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Informal dementia caregivers are those who care for a person living with dementia (PLWD) without receiving payment (e.g., family members, friends, or other unpaid caregivers). These informal caregivers are subject to substantial mental,…
Large language models are increasingly used for mental health support, yet little is known about whether their responses are psychologically safe across different help-seeking styles. We examine a foundational distinction in emotional…
This paper seeks to present the findings of a focus group and questionnaire in assessing how aware mental health professionals, who have experience with people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), are in the extent of ICT based…
Online health communities (OHCs) offer the promise of connecting with supportive peers. Forming these connections first requires finding relevant peers - a process that can be time-consuming. Peer recommendation systems are a computational…
Mental health conversational agents (a.k.a. chatbots) are widely studied for their potential to offer accessible support to those experiencing mental health challenges. Previous surveys on the topic primarily consider papers published in…
Recent years have seen a rise in social media platforms that provide peer-to-peer support to individuals suffering from mental distress. Studies on the impact of these platforms have focused on either short-term scales of single-post…
Online peer-to-peer support platforms enable conversations between millions of people who seek and provide mental health support. If successful, web-based mental health conversations could improve access to treatment and reduce the global…
Online health communities provide a knowledge exchange platform for a wide range of diseases and health conditions. Informational and emotional support helps forum participants orient around health issues beyond in-person doctor visits. So…
Millions of users come to online peer counseling platforms to seek support. However, studies show that online peer support groups are not always as effective as expected, largely due to users' negative experiences with unhelpful counselors.…
There is an increasing number of virtual communities and forums available on the web. With social media, people can freely communicate and share their thoughts, ask personal questions, and seek peer-support, especially those with conditions…
Purpose: This study investigates the dynamics of knowledge sharing in healthcare, exploring some of the factors that are more likely to influence the evolution of idea sharing and advice seeking in healthcare. Design/methodology/approach:…
Millions of people participate in online peer-to-peer support sessions, yet there has been little prior research on systematic psychology-based evaluations of fine-grained peer-counselor behavior in relation to client satisfaction. This…
When faced with complex and uncertain medical conditions (e.g., cancer, mental health conditions, recovery from substance dependency), millions of patients seek online peer support. In this study, we leverage content analysis of online…
Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used for emotional support and mental health-related interactions outside clinical settings, yet little is known about how people evaluate and relate to these systems in everyday use. We analyze…
Limited access to mental health care has motivated the use of digital tools and conversational agents powered by large language models (LLMs), yet their quality and reception remain unclear. We present a study comparing therapist-written…
The unprecedented growth of Internet users has resulted in an abundance of unstructured information on social media including health forums, where patients request health-related information or opinions from other users. Previous studies…
Providing timely support and intervention is crucial in mental health settings. As the need to engage youth comfortable with texting increases, mental health providers are exploring and adopting text-based media such as chatbots,…
Mental health is a significant and growing public health concern. As language usage can be leveraged to obtain crucial insights into mental health conditions, there is a need for large-scale, labeled, mental health-related datasets of users…
Purpose: With the rise of mental health risks globally, it is urgent to provide effective mental health support. However, a holistic understanding of how people seek help for mental health problems remains limited, impeding the development…
Empathy is critical to successful mental health support. Empathy measurement has predominantly occurred in synchronous, face-to-face settings, and may not translate to asynchronous, text-based contexts. Because millions of people use…