Houston, We Have a Problem

The challenges facing global mental health are immense. Rates of conditions like depression, anxiety, and addiction continue to rise, yet access to qualified care remains limited. Traditional models of therapy and medication management simply cannot keep up with the surging demand.

According to a recent study released by Journal of Medicine, Surgery, and Public Health:

The escalating burden of mental health issues globally is nothing short of a pandemic, contributing to approximately 16 % of the global disease burden [15]. With prominent mental ailments such as depression and anxiety costing the global economy about 1 trillion USD annually in lost productivity, the urgency for effective solutions cannot be overstated [16]. The pervasive stigma surrounding mental health exacerbates the crisis, leaving countless individuals without the necessary care and contributing further to a cycle of neglect and suffering.

Unfortunately, so many of the practitioners who see and understand this massive “global pandemic” of a problem aren’t necessarily helping to become a part of the solution. Understandably many feel threatened, as anyone in any industry who feel the threat of “being replaced” by technology of one kind or another.

But this isn’t the time to become defensive and rigid and closed off to the possibilities this new technology offers. It’s time to work alongside with it and open up that Learner’s Mind.

When technological revolutions sweep through the currents of our lives, the results are, as they say, “disruptive.” The answer isn’t to wag a reprimanding finger at those adopting and adapting to the new technology, or make broad generalizations about what can or can’t be accomplished.

What Do People Want?

The truth is, AI holds immense promise for transforming mental healthcare. This should be recognized as the good news that it is.

AI is already proving to be a powerful tool in the effort to expand access, improve outcomes, and provide more personalized, effective support for those struggling with mental health challenges.

Is a single AI chatbot going to solve the crisis and replace all the humans? Of course not, and neither is your best self-help book (no matter what the marketing copy promises).

But we don’t declare from our office steps (or our Facebook profiles):

“Self-help books will never replace mental health professionals!”

Because they’re books, not replacements for people. They’re a tool. They communicate. Maybe they’re even “interactive” like a workbook journal or calendar planner.

Do some people just read self-help books by the bucketload and never see a coach or a therapist? Why yes, and that’s their personal choice. We don’t condemn the reading of self-help books (most of us anyway). Similarly, will some only choose to use only AI rather than in tandem with a licensed coach or therapist? Surely. And that’s going to be okay too.

AI is a tool. A powerful tool that’s getting our attention. People want options. They want what works for them, not what experts tell them will work for them.

Bottom line? People care about results. They want to feel better. They want to learn how to exercise their mental health in much the same way they want access to exercise their physical health. They want options. They want ideas. They want accountability. They want results.

Expanding Access

AI-powered platforms use conversational AI to provide on-demand emotional support, mindset mapping, skill-building exercises, and creative interactive programs and challenges. Emma is designed to work with you as any accredited coach would engage with a client. The client leads the conversation. The coach partners with the client and together they come up with a plan.

There is partnership, awareness building, and personalized approaches to reflective inquiry and clarifying questions. Other platforms can help in more specific therapeutic guidance for users struggling with issues like anxiety, depression, and other clinical diagnoses.

Whatever the case, these mental health and wellbeing platforms are available 24/7, removing geographic, scheduling, cost, and stigma barriers that often prevent people from seeking in-person help.

And that is also what people are looking for. Isn’t it nice that in our heavily “in-screened” world that there are modalities to use it that are intended to serve people? Isn’t it nice that technology offers more than doom scrolling and ways to foment anxiety and discord? The fact that AI is blowing us away with how effective it can be to help us is cause for celebration.

Research increasingly shows how using AI in these democratic capacities as a tool can be remarkably effective. A 2021 study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that participants who used the Woebot chatbot for two weeks experienced significant reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms, comparable to face-to-face therapy.

“AI-powered chatbots aren’t meant to replace human clinicians,” says Dr. Akiko Fujimoto, a clinical psychologist at Stanford University.

Depending on the severity of one’s condition, they can simply serve as a first line of support. “The holy grail in mental healthcare is moving from reactive to proactive — identifying issues early and intervening before a crisis occurs,” he says. “AI is giving us unprecedented predictive power to do just that.”

Ethics, Disruption, Breaking Down the Walls that Hold You Inside

Of course with all that said, the rise of AI in mental health also raises important ethical considerations. Issues of data privacy, algorithmic bias, and an over-reliance on automation must be navigated with deep consideration of the ethics and what’s at stake in peoples’ lives.

We are big supporters of the responsible development and deployment of these AI systems with robust safeguards and meaningful human oversight. Ideally, clinicians, policymakers, and technologists will work hand-in-hand to ensure these tools are used to truly help people get the results they say they want.

Despite these challenges, the potential of AI to “disrupt” and ultimately transform mental healthcare is undeniable. By expanding access, enabling personalization, and predicting and preventing crises, this technology holds the promise of true revolution.

We are talking widespread — democratic — adoption of tools that lead to greater self-awareness, self-compassion, and personal accountability. This alone could be enough to finally break down the walls of mental health stigma.

The Big Takeaway

Right now, we have the opportunity to improve millions of lives, reduce suffering, and help people live fuller, more meaning-filled, purposeful existences. That’s the true power of this technology. We have an opportunity that doesn’t come along in every lifetime.We don’t take our responsibility to provide coaching wellbeing and support lightly.

We take it quite seriously, and we’re having fun.Fun, you say? Yes, because the stodgy gatekeepers don’t get to keep their gates locked. They, too, have to break free of their rigid thinking and do what so many of them advise to all of us: access that Growth Mindset.