AI in Mental Health: Navigating the Hype, Hope, and Harms

Presented by: Dr. Marta Maslej

AI is rapidly transforming mental health care, with applications ranging from risk prediction and clinical decision support to documentation, triage, and even psychotherapy delivery. Advances in generative AI have been particularly influential, given the central role of language in mental health assessment, treatment, and documentation. These technologies offer opportunities to improve access and efficiency, but they raise important questions about quality, equity, and the future of patient-clinician interactions. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into clinical practice, distinguishing genuine opportunities from unwarranted hype will be essential to ensuring its responsible design, evaluation, and implementation. This talk will provide an overview of AI and its emerging role in mental health, drawing on research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). It will explore how AI systems can inadvertently learn and perpetuate existing social and systemic biases, with implications for health equity. It will conclude by discussing how clinicians can thoughtfully navigate both the promise and the potential harms of AI, and what responsible implementation should look like with increasing applications being developed across all areas of mental health.

Please note this session is in-person and will not be livestreamed. Recordings will be made available approximately three weeks after the event.