Can AI therapists save us from the global mental health crisis?

The global mental health crisis is deepening, exacerbated by a chronic shortage of qualified professionals. Per a report by the World Health Organization, mental health disorders affect one in four people globally during their lifetime. In the U.S. alone, 23% of adults experienced a mental health issue in 2022, yet nearly half of them did not receive the necessary treatment, according to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

While mental health disorders account for 10% of the global total disease burden, only 1% of global health workers are dedicated to mental health, the National Library of Medicine reports. Regional disparities further highlight the inequity in care: While some developed nations have extensive mental health resources, low-income countries continue to face severe shortages, sometimes with fewer than one psychiatrist per 100,000 people.

But this shortage of mental health professionals isn’t limited to low-income countries. The HRSA projects a 20% decline in the number of psychiatrists by 2030, a significant reduction that could result in millions of people going untreated.

To address this growing gap, many healthcare professionals are now using in-built and third-party AI products to provide support for mental health diagnosis and therapeutic interventions.

AI AS A TOOL FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Part of the appeal with AI is its ability to harness data from various sources—like user interactions, vocal patterns, and emotional analytics.

Take, for example, Liv, Sheba Medical Center’s LLM-based platform that helps with the diagnosis of mental health challenges for victims of the ongoing war (on both sides of the divide) and delivers personalized patient experiences, all while reducing the enormous burdens on psychiatrists.

Or Woebot, an AI-driven chatbot developed by Woebot Health Labs that delivers Cognitive Behavioral Therapy through text-based conversations, and guides users through their mental health challenges in real time. Or Emotion Logic, which can detect emotional states by analyzing uncontrolled vocal biomarkers and provides immediate intervention and ongoing feedback.

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“By providing real-time emotional feedback, our platform enables mental health professionals to adjust treatment strategies on the fly, tailoring care to each patient’s unique and current emotional state,” says Emotion Logic CEO Amir Liberman.

ETHICAL CONCERNS

As with any disruptive technology, AI’s increasing role in mental health raises a number of ethical concerns. AI tools excel at diagnosing and managing certain aspects of mental health care, such as detecting early signs of emotional distress. However, complex cases often require the nuanced understanding that only a trained human therapist can offer. Issues around patient consent, data privacy, and the responsible use of AI tools must also be carefully managed to ensure they do not compromise patient care. Compliant safeguards are being adopted by many AI platforms to secure users’ emotional and mental health data, but the evolving nature of AI technologies requires constant vigilance.

Mark Weiser, chairman at Sheba’s division of psychiatry, says Liv is essentially a clinical decision support system that still requires a “human in the loop.” The idea at this stage of psychiatric examination, he says, is that the patient first gets examined by the program before going to see a human psychiatrist at the later stage.

“The technology isn’t a stand-alone. The human psychiatrist still talks to the patient to validate what the LLM-based program has discovered,” he adds. “But it’s incredible that patients can first get diagnosed and, in some cases, get treatment advice, without going through stiffening protocols.”

THE FUTURE OF AI IN MENTAL HEALTH

As the technology advances, AI platforms will become even more adept at recognizing emotional and behavioral patterns, allowing for more personalized, precise care. Experts predict that AI-driven mental health tools could soon help resolve the shortage of mental health professionals globally.

“In the years to come, AI will be a vital component of holistic mental health care, enabling professionals to deliver better, faster, and more accessible treatment to those in need,” says Emotion Logic’s Liberman.

For Liberman, AI-driven platforms will continue to play a crucial role in rapidly filling the current gaps in our healthcare systems. The future, he believes, will be a rather radical change. “AI’s precision and consistency are poised to make it the preferred method of care, rendering traditional human-led treatment as surprisingly outdated,” he says. “Maybe even irresponsible.”