Amid therapy waiting lists, the new AI trainer may be a faster option

May 25, 2023 – The growth of artificial intelligence has drawn praise, as well as anxiety and skepticism. But researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago and their colleagues have found that their application of artificial intelligence appears to be useful in treating anxiety and depression. And they hope that soon it can help reduce the long waiting list for treatment.

in a pilot study, Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, researchers found that Lumen, an AI voice-based virtual trainer for behavioral therapy, changed patients’ brain activity and brought self-reported improvements in symptoms of depression and anxiety.

This is not a replacement [for a therapist] but it could be a stopgap measure,” said Olusola A. Ajilore, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry at the University of Illinois Chicago and co-author of the research. The app works to provide help as soon as possible after people search for it.

At her school, Ajilore said, the waiting list for therapy at the height of the pandemic was 8 months. Depression and anxiety have increased since the start of the pandemic, with depression rising to about 32% among American adults by 2021 and more than 40 million with anxiety disorders, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

In eight sessions over 12 weeks (four weekly, then four bi-weekly), study subjects, average age 37 and 68% women, used Lumen via iPad to address their anxiety or depression, using an approach called problem-solving treatment. . Brain imaging was done to track differences in brain activity at week 1 and week 16 in all 63 patients.

Lumen is patient-driven, with the voice coach acting as a guide to identify a problem, set a goal, brainstorm solutions, choose one, develop an action plan, do it, and then evaluate it, the researchers said.

A typical session lasted about 12 minutes; in between, people using Lumen completed surveys and evaluations. Those on the waiting list received text messages to complete surveys and assessments at similar intervals as others. Eighty-one percent of those who used Lumen completed all eight sessions.

“A lot of the burden falls on the patients,” Ajilore said. They are given suggestions for dealing with anxiety, for example, and it is up to them to select one or more suggestions and follow them.

Those in the Lumen group had a drop in their depression and anxiety scores, compared to the control group. The Lumen group, compared with those on the waiting list, had increased activity in the area of ​​the brain related to the control of thinking skills (the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and had improved problem-solving skills.

Now, the researchers are recruiting 200 people with anxiety and depression to test the AI ​​voice coach on a larger group. clinical trial further study the effects on symptoms of anxiety and depression. The 200 people will be randomly assigned to a Lumen group (with eight sessions over 12 weeks), in-person sessions over the same time period, or a wait-list control group.

Expert input

Ryan Wade, MD, a psychiatrist and director of addiction services at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, CT, sees many patients with anxiety and depression. He is familiar with the new study’s findings and with AI, but was not part of the research.

He sees the AI ​​virtual coach as a viable option to help people get the help they need in these times of long waiting lists, but he also understands why some of his colleagues may be hesitant. “A lot of our training goes into building a good relationship with a patient,” he said, and that’s face-to-face.

“It won’t replace the therapist,” he said of the new technology, “but some of their work can be done in an automated way. This can help people get started.” AI, he said, is good at finding solutions and solving problems, which he calls the rational or memory parts of therapy. “If we work with it, I think we may find that it can be really effective.”