AI AND THE FUTURE OF MENTAL HEALTH
Significant advancements have been made in digital health and the application of AI to physical health, yet its adoption in mental health remains in the early stages. Emerging opportunities in digital mental health approaches are paving the way for innovative AI solutions.
This event will discuss possibilities in this evolving field, including digital phenotyping, natural language processing, and chatbots, and their potential applications in clinical mental health practice to enhance patient care and outcomes. It will also touch upon ethical considerations.
DATE
03/09/24
TIME
1.00PM - 2.00PM
THE FORUM, MELBOURNE CONNECT
WHERE
MEET THE PANEL
Dr Caitlin Hitchcock is a Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences. Dr Hitchcock is a clinical psychologist and ARC Research Fellow. She is also co-founder of the Mental Health Hub, a Melbourne-based company which is using generative AI to deliver cognitive behavioural therapy. With expertise in translating cognitive science into innovations in mental health treatment, Dr Hitchcock works closely with international treatment services to ensure that the latest research advances are used to inform clinical practice, and to increase access to evidence-based treatment in underserved communities.
Dr Olivia Metcalf is a Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Digital Transformation of Health and Department of Psychiatry. Olivia has a PhD in Psychology and a research program in digital mental health. Olivia is interested in leveraging technology, including wearables and smartphones, to assess and treat mental health problems that can result after trauma. She also leads the research platform at the Digital Health Validitron, helping medical and health sciences researchers with their digital health tools. Her AI research in the past few years has humbled her into questioning whether something as complex as human thoughts, feelings, and behaviour can be reduced to objective data points.
Steph Slack is a PhD Candidate, Monash University. Steph’s work focuses on driving positive operational and policy change across health and social issues. She has previously advised law firms, government and research organisations impacting mental health, disability services, wellbeing and inclusion. Most recently, she has advocated for responsible development and use of digital mental health: her PhD research explored ethical issues arising in diagnostics and treatment, including epistemic injustice, informed consent and threats to mental integrity. Steph believes in strengthening civil society, government, research and industry collaboration to realise the benefits of health tech.
Dr Simon D'Alfonso is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Health, School of Computing and Information System
Dr D'Alfonso is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Health in the School of Computing and Information System at The University of Melbourne. His work focuses on the application of digital technology, ubiquitous computing and artificial intelligence to mental health and psychology more generally. He is also interested in exploring the philosophical and ethical dimensions of AI and digital technologies.
