A robotic psychologist analyzes thoughts related to depression

A brand new PhD candidate has developed a computer program that analyzes thought recordings using natural language processing and recognizes basic patterns. In this way, people with depressive symptoms can gain better and faster insight into negative thoughts. This approach is similar to the cognitive therapy many psychologists offer in the doctor’s office. Will burger with this Research Contribute to the use of artificial intelligence technology in developing software for the prevention and treatment of (early) depression.

Digitization in mental health care

Digitization is now happening at an increasingly rapid pace in mental health care, just like the rest of healthcare. For example, more and more (outpatient) examinations and conversations are taking place remotely, over the phone, or via video calls. The health insurance company VGZ and mental health practitioners, for example, saw in 2021 that No. of Online therapeutic conversations have increased by almost a third in the Netherlands. With a new computer program that analyzes thoughts, people with depressive symptoms may be treated in part by a “robot psychologist” in the future.

Prevention and treatment of depression

In any case, the analysis of thoughts by AI is certainly an interesting and innovative treatment option. “Our thoughts determine how we feel and act,” says Burger. “Understanding some of the mindsets is an important part of preventing and treating depression. I’ve been researching how AI can support people with depressive symptoms. This gives people with depressive symptoms better and faster insight into negative thoughts.” .

A computer program that helps treat depression

Research shows that AI is very good at identifying depressed people’s basic thoughts, such as “I’m not up to it” or “I’m not likable.” The AI ​​has been trained to recognize the basic ideas of structured, short texts. For example, consider combining “I’m not likable” with the main idea “My boyfriend doesn’t like me because he ignores me when I wave at him excitedly.” Understanding these unhelpful thoughts is the first step in cognitive therapy. Only when someone recognizes them can they be replaced by more healthy thoughts. Unfortunately, depressed people are often unable to identify these unhelpful thoughts, but AI can thus support this.

Interactive computer systems

According to the researcher, AI has great potential to support people with mental health issues. However, the interaction between the user and the computer systems for the treatment of depression has been limited to date. Franziska Burger: “As someone who wants the system to understand your content. With our research, we’ve now taken a step in that direction. We’ve seen that people have been very able to discover their core ideas with a smart chatbot.”