By Ajay Malgaonkar
The world is witnessing a serious mental health crisis. According to a WHO report, about 56 million Indians suffer from depression and 38 million experience some form of anxiety disorder. The country’s mental health workforce is also severely understaffed, as there is a severe shortage of psychiatrists and psychologists compared to the number of people suffering from mental illness.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) can prove to be a powerful tool in the fight against the mental health crisis. Here are its benefits:
Reduces the burden on mental health professionals: AI can provide immense support to mental health professionals. Algorithms can be used to analyze and process data; suggest appropriate treatments, as well as track a patient’s progress. AI and mental health professionals can work together to achieve better results.
Easy access to all: AI tools are available 24/7 at no cost and reduce the stigma around access to treatment. These tools can be used as independent treatment agents or as an adjunct to traditional therapy.
Also read: Start them young: The importance of mental health awareness among adolescents
Progress tracking and personalized care: It is clear that the use of AI in mental health services can be a game changer. Not only does it provide deeper insight into the patient’s needs, but it also helps track her progress.
QA
Several mental health clinics are experimenting with automated ways to monitor the quality of therapy sessions. Tech firms are working on tools that can help better understand the conversation between therapists and clients. Such tools can help ensure high standards of service.
AI advice
One of the main benefits of using AI in clinical care is its ability to collect massive amounts of data and derive insights from it. Mental health professionals can use these data resources and collect clinically actionable goals to deliver more effective and personalized care to their patients.
At the World Well-Being Project (WWBP) in Philadelphia, researchers used an artificial intelligence algorithm to collect data from various social media users to examine their posts and identify linguistic cues that could predict depression. AI also has the potential to pick up vocal characteristics that the human ear cannot and analyze vocal signals to predict mental illnesses such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia.
Currently, several companies use chatbots that provide direct advice services to employees by analyzing the use of words in their conversations.
Future perspectives
The primary results of the inclusion of AI in mental health are promising and the future of long-term efficacy remains to be determined. Although it depends on various factors, if the industry is able to overcome certain significant obstacles, AI will definitely appear as a complement in the provision of mental health care.
The author is director of offshore engineering at Prolifics, an engineering and digital consulting company.
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