Category: Dissemination & Implementation Science
Torrey Creed, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
David C. Atkins, PhD
Research Professor
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
Adam Miner, M.S., Psy.D.
Stanford University School of Medicine
Palo Alto, California
Tim Althoff, Ph.D.
University of Washington, Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Patty Kuo, M.Ed.
University of Utah
Seattle, Washington
Michael Tanana, Ph.D
Research Assistant Professor
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Torrey Creed, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Even more strident efforts are being made to broaden access to evidence-based mental health practices (EBPs) in light of the recent crises, but a rate-limiting factor is the inability to provide feedback at scale for supervision, training, and evaluation of skill. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) provide tools to analyze large quantities of data, quickly identifying patterns and relationships including those humans cannot perceive. In mental health care, AI-based tools can provide specific, accurate feedback on therapy skills without depending on expensive, finite human experts. This multidisciplinary symposium presents applications of AI in therapy evaluation and feedback, demonstrating how AI might support and improve clinical care at scale for equitable access.
In session, a therapist and client might adjust their language (e.g. emotionality, tone) based on each other’s language, in ways that can support or disrupt the clinical process. Talk 1 presents a computational text-based analysis of bidirectional patterns and discusses implications for clinical training and evaluation of interpersonal skills in CBT with an emphasis on considerations for crises-related mental health issues. Talk 2 describes a trajectory of computer science research focused on ML methods to support empathic responding in online peer support settings. This research demonstrates that empathy can be reliably recognized via ML and that a reinforcement learning approach can suggest specific ways to enhance empathic content in proposed responses, bolstering skills of peer support specialists to address the demand for metal health care during crisis-level shortages. Talk 3 presents models based on 100,000+ talk turns that capture and identify conversations about culture with clients with minoritized racial or ethnic identities or members of the LGBTQ+ community. Identifying these conversations can facilitate understanding of multicultural processes in psychotherapy and provide opportunities for targeted training in culturally responsive approaches. Talk 4 presents ML models that predict clinician CBT competence based on the items of the Cognitive Therapy Rating Scale (Young & Beck, 1980) with the precision of human raters. These scores, calculated in minutes rather than hours required by humans, present the possibility of measuring therapy skills to monitor and support quality on a scale greater than previously possible. Finally Talk 5 investigates stakeholder perceptions of the application of AI in community mental health. Focus groups held with clinicians and clinical leadership in a public mental health system identified utility for an AI tool in asynchronous supervision but raised concerns about privacy and its ability to rate clinically nuanced skills. However,participants perceived the tool to be acceptable, appropriate, and feasible for use. Please note that all abstracts represent data that have been collected, analyzed, and are ready to present.
These tools represent a path forward to evaluate, refine, and supervise EBPs at a scale needed to keep pace with their rapidly expanding implementation in large systems, particularly in light of the ongoing social crises and shortages of mental health care providers.
Presenter: Adam S. Miner, M.S., Psy.D. – Stanford University School of Medicine
Co-author: Scott Fleming, MS – Stanford University
Presenter: Tim Althoff, Ph.D. – University of Washington, Seattle
Co-author: David C. Atkins, PhD – University of Washington
Co-author: Ashish Sharma, M.Tech. – University of Washington
Co-author: Inna Lin, MS – University of Washington
Co-author: Adam S. Miner, M.S., Psy.D. – Stanford University School of Medicine
Presenter: Patty Kuo, M.Ed. – University of Utah
Co-author: Vivek Srikumar, Ph.D – University of Utah
Co-author: Michael Tanana, Ph.D – University of Utah
Co-author: Karen Tao, Ph.D – University of Utah
Co-author: Jake Van Epps, Ph.D – University of Utah
Co-author: Zac Imel, PhD – University of Utah
Presenter: Michael Tanana, Ph.D – University of Utah
Presenter: Torrey A. Creed, Ph.D. – Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania