Related papers: Towards Explainable and Safe Conversational Agents…
Mental health challenges are rising globally, while traditional support services face limited availability and high costs. Large language models offer potential for conversational support, but often lack personalization, empathy, and…
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…
Virtual Mental Health Assistants (VMHAs) have become a prevalent method for receiving mental health counseling in the digital healthcare space. An assistive counseling conversation commences with natural open-ended topics to familiarize the…
It may be difficult for some individuals to open up and share their thoughts and feelings in front of a mental health expert. For those who are more at ease with a virtual agent, conversational agents can serve as an intermediate step in…
The 2022 World Mental Health Report calls for global mental health care reform, amid rising prevalence of issues like anxiety and depression that affect nearly one billion people worldwide. Traditional in-person therapy fails to meet this…
The growing demand for mental health support has highlighted the importance of conversational agents as human supporters worldwide and in China. These agents could increase availability and reduce the relative costs of mental health…
Agents represent one of the most emerging applications of Large Language Models (LLMs) and Generative AI, with their effectiveness hinging on multimodal capabilities to navigate complex user environments. Conversational Health Agents…
There has been vast literature that studies Conversational Agents (CAs) in facilitating older adults' health. The vast and diverse studies warrants a comprehensive review that concludes the main findings and proposes research directions for…
Young people's mental well-being is a global concern, with peer support playing a key role in daily emotional regulation. Conversational agents are increasingly viewed as promising tools for delivering accessible, personalised peer support,…
Millions now use generative AI chatbots for psychological support. Despite the promise related to availability and scale, the single most pressing question in AI for mental health is whether these tools are safe. The Validation of Ethical…
The shortage of doctors is creating a critical squeeze in access to medical expertise. While conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds promise in addressing this problem, its safe deployment in patient-facing roles remains largely…
Text-based conversational agents (CAs) are increasingly used in mental health, yet evaluation practices remain fragmented. We conducted a PRISMA-guided systematic review (May-June 2024) across ACM Digital Library, Scopus, and PsycINFO. From…
Artificial intelligent (AI) conversational agents hold a promising future in the field of mental health, especially in helping marginalized communities that lack access to mental health support services. It is tempting to have a 24/7 mental…
The development of conversational agents (CAs) has shown strong potential in supporting mental health through dialogue. While many studies focus on CAs for individual psychological care, research on agents designed for couples facing…
Chatbot usage has increased, including in fields for which they were never developed for--notably mental health support. To that end, we introduce Validations of Ethical and Responsible AI in Mental Health (VERA-MH), a novel…
Access to mental health support remains limited, particularly in marginalized communities where structural and cultural barriers hinder timely care. This paper explores the potential of AI-enabled chatbots as a scalable solution, focusing…
Conversational agents have become ubiquitous, ranging from goal-oriented systems for helping with reservations to chit-chat models found in modern virtual assistants. In this survey paper, we explore this fascinating field. We look at some…
Good mental health enables individuals to cope with the normal stresses of life. In Germany, approximately one-quarter of the adult population is affected by mental illnesses. Teletherapy and digital health applications are available to…
The rapid advancement of Large Language Models (LLMs), reasoning models, and agentic AI approaches coincides with a growing global mental health crisis, where increasing demand has not translated into adequate access to professional…
Online, people often recount their experiences turning to conversational AI agents (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot) for mental health support -- going so far as to replace their therapists. These anecdotes suggest that AI agents have great…