How AI Can Be Used To Better Traditional Therapy
Mental illness is an increasingly global issue. More people are seeking treatment, leading to a high demand for counselors. With advancing technology, studies show that AI could be a possible solution. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of psychological counseling may come as a surprise to many. Still, the 21st century is becoming the era of omnipresent technology, and it may be more beneficial than people think.
The goal of psychological counseling is to raise awareness of negative behaviors and thought patterns. It promotes mental healing while encouraging positive behavior changes. These changes can include gaining compassion, respect, and empathy towards yourself and others.
AI can be a useful tool for psychologists to promote growth within their field, helping their patients succeed. Having AI counselors as an option for therapy may encourage more people to seek help for their mental disorders. However, this technology-first solution presents major privacy concerns.
Human Therapist vs. AI Therapist
A strong, personal relationship is the foundation for successful therapy. In traditional therapy, this relationship will come naturally, it is not the same for AI solutions. However, at this stage of development, AI cannot replace the human touch of traditional therapy. Still, the disparity between the number of licensed mental health professionals and patients is growing. As such, possible technological solutions are gaining speed in the community.
The convenience of a chatbot counselor would make therapy more suitable for a substantial amount of people; teens and adults alike. The accessibility of virtual options is one reason why it continues to grow in popularity. By removing the need to see someone in person, it can create a more comfortable environment. Additionally, the costs for services may be lower.
The first step of traditional counseling is getting to know each other. Patients and their counselors must have a strong relationship to effect real change. This is typically done through question-and-answer sessions. This phase of the process can take multiple sessions depending on how quickly the patient relaxes and opens up.
AI can automate this process, possibly shortening it to just one session. The session would begin by providing the user with a pre-established set of questions. At the end of this initial interaction, positive feedback will be utilized to incentivize the patient to continue providing information.
AI is also readily available to patients. Scheduling an appointment for anything can be a hassle. Both the therapist and the patient have their own availability that does not always align. This can present a problem for those who want help but cannot find the time to get it. This clash of availability can cause stress and require patients to sacrifice social or work events to receive counseling.
Possible Solutions To Common Therapy Issues
Virtual, AI-based counseling can be a game changer for busy folks. There is no need to schedule a session, they can simply open a chatbot or app when they have time. This self-service approach permits the client to attend fewer in-person meetings, making it cheaper. AI apps can identify unresolved issues and generate solutions by issuing sets of exercises to complete, in addition to recommending new rituals to introduce into daily or weekly routines.
These solutions promote changes in perception and behavior, and this encourages the client to re-evaluate their thoughts and actions, thus improving self-understanding and self-knowledge. Due to particular regard for compassion and empathy, AI resources will not completely erase the need for a human therapist. Still, they will offer an alternate approach to traditional problem-solving methods.
Negative stigmas around mental health can stop some people from seeking help; they may feel embarrassed, ashamed, or guilty when they first experience the symptoms of a mental health condition. The possibility of being spotted arriving or leaving an appointment discourages many from getting the help they need. The use of therapeutic apps would allow them to receive treatment within the convenience and privacy of their own homes, which is essential for those who want to be discrete. Having this alternative as an option would encourage more ill people to seek therapy.
Enhancing AI Therapist
The more frequently a program is used, the faster it learns about its user, through the collection of additional data; this works to the advantage of the client. Unlike a human being, AI software can store and remember all the data it has collected. This allows the apps to identify mental health conditions and offer personalized treatment based on the individual’s cognitive and behavioral patterns, as well as their medical history.
Besides that, apps provide a service that would develop an interest in people to seek out professional therapists. In addition to this, they would also partner with healthcare providers to enable collaboration between clients and licensed professionals. This modification of treatment methods would create new solutions to the therapeutic techniques that already exist as the therapist would be able to compare their evaluations and recommendations with those produced by the software. The combination of AI and in-person therapy would enhance the user’s experience as they work to meet their mental health goals.
Privacy Concerns of AI Therapists
Since the continued investigation into integrating psychology with artificial intelligence is recommended, tech companies have begun developing apps that offer psychological counsel to the user. With assistance from mental health professionals, these companies are developing and testing apps that will revolutionize the way people view personal counseling.
Eventually, algorithms will enable the AI in virtual assistants to build satisfactory emotional intelligence. It will be required for the machine to analyze facial expressions, body language, eye movement, and voice pitch and tone to identify behavioral tendencies that exhibit signs of depression, anxiety, and several other disorders. Due to data transparency laws, tech companies researching the effects of artificial intelligence and machine learning software in psychological therapy, are required to publish the data on their findings.
These companies are collaborating with therapy patients, intending to enhance virtual counseling by humanizing the machines. The laws state that the information is published, including not only the clinical study reports but also the patient statements along with other relevant documents.
Complying With Privacy Laws
However, to be compliant with this law and the laws of privacy, research organizations are required to redact (blackout) confidential patient and company information within the files before they are made public. These tech companies have a responsibility to ensure the safety and security of the patient’s private data. It has been estimated that through the utilization of automated redaction technology, the time required for this process is reduced significantly. When paired with human review, the risk of error is reduced to almost zero.
CaseGuard Studio’s artificial intelligence-enabled software redacts sensitive information from clinical study reports with incredible accuracy in preparation for publication. It redacts PDF documents, video footage, and audio recordings, as well as image data with ease. It can extract audio from video files, redact and watermark PDF files, and redact (obscure) faces in video footage and still images. CaseGuard Studio can also automatically transcribe audio recordings to text. Its sophisticated machine-learning software is capable of distinguishing multiple speakers in an audio recording. Additionally, it understands 31 languages and even translates the transcript from one language to another, making the content accessible to a broader audience. This software applies a level of consistency, accuracy, and efficiency that cannot be duplicated by humans.
Conclusion
The integration of artificial intelligence into the field of psychology confirms that the future of personal therapy involves virtual therapists and chatbots. The combination of in-person and virtual counseling allows the therapist to collect information from the machine, granting them a better understanding of their patient to provide them with the best care possible. Applications that deliver counseling to the user would make creating time for one’s mental health convenient and therefore would encourage more people to seek help because the chatbots would be available 24/7 and would also be private. Furthermore, it would avail counseling to people in areas where therapists are in short supply.
Research into the implementation of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms in personal therapy has led to unintended threats, such as data theft. The risk of a data breach makes the redaction of privileged information important as the tech company should maintain the anonymity of the participants. Automated redaction ensures that all private data is kept secure. The most reliable way to manage confidential data is by using CaseGuard Studio’s redaction software, which promises to obscure or remove sensitive information from documents, photographs, videos, audio, and electronic files.
