Digital Mental Health: Role of Artificial Intelligence in Psychotherapy

Background It is estimated that 6%-7% of the population suffers from mental disorders. WHO reported that one in four families is likely to have at least one member with a behavioural or mental disorder. Post-pandemic, the world has experienced a huge surge in mental health issues. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to access the available mental health services due to constraints such as lack of financial assistance, living in remote areas, fear of being stigmatised and lack of awareness. The emergence of online mental health services could solve some of these problems, as these are easily accessible to people from anywhere, are cost effective and also reduce the fear of being judged or labelled. Lots of efforts are being made today to integrate artificial intelligence with the traditional form of psychotherapy. The role of chatbots for mental health services in the form of e-therapies has been found to be highly relevant and important.Summary The present study aims to systematically review the evidence on the use of AI-based methods for treating mental health issues. Overall, 95 studies were extracted using some of the popular databases such as Mendeley, PubM, INFO and DOAJ. The terms used in the search included 'psychotherapy', 'online therapies', 'artificial intelligence' and 'online counselling'. Finally, after screening, 13 studies were selected based on the eligibility criteria. Most of these studies had employed conversational agents as an intervention. The results obtained showed the significant positive consequences of using AI-based approaches in treating mental health issues.Key Message The study strongly suggests integrating AI with the traditional form of counselling.