Can AI Be the Lifesaver for Mental Health?

In today's digital age, mental health has become a significant concern worldwide. With the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the question arises - Can AI be the lifesaver for mental health? In this video, we explore the potential of AI in revolutionizing the mental health landscape. From chatbots to machine learning algorithms, we delve into the various ways AI can help diagnose, treat, and prevent mental health issues. Join us as we discuss the possibilities and limitations of AI in mental health, and what the future may hold for this innovative technology.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to AI and Mental Health
• 1:15 Mental Health Access Crisis in Texas
• 4:35 Current State of Mental Healthcare
• 6:31 AI Applications in Mental Health
• 9:42 Limitations and Bias Concerns
• 12:30 Successful AI Implementations and Future Outlook
• 14:06 Closing Thoughts and Call to Action

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome, friends, to another episode of the Telewellness Hub podcast. I'm Marta Hamilton, your host, and today I want to dive into AI a little bit more. I got some great feedback and questions from everyday listeners who are consumers of healthcare, from healthcare providers themselves. There's a lot of questions going on about AI. I mean, it's affecting every part of our lives, and so I thought it would be good to do a little bit of a follow-up today. So what I really am hoping to talk about today is really having the opportunity to dive into the world of AI and challenge myself to find out if it can actually be a lifesaver for mental health, to find out if it can actually be a lifesaver for mental health. I think a lot of the discussion right now among providers is will AI try to be a replacement for mental health? And I want to challenge us to think about, well, challenge myself too, to think about the possibility that AI might actually have the opportunity to be a tool, maybe even a life-saving tool for mental health.

Speaker 1: 1:15

Mental health care in general, whether we have AI or not, is at a really critical juncture. With the increasing prevalence of mental health disorders, the need for innovative solutions has never been more important. I live in Texas, I'm a Texas licensed professional counselor and did you know, even though we have so much tech flocking to this area, so much innovation you know we think of places like Austin and all the innovation going on here the reality is that Texas ranks last out of all the states in the United States. We rank last in access to mental health care providers and last and when you think of that, that's really just unreal to think of that. Even if you want to get, you're ready to take the step to find a provider, it's we rank last in your ability to access a provider and there are hundreds of people for every one mental health provider. There are hundreds of people, so one provider. We want to make an impact, we want to have appointments available, but the reality is we're restricted by time. We only have so many time slots available per potential client and we need technology. Innovation is key, I think, when it comes to mental health care and what's more is even if you have insurance. Recent polls show that two out of three people who have insurance say that, even with insurance, mental health care is too expensive because of maybe you have a high deductible, maybe even co-pays If you're needing to see a therapist once a week and your co-pay is $35, that's a lot of money right now that could be going towards other essentials, especially when we think of the cost of goods and inflation right now. So it's really important, I think, as a provider and as someone who has sought out and has received therapy right I'm a client and a provider and as someone who has kids, my daughters have received services for their dyslexia which were under a 504 considered disability and now under an IEP in Texas. I just, it touches our lives mental health care. It touches our lives, the need for and innovation within this realm.

Speaker 1: 3:56

So this is where I wanted to. I did some research. I wanted to talk a little bit more about AI after our previous episode. If you haven't listened to that episode, you can find it on any of the podcast episodes, just the one prior to last week. Last week was a really awesome episode about finding what sets your heart on fire and adapting to big change, and the one before that it will be the one on AI our first introduction conversation about AI and so I want to talk a little bit more about where AI comes in in terms of a technology that's being hailed as a game changer in the industry, but can AI really transform treatment and support systems for the better? So our first episode was just really an overview and this one's. I really want to hone in on this.

Speaker 1: 4:41

The potential is definitely undeniable. Based on my research, ai has the capability to analyze vast amounts of data, provide personalized treatment plans and even offer potentially 24-7 support to those in need. So it's an opportunity to revolutionize the way we approach mental health care, making it more efficient, more effective and more accessible to all. But before we dive into that world of AI, it's essential to understand the context. So mental health care has traditionally been a human-centric field, relying heavily, as I mentioned earlier. In a human-centric field, relying heavily, as I mentioned earlier, on face-to-face interactions and individual billable time slots types of interactions. And while these methods may have a lot of benefits so many and I've experienced the benefits not just from a provider standpoint, but from a client they're often really time consuming. It can be expensive and limited in their reach. I, as a provider, want to reach more people, but the way it has been done traditionally, it's impossible. So what's the current state of the mental health care and how can AI make a difference.

Speaker 1: 5:56

The mental health statistics are staggering One in four people in the United States will experience a mental health disorder, with depression and anxiety being the most common. So take a room full of people one in four of them. And traditional treatment methods often involve medication, therapy or a combination of both. However, these methods have their limitations and many people struggle to access the care that they need, and that's where the emergence of AI technologies offer a glimmer of hope. There's AI powered chatbots, for instance, and they can provide immediate support and guidance to those who need it.

Speaker 1: 6:39

Predictive analytics can help identify high risk individuals, enabling early intervention and prevention, and personalized therapy programs can be tailored to an individual's specific needs and preferences. Basically, we could take out a lot of the guesswork, so that when I usually would have an intake questionnaire like what are you hoping to gain from therapy? Rank the symptoms from a scale of one to 10. And imagine if I can utilize AI For me it's incredible when I think of it as a therapist and they could take someone what they're hoping to gain from their time with you and turn it into a personalized treatment plan based on the best practices, like what the research shows is the best and it's going to help them the best, because when someone comes to me and they're going to be my client, I want their time and their money to really make a difference in their lives. They're setting aside time out of their day to spend time working on their mental health. They're setting aside resources to do this. I want to make sure that their time is well spent with me, and I think AI can facilitate that through this way. And AI can also help address the shortage of mental health professionals. And AI can also help address the shortage of mental health professionals, especially in rural and underserved areas, and so, by automating routine tasks, ai can free up human resources, allowing professionals to focus more on complex cases and provide more empathic care. So when I take a closer look at some of the exciting applications of AI and mental health, for me that's really exciting to be able to do those things. Chatbots like Wobot are already being used to provide emotional support and guidance to users. These chatbots can monitor a user's mood, offer personalized advice and even detect early warning signs of mental health disorders.

Speaker 1: 8:38

Predictive analytics is also another promising area of research. By analyzing large data sets, ai algorithms can identify patterns and behaviors that may indicate a higher risk of mental health disorders, and this enables healthcare professionals to intervene early, providing targeted support and prevention strategies. With most things, early preventative care can make a huge difference. Personality insights are also being used to develop more effective therapy programs. By analyzing an individual's personality traits, ai can recommend personalized therapies and coping strategies that are even more likely to succeed. So we've all taken those. Like in business, for example, we can use our personality traits to understand what kind of leader we are, what kind of people we work best with, what kind of careers are best for us. Imagine if we can do this by analyzing personality traits to know what kind of therapy is going to be best for me.

Speaker 1: 9:34

However, you know, ai is not without its limitations, so one of the significant concerns is the potential for bias in AI algorithms. If these algorithms are trained on biased data, they actually may perpetuate harmful stereotypes and exacerbate existing inequalities. This one's huge. When I was in a PhD program, I wanted to measure response bias in assessments and I was looking at things like IQ tests, which are normed not on Spanish speaking individuals, for example, and so you have these tests that are used in schools for kids for the IQ, and while they may be um developed based on an assessment of thousands of individuals who speak English. When it comes to figuring out like, okay, we're going to test, when it comes to creating this test, they'll say we're going to test on about 30, 40 people from Puerto Rico and we're going to whatever it shows the IQ is for that group of populations we're going to. That's the norming group, that's what's going to apply to every single child, every single bilingual child who does a Spanish a test, an IQ test in Spanish in the United States.

Speaker 1: 10:49

And, as we know, there are many differences. There's bias based on what country of origin, how the language is spoken in the home, what they're exposed to. There's just a lot of differences. There's bias based on what country of origin, how the language is spoken in the home, what they're exposed to. There's just a lot of differences. So a little sidetrack, just a little input on that. When it comes to bias data, it exists, but imagine having these large databases that have a lot of biases in them. It could perpetuate these harmful stereotypes. It could actually do more harm than good and create bigger gaps and inequalities.

Speaker 1: 11:19

That's why, as mental health providers, I think it's really important and not just as mental health providers, as healthcare providers in general, that we really are paying attention to AI and really being able to figure out ways to ensure best practices through it, and so another ethical dilemma is the need for human oversight. That brings me to that in AI-driven mental health care, while AI can provide immediate support, it's essential to have a human professional or many human professionals, for that matter involved in the decision-making process to ensure that complex cases are handled with empathy and compassion, because AI is ultimately programmed right. It's programmed Um. Someone needs to teach AI how to think and respond Um, but there are. There are ways. People are so unique that there's not a one size fits all, and that's where we need a human uh to really be able to oversee the AI driven mental health care.

Speaker 1: 12:26

Despite these challenges, there are numerous examples of successful AI implementations in mental health. The UK's national health service, for instance, has launched over has launched several AI powered chatbots to provide emotional support to patients. In the US, companies like MindStrong Health are using AI to develop more effective therapy programs for individuals with mental health disorders. Research collaborations between tech companies and healthcare professionals are also starting to gain some momentum. Collaborations between tech companies and healthcare professionals are also starting to gain some momentum. These collaborations are driving innovation and ensuring that AI solutions are evidence-based while being patient-centric. I think that's the key is finding that balance Like let's balance the tech, the evidence and put the patient first.

Speaker 1: 13:13

So what does the future hold for AI and mental health? While there are risks and challenges, the potential benefits are undeniable. Ai can augment and increase human care. It can provide more efficient, effective and accessible support systems. However, it's essential that remember that AI is a tool. It's not a replacement for human care. The human touch is critical in mental health care so critical and AI should be used to support and enhance human services, not replace them. As we move forward, it's crucial to prioritize transparency, accountability and ethical responsibility in AI development, and by doing so, I believe that we can harness the power of AI to transform mental health care, making it more inclusive, more compassionate and more effective.

Speaker 1: 14:01

Thanks for joining me on this journey into the world of AI and mental health. If you're interested in learning more, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or send a message directly to me. My email is martatelawalmushubcom. Don't forget to check out other videos on technology and healthcare, and let's keep exploring the exciting possibilities of AI and mental healthcare together. Let's keep the conversation going. Share your insight in the comments, subscribe for more deep dives into tech and wellness, and stay tuned as we explore the future of AI and healthcare. Until next time, take care and keep questioning the possibilities.