An artificial intelligence (AI) voice coach is showing promise for treating depression and anxiety treatment. Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) tested an AI voice-based virtual coach for behavioral therapy and they found changes in patients’ brain activity along with improved depression and anxiety symptoms. This was all thanks to Lumen, an AI voice assistant that delivered a form of psychotherapy.

The team says the results, which are published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, offer encouraging evidence that virtual therapy can play a role in filling the gaps in mental health care. “We’ve had an incredible explosion of need, especially in the wake of COVID, with soaring rates of anxiety and depression and not enough practitioners,” said Dr. Olusola A. Ajilore, who is a professor of psychiatry at UIC. “This kind of technology may serve as a bridge. It’s not meant to be a replacement for traditional therapy, but it may be an important stop-gap before somebody can seek treatment.” 

The researchers recruited more than 60 patients with mild-to-moderate depression and anxiety symptoms. Two-thirds of the patients used Lumen on an iPad for eight problem-solving therapy sessions.

After the intervention, study participants using the Lumen app showed decreased scores for depression, anxiety and psychological distress compared with the control group. The Lumen group also showed improvements in problem-solving skills that correlated with increased activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a brain area associated with cognitive control. 

It’s about changing the way people think about problems and how to address them, and not being emotionally overwhelmed, according to the researchers. They stress that the virtual coach doesn’t need to perform better than a human therapist to fill a desperate need in the mental health system.

John Schieszer is an award-winning national journalist and radio and podcast broadcaster of The Medical Minute. He can be reached at medicalminutes@gmail.com.