ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is progressively being applied in services of mental health to provide improved assessment, diagnosis, support, and treatment. This systematic review article aims to search the current literature on the use of AI in mental health services, focusing on the effectiveness of AI-based interventions and the ethical considerations surrounding their use. The databases PsycINFO, web of Sciences, and PubMed, were explored for articles published between 2015 and 2022 using the following search terms: “Artificial Intelligence”, “Mental Health”, “Intervention”, and “Ethics”. A search based on inclusion and exclusion criteria ended up with 50 articles highlighting the possibility of AI to improve the effectiveness and accessibility of mental health services. Further deliberation excluded 30 articles and the present systematic review has been carried out with twenty articles. PRISMA guidelines were followed to formulate the results of this systematic review. The results suggest that AI-based interventions have auspicious outcomes for improving the diagnosis and treatment of disorders related to mental health, early detection and prevention of mental disorders, improved quality of care as well as reduced cost of mental health services. However, ethical considerations, such as privacy and transparency, must be considered in the application of AI in mental health assistance, and issues related to empathy and reflective practices were also highlighted. Implications and future directions for the research were also discussed.