The Potential Of AI In Behavioral Health And Addiction Treatment

Introduction

Behavioural health is a combination of emotions and behaviours that impacts our overall well-being. Every individual has the right to make necessary changes in their behavioural health, yet many people feel too nervous or unwilling to discuss these issues with healthcare professionals. Behavioral healthcare providers are available to support communities in addressing these needs.¹ Behavioral health encompasses psychological, emotional, and social well-being, helping individuals manage stress and make conscious choices.² Disturbances in these areas can lead to medical illnesses.³ While treatable like physical diseases, these conditions can also be addressed with mental health and substance abuse treatments.⁴

Addiction is defined as loss of control over consumption, action, or use of substances leading to harmful impacts on one’s life and other family members. It is generally associated with drugs, smoking, alcohol, and gambling. However, other addictions include::

• Internet – the rise in the use of computers and mobile phones has caused computer and internet addictions. This has increased gradually after the COVID-19 pandemic and now people spend hours surfing the net or gaming, neglecting other essential aspects of their lives
• Shopping – this becomes an addiction when someone buys unnecessary items or seeks a thrill from shopping. These actions are often followed by feelings of despair, guilt, or shame
• Solvents – this includes volatile substance abuse where substances such as glue, aerosols, petrol, or lighter fuel are inhaled to attain a feeling of intoxication
• Work – obsession with their work up to the extent that person becomes physically exhausted. They avoid taking holidays and it affects their family, relationships, and social life

Addiction can start for various reasons, such as the physical and mental effects of substances. These effects can be pleasurable and create a strong urge to use the substances again.⁵ Typically, the desire to satisfy cravings and achieve a high can spiral out of control, leading to addiction. Addiction is treatable and individuals can seek help from organisations or healthcare professionals specialising in addiction recovery.

Significance of addressing behavioural health and addiction issues

Behavioural health consists of mental health and defines more than 200 types of mental illness. Mental health or behavioural health and physical health are an important part of overall health for a person and impact each other. For instance, a person facing mental illness like depression may increase the risk for many other physical health problems such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and stroke. While chronic (physical) health conditions may increase the possibility of mental problems. When the increasing burden of demands surpasses a person’s resources and abilities to cope with them, their behavioural health gets impacted. For example, if a person encountering economic hardship is asked to work for long hours while they are also caring for a relative may experience poor behavioural health. 

Addiction can begin for many reasons, often stemming from the physical and mental effects of substances. These effects can be enjoyable, creating a strong desire to use them again. Over time, the need to satisfy cravings and achieve that high can quickly spiral out of control, leading to addiction. The good news is that addiction is treatable, and there are organizations and healthcare professionals who specialize in helping people recover. If you or someone you know is struggling, don’t hesitate to reach out for support.⁶

Overview of ai technology

AI or Artificial intelligence technology is a combination of machines and computers which mimics human intelligence and has problem-solving capabilities. AI involves the intervention of different technologies such as robotics, sensors, and geolocation to execute functions with or without the help of humans. It is based on algorithms modelled to stimulate the decision-making pathways of the human brain. It is based on available data and made to take accurate analysis or prediction in the long run.

The origin of AI marks the development of machines consisting of intelligence or acumen like humans for decision-making and reasoning during the 1950s. However, the modern concept evolved when Alan Turing, a scholar of this field in the mid-20th century, established the theoretical constitutional work for AI.⁷ In the late 20th century, the reemergence of AI can be associated with the developments in machine learning. Machine learning is a subdomain of AI, while deep learning is a subdomain of machine learning. They are based on neural networks to interpret and learn from large amounts of data. The 21st century can be considered pivotal in AI development due to deep learning techniques such as language processing and image recognition.

Current challenges in behavioral health and addiction treatment

• Limited access to care – a distinct and publicly managed care system is a surprising element of the care and financing system for those affected by behavioural health issues and substance abuse. Public services are accessible to both public and private insurance holders. These services are funded through numerous categorical programs run by different agencies, leading to both duplication and gaps in service due to varying eligibility requirements⁸
• Stigma and underreporting – most of the mental health and substance abuse care as a part of behavioural health is provided by primary care settings, not by speciality programs. In some instances, primary healthcare practitioners underdiagnose substance abuse or other behavioural health problems. However, this perception is changing, but the quality of care delivered in primary care settings needs to improve
• Variability in treatment effectiveness – a considerable section of the public care system meant for individuals consisting of the most disabling conditions includes health care services, rehabilitative, support services, but also housing, job counselling, and literacy. The combination of such services needs collaborative and cooperative relationships among different agencies. However, the majority of these services are neither covered by private insurance nor developed by various private behavioural healthcare companies
• High relapse rates – Among the many challenges of behavioural health and addiction, the separation of addiction and mental/behavioural health in treatment and care is another one. Generally, people affected with a mental illness or have behavioural health issues are more likely to get addicted resulting in the risk of overdose or other adverse consequences. These disorders often reinforce one another, and psychologists, psychiatrists, public health officials with medical care professionals pose alike views that behavioural disorders are interlinked and need comprehensive attention 

AI applications in behavioral health

AI has an important role in diagnosis, intervention, and creating awareness related to various behavioural health-related psychiatric disorders such as neurodegenerative disorders, seizures, substance abuse, and intellectual disability. The use of AI in mood disorders, schizophrenia, positive emotional regulation, and autism spectrum disorders is creating a positive influence on behavioural disorders. The AI-powered diagnostic tools are enhancing natural language processing and image recognition and thus aid medical professionals in accurate diagnosis of disease and treatment implementation.⁹ The applications of AI in behavioural health can be summarised as:

• AI algorithms for early detection of mental health conditions
• AI to monitor and adjust treatment in real-time
• Predictive analytics for identifying at-risk individuals
• Machine learning-based models to customise personal treatment plans
• AI-driven virtual therapy sessions and chatbots
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is delivered via AI platforms

In diagnostic applications of AI wearables like Milbotix Smart Socks (early detection of distress in autistic people) and Oura Ring (early detection of COVID-19) have been utilised for many diagnostic applications. In the future, similar technologies can evolve to be used for the diagnosis of addiction to intervene for early treatment and support.

AI applications in addiction treatment

Studies propose that the risk of a person getting addicted is partly genetic, but the presence of environmental factors may increase or decrease the chances of risk. AI is useful in early detection, treatment, or prevention of addiction. A research study data was collected from 2 years of participant Facebook posts to predict the likelihood of concluding a treatment early. In this, AI was used to look at language and topics used like friends, family, and supportive environments. Treatment centres can use these concepts to evaluate a person's intake and identify those who are more likely to benefit from treatment or who might leave early and need additional support. Consequently, AI can be utilised for early diagnosis, personalised treatment plans, and follow-up support, including:

• Predictive models for assessing addiction risk. 
• AI tools for monitoring substance use patterns. 
• AI-tailored interventions or adaptive treatment plans based on individual behaviour and history.
• Real-time monitoring and alerts for potential relapse triggers.
• AI-driven follow-up care and support systems.  

Natural Language Processing (NLP), a branch of AI, has been used to treat substance abuse. It is used in chatbots to handle unstructured free text implementing expert rules and AI algorithms.¹¹Chatbots are finding a place in emergency hotlines, supporting individuals with AI-powered tools in emergency response centres. They can provide information based on location and health insurance status about available medical care and other services.

Benefits of AI in behavioural health and addiction treatment

Increase awareness about behavioural health

This provides an innovative avenue to potentially revolutionise the perception of society and discusses behavioural health issues. The application of AI in mental health awareness through analysing and regulating social media data or posts through AI-powered sentiment analysis algorithms is valuable. 

Increased accessibility to care

AI-driven chatbots are used as interactive tools to propagate reliable information and educational resources on behavioural or mental health. In this AI-driven agents interact with users through empathetic conversations, and provide personalised professional assistance or guidance, strategies and referrals, and other available support services. 

Enhanced accuracy in diagnosis and treatment

Recent advancements in AI and machine learning allow possibilities to advance prediction, detection, and treatment solutions related to behavioural healthcare. AI can use genetic predisposition, an individual's profile with the environmental factors to assess chances of developing particular behavioural health disorders. 

Continuous monitoring and support

Behavioural healthcare professionals can guide the recovery journey of patients by availing of AI-driven client engagement strategies.¹⁰ In this, AI technologies can be integrated into mobile applications for sending reminders to track the side effects of medication, monitor medication schedules and responses, monitor mood fluctuations, and facilitate cooperation between individuals and their healthcare providers.

Summary

The convergence of behavioural healthcare and addiction with AI resulted in innovative and unique solutions to complement traditional methods. AI in behavioural healthcare and addiction has various potential benefits as mentioned above, however, it raises ethical and privacy concerns that need addressing for effective implementation. Some of the concerns include:

• Reliability and accuracy issues of AI algorithms in assessing and diagnosing mental health disorders
• AI algorithms are required to be monitored and adjusted to abstain from unintended repercussions such as overdiagnosis, and radicalised interpretation of emotions
• Assistance provided to mental healthcare professionals by AI requires a balance between AI-driven recommendations and human judgement 
• Maintaining empathy and human interactions is essential, to balance Patient-Provider Relationships due to AI tools
• Privacy and security of sensitive and personal patient data should not be breached
• Consent for use of patient data like medical records should be respected
• AI algorithms used in behavioural healthcare must be transparent and explainable to ensure accountability and build trust
• Ethical guidelines and regulatory frameworks must be established to govern the advancement and implementation of AI

AI and healthcare, despite these limitations, are playing an important role in helping each other to encourage positive behavioural health. Further, it requires collaborative efforts by experts of diverse fields like clinical and policy experts, and computational scientists, to drive responsible promising integration of AI into behavioural healthcare.