date:
April 8, 2024
Generative AI chatbots are being tested in mental health support cases to identify the support they may be able to provide to improve the treatment experience.
Artificial intelligence is becoming a part of our daily life. It affects nearly every industry and personal aspect of lifestyle choices. In the field of mental health, generative AI is bringing about the biggest revolution since the beginnings of psychotherapy in the 1800s. While all other healthcare services have advanced with the help of technology, mental health has remained in its traditional form due to a lack of proven technology support. Generative AI has the potential to change this by introducing AI chatbots for treatment support.
Alison Darcy finds a way to use AI chatbots to connect, engage and support mental health patients. Alison has combined her coding background with her years of therapy experience to build a comfortable solution that ensures confidentiality and is instantly available on your smartphone. Her AI chatbot that she developed is known as Her Woebot and can identify patterns of self-harm in conversations and help manage issues such as depression, anxiety, addiction, and loneliness. It basically acts as a pocket therapist and you can call for support 24/7.
Even without being skeptical about the accuracy of generative AI, the mental health industry faces all the challenges that other industries face, albeit with unique challenges. For mental health conditions, providing cognitive behavioral therapy is the final step. The first stage is the most difficult to penetrate, with some people refusing or hesitant to participate. The second problem people face is the lack of information about CBT practitioners nearby. A Google search may be helpful, but the results are as unreliable as a list of symptoms for a physical problem. Almost none.
Many researchers are working on using artificial intelligence to modernize psychotherapy. Mental health apps have the potential to provide accurate monitoring of symptoms, rapid support in emergencies, and verified information about nearby practitioners. Woebot is trained on extensive expert data to recognize and respond to words, phrases, or emojis associated with dysfunctional thinking.
Additionally, the tool is developed in a closed environment, which prevents the tool from providing unpredictable responses that could harm patients. However, a similar reaction can occur in a closed training environment, making the conversation boring or repetitive after a certain point. Companies are promoting the benefits of AI chatbots for treatment, providing pre-professional or entry-level assistance in the solitude that most victims of mental health disorders feel comfortable with. This doesn’t just lead to support at odd times and locations, such as 2am when people are sleeping. AI chatbots in mental healthcare can revolutionize the engagement cycle and provide professionals with real-time escalation to reduce unwanted incidents.
Written by Arpit Dubey
Arpit is a dreamer, a wanderer, and a tech geek who loves writing down his musings and updates on technology. With the mind of a logician, he is always on the lookout for the rising sun and the advancement of technology while secretly preparing a robot uprising.
