{"id":697,"date":"2021-04-14T16:02:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T20:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mentalhealthcommission.ca\/?post_type=resource&#038;p=697"},"modified":"2025-08-07T11:57:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T15:57:15","slug":"artificial-intelligence-in-mental-health-services-an-environmental-scan","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/mentalhealthcommission.ca\/resource\/artificial-intelligence-in-mental-health-services-an-environmental-scan\/","title":{"rendered":"Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health Services: An Environmental Scan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-this-resource-was-published-in-2021-the-data-may-be-out-of-date\"><em>This resource was published in 2021. The data may be out of date.<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Artificial intelligence (AI)<\/strong> in medicine has been characterized as a major disruptor with the potential to change the way health care is delivered. Interest in AI in Canada began early and is continuing, with a number of advanced AI research and development labs now established. This report is based on information from a limited literature search (English documents published between January 1, 2014 and September 5, 2019) and targeted stakeholder consultations. Stakeholder interviews \u2014 which included individuals involved in AI and mental health via research, industry, clinical practice, and lived experience \u2014 sought to supplement information from the literature and provide perspectives for decision-makers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-key-findings\">Key findings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">This Environmental Scan explored the types of AI emerging or currently in use in mental health. The scan also aimed to identify AI research and development initiatives, professional groups and organizations using or developing AI for mental health care (across Canada and internationally), and policy considerations for AI as they relate to mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ai-use-in-mental-health-care\">AI use in mental health care<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br>While several research and development projects are in progress, AI has not been widely integrated into clinical practice \u2014 although some AI programs are being used or explored for use in mental health services. In diagnosis and prevention, AI is mainly used to determine the presence of mental illness or assess risk (e.g., by analyzing words in messages or detecting changes in behaviour), and to direct users to appropriate support. In treatment, AI usually takes the form of a conversational agent that delivers psychological treatment (e.g., cognitive behavioural therapy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Future research could focus on the suitability of AI for mental health interventions (i.e., whether they should be used as a screening tool, a replacement for human therapists, or an adjunct intervention) and on including individuals with lived experience (e.g., asking them why they use AI and for what purpose).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more information, read the <a href=\"https:\/\/mentalhealthcommission.ca\/resource\/artificial-intelligence-in-mental-health-services-a-literature-review\/\">Literature Review in Artificial Intelligence (AI)<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/mentalhealthcommission.ca\/resource\/artificial-intelligence-in-mental-health-services-results-from-a-literature-review-and-an-environmental-scan\/\">Results From a Literature Review and an Environmental Scan<\/a>.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This resource was published in 2021. The data may be out of date. Artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine has been characterized as a major disruptor with the potential to change the way health care is delivered. Interest in AI in Canada began early and is continuing, with a number of advanced AI research and development&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":28270,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[188,189],"tags":[],"program":[],"program-area":[29,821],"audience":[123,124],"covid-hub-category":[],"health-canada":[832,842,833],"class_list":["post-697","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reports","category-research","program-area-e-mental-health","program-area-research-and-publications","audience-for-employers-and-employees","audience-policy-research","health-canada-ementalhealth","health-canada-equityindiversity","health-canada-research"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.3 (Yoast SEO v28.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health Services: An Environmental Scan - Mental Health Commission of Canada<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This resource was published in 2021. The data may be out of date. Artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine has been characterized as a major disruptor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mentalhealthcommission.ca\/resource\/artificial-intelligence-in-mental-health-services-an-environmental-scan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health Services: An Environmental Scan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This resource was published in 2021. The data may be out of date. 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