heterogeneous — people diagnosed with depression can experience very different symptoms. Despite decades of new therapies, treatment effectiveness hasn’t significantly improved, largely because we haven’t personalized care. With our tools, we can change that.

You speak about shifting mental health care from reactive to preventative. How does that work?
Currently, depression is diagnosed using clinical cut-offs based on average individuals, often after conditions are already chronic. Our approach detects early warning signs before someone reaches that threshold, enabling preventive interventions that are shorter, simpler, and far less costly — and that can prevent full depressive episodes.

What early warning signs can your technology detect?
It depends on the person. For some, sleep, communication, or activity patterns are key indicators; for others, different markers matter more. Personalization allows us to identify the most meaningful signals for each individual, enabling early and effective intervention.

What drew you to psychology and mental health research?
During my military service, I worked with families of wounded or fallen soldiers. I was struck by how differently people responded to trauma — people found multiple, distinct pathways to recovery, even when facing similar trauma, while others struggled. That experience highlighted the importance of individual differences and inspired me to become both a clinical psychologist and a researcher, aiming to understand how to help people more effectively from the start.

Why did you choose to build your academic career at University of Haifa?
University of Haifa offers an extraordinary interdisciplinary environment. Collaborating with researchers from different fields allows us to tackle the complexity of human behavior and mental health. I’m also deeply grateful for our talented research team and PhD students, whose dedication makes our work possible.

Moreover, our students come from diverse backgrounds, which enriches the lab’s understanding of different life contexts and therapeutic needs. That diversity aligns perfectly with our focus on personalization in mental health care.

Looking ahead, what do you hope to accomplish in the next few years?
We aim to make our technology accessible to as many people as possible. The earlier we can detect suffering and provide individualized solutions, the more we can prevent long-term harm — both for individuals and society as a whole.

Editor’s Note:
Prof. Zilcha-Mano’s clinic also provides free, high-quality, evidence-based psychotherapy delivered by experienced therapists, reflecting the University of Haifa’s commitment to public impact. For further information and to schedule an appointment, please contact:

Phone: +972-58-629-7595

Email: depressionpsychotherapy@gmail.com