From the CEO: AI in Mental Health — Shaping the Future of Behavioral Health Care

Conversations around artificial intelligence (AI) in behavioral health have largely focused on the technology’s potential to reduce administrative burdens.

Using AI to alleviate administrative work already has helped organizations streamline efforts and improve efficiency, but we have an opportunity to think bigger and leverage the technology in new ways.

That’s especially relevant as we cope with a workforce shortage that makes it difficult for people to find the mental health and substance use treatment and care they need, especially in rural and frontier communities. 

Addressing Mental Health Workforce Shortages with AI Solutions

AI can’t replace human engagement and connection. That is not the goal. But technology can support people in the field, augment treatment and fuel clinical innovation safely and ethically while also preserving the uniquely human role of clinicians and others who do this important work.

It’s understandable that there may be skepticism about AI’s role in behavioral health. Concerns about data privacy, clinical accuracy and the potential erosion of human relationships are valid and should be acknowledged.

At the same time, we have an opportunity to imagine a different future, one in which AI tools support early detection, clinical decision-making, symptom monitoring and care pathways in ways humans alone may not be able to.  
 

Personalized Mental Health Care: Clinical Innovation Through AI 

For instance, “machine learning models trained on routine clinical data from electronic health records (EHRs) predicted diagnostic progression to schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in patients undergoing treatment in psychiatric services for other mental illnesses, according to a new cohort study published in JAMA Psychiatry,” Mobi Health News reported.

The cohort study determined that “detecting progression to schizophrenia through machine learning based on routine clinical data is feasible, which may reduce diagnostic delay and duration of untreated illness,” according to the story.

A separate study done by researchers from the Institute for Basic Sciences (IBS), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Korea University College of Medicine, showed Fitbit-generated sleep and circadian-rhythm data could predict depressive, manic and hypomanic episodes.

Responsible AI Use: Safeguarding Data Privacy and Ethical Standards in Behavioral Health

We’re moving towards a vision of personalized behavioral health, where resources and care can be delivered to the right person, at the right time, in the right way. But we must ensure we do that thoughtfully and maintain a human approach to the delivery of care.

Responsible AI use means putting proper safeguards in place. It means educating ourselves about how these tools work so we can ethically and responsibly use them to improve care. It may also mean that we work with technology developers to build tools to offer safe, responsible and ethical means of accessing this kind of care that augments the care people receive in community settings. 

The National Council’s Commitment to Advancing AI in Mental Wellbeing 

An overarching goal of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing is to measurably improve mental wellbeing through AI. We’re organizing our work around two core commitments and holding ourselves accountable to field-level outcomes for each: 

• Shaping the technology. Convening providers and developers, generating the evidence the field lacks, and influencing how tools are built before standards harden around the wrong assumptions. 
• Preparing every provider. Shaping the technology only matters if the field can use it. We have five priorities to prepare the field. 
  • Education and capacity building.
  • Behavioral health workforce innovation.
  • Cross-sector convening and field leadership.
  • Provider-informed innovation and standards.
  • Vendor selection and implementation support. 

All these discussions must begin with the understanding that AI can’t replace clinicians, because the goal is not to replace the clinician. The foundation of behavioral health treatment will always be human.

But, if implemented responsibly with the appropriate safeguards and oversight, AI can help behavioral health providers deliver more personalized treatment, build stronger clinical skills, expand access to evidence-based services and make mental wellbeing — the foundation of living a strong, healthy and fulfilling life — a reality for everyone.