AI & Mental Health 🧠

Learn how AI is revolutionizing Mental Health (7min Read)

TL;DR Summary:

• Artificial Intelligence

• Mental Healthcare Today

• Diagnosis & Treatment

• Virtual Therapy

• Emotional Distress Detection

• AI Surprise!

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence has been gaining more and more interest over the last few years, and over the last few months, things have really been heating up!

That’s why today, I wanted to talk about it’s application in a space near & dear to my heart, Mental & Emotional Health.

At Rewrite & Rise, we use AI & Machine Learning to analyze our client’s data in some of the ways we will discuss today, and our mission is to create objective measurements of mental & emotional health using these kinds of technologies.

For example, when you break your arm you get an X-ray, an objective measurement of your bone.

When you have anxiety, you take a subjective survey, and then a therapist or consoler diagnoses you based on the survey, your subjective reports, their experiences, etc.

They don’t have an objective way to measure these kinds of things yet though, and it’s also why if you go to 5 therapists, you’re likely to get 5 different diagnoses…

This isn’t to blame therapists, they need better tools, even Jedi have Lightsabers. This is where we believe Neuroscience & AI can cross over to create this “X-Ray” of sorts!

So let’s dive into how AI is already being used to do some of this stuff, I think you’ll be surprised!

AI & Mental Health

In recent years, AI-powered technologies have been developed that can help diagnose and treat mental health conditions, offer personalized therapy and support, and even detect signs of emotional distress.

One of the most promising applications of AI in mental health is its ability to assist with diagnosis and treatment planning.

Traditional methods of mental health diagnosis often rely on self-reported symptoms and subjective evaluations, which can be unreliable and time-consuming as we talked about earlier.

AI, on the other hand, can use data from a variety of sources, including brain scans and speech patterns, to accurately diagnose mental health conditions and predict treatment outcomes.

For example, a recent study found that AI could accurately diagnose depression with 77% accuracy, compared to a typical diagnostic accuracy rate of only 42% for human clinicians. (Yes, you read that correctly)

This accuracy level could significantly improve mental health treatment's speed and efficacy, allowing patients to receive the care they need more quickly and effectively.

Personalize AI Therapy & Coaching

Another potential use of AI in mental health is personalized therapy and support.

This is the space that Rewrite & Rise sits within currently as we train our model to be as accurate at diagnosing as the model above is!

AI-powered virtual therapists and coaches can provide patients & clients with personalized feedback and support based on their individual data, needs, and circumstances.

This type of therapy can be especially beneficial for individuals who may not have access to traditional in-person therapy, such as those who live in rural areas or have mobility issues.

One example of an AI-powered therapy tool is Woebot, a virtual coach that uses cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques to help users manage their mental health.

Woebot can provide personalized feedback and support based on the user's mood, thoughts, and behaviors, and can even help users develop healthy coping strategies.

It does this by having a conversation with you… Seriously, you can text Woebot, “I’m feeling anxious.” and it will respond to you like a human/therapist would.

Meaning it will empathize with you, and make sure you’re alright, or it could ask if you want to talk more about it, what you’ve done to try & fix the issue, how long has it been a problem, etc, and then it suggests research-backed tools & tips to help you!

For people who can’t afford to go to therapy, or to hire a Mental Health Coach, this is a game changer, it’s increasing access to this kind of support!

Detecting Emotional Distress

In addition to assisting with diagnosis and therapy, AI can also help detect signs of emotional distress.

For example, AI-powered algorithms can analyze social media posts, speech patterns, and other data to identify individuals who may be at risk of mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety.

This information can be used to intervene and provide support to individuals before their mental health issues become more severe.

In fact, Facebook’s algorithm can detect a depressive episode with 96% accuracy within 3 days…

AI can also be used to monitor individuals who are already receiving mental health treatment, helping to identify any potential issues or changes in their condition.

This can allow therapists and other mental health professionals to provide more timely and effective support, helping to prevent relapses and other negative outcomes.

For example, at Rewrite & Rise we use Whoop bands to continuously track our client’s biometric data like HRV, Heart rate, Blood Oxygen, Resportation Rate, Sleep, Strain, Recovery, & much more!

Using this data, we can track how they are doing mentally & emotionally throughout the day, and then customize their program based on this data in real-time!

The Future of AI in Mental Health

Overall, the potential of AI to improve mental and emotional health is vast.

By offering more accurate diagnosis and treatment planning, personalized therapy and support, and early detection of emotional distress, AI has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach mental health care.

In the coming years, we can expect to see even more innovative and effective uses of AI in this field, ultimately leading to better outcomes for individuals dealing with mental health issues.

This is a future I am very excited about, and am working to create in the work we’re doing at Rewrite & Rise!

AI Surprise!

Did you enjoy today’s post? 80% of it was written by an AI called ChatGPT.

Can you tell which parts I edited or added my own two cents?

It’s probably very hard, I wanted to do this to show you how far these AI & Machine Learning algorithms have come.

Innovation is happening in more places than just Mental Health!

I hope it excites you as much as it excites me, and I will be back on the keys myself next week for our next edition of the Heroes Digest, until then… Live Heroically! 🧠