An introduction to the field of Computational Psychiatry from the perspective of computer science, as informed by clinical practice.
(units 2-0-10) Thursdays, Rm 1-246, 11am-1pm
An introduction to the field of Computational Psychiatry from the perspective of computer science, as informed by clinical practice.
(units 2-0-10) Thursdays, Rm 1-246, 11am-1pm
Mental illness is a leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting both developed and developing countries. Based on the literature, approximately 20% of the US population experiences a siginificant mental illness in their lifetime, yet only half of the people with mental illness ever seek treatment or get diagnosed; and among those who seek treatment, only 10% find a treatment that is effective. The health care system provides very limited options to monitor our mental health outside clinician therapy sessions, and options for mental health wellness and prevention are poorly communicated. Furthermore, due to a growing and aging population, there is an increasing shortage of mental health professionals worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Although many measurement and assessment tools exist in the mental health field, these tools are often cumbersome to use or require a great deal of training and experience to use these properly.
As a result of these needs, a variety of new technologies (including computer science and AI) are now being explored to enable more effective and scalable mental health therapies, and also to support mental health wellness. Advances in sensors, computation and mobile phones now provide new ways to measure and predict certain aspects of our mental health and behavior. From the clinical perspective, such technology tools can enable early detection of mental illness, more quantitative personalized treatment plans, more effective crisis interventions, and better monitoring once treatment has begun. From the point of view of wellness, technology measurement tools also provide the ability to improve life coaching, peer support, and improve independence and self-agency.
These opportunities have attracted the attention of technical academic researchers as well as entrepreneurs who are exploring new tools and services in the emerging field of Digital Mental Health, which employs a variety of technologies, including: mobile phones, wearable sensors, smart speakers, chatbots, social robots, digital phenotyping, and virtual reality, among others.
This class is designed for students of any background who are interested in learning more about the real-world clinical practice of psychology and psychiatry, and taking a critical look at ways that technology tools can be used to harm or benefit our mental health. Previous students of this class include students from science and enginering, medicine, public health, product design, and business/entrepreneurship.
The learning goals of this course are:
1) To learn about the traditional tools and language used in mental health assessment and therapy, and be able to read and understand basic academic papers in the field of psychology.
2) To learn about the most common and emerging digital technologies that are being explored for mental health therapy and mental health wellness;
3) To better understand the complex relationship between technology and mental health and be able to bring a critical eye to the use of technology in mental health.
In addition to these learning goals, we shall also discuss the potential risks (e.g. privacy, ethical use, bias, security) that should be considered when building such systems.
This course meets once per week for 2 hours, consisting of 2 lectures. One of the lectures is devoted to a clinical discussion to provide background and motivation, describing a specific aspect of psychology or psychiatry, current approaches to treatment, and current challenges in mental health practice. The lecture is generally devoted to relevant technologies that address certain clinical needs and are being developed for assessment, monitoring, and intervention.
Coursework and Design Exercises: This class has no exams, but there will be significant weekly reading assignments, as well as a weekly written asignment based on the readings. Over the course of the semester, there are three separate design exercises in which students shall work in small teams to create and present concepts for addressing specific needs in mental health and wellness. These design projects shall be presented in the form of a poster, a physical mock-up, or a software demonstration, as part of an interactive class poster/demo session. (the exact format will depend on the number of students in the class).
Graduate credit: Students seeking graduate credit will be required to complete additional homework essay questions are part of the weekly assignment.
Grading: Grading is based on the design exercises, weekly written assignments, attendence, and class participation.
Rich Fletcher: Dr. Fletcher is a research scientist at MIT and research faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Psychiatry. At MIT, Dr. Fletcher leads the Mobile Technology Lab in the Mechanical Engineering Department, and has been working on mental health technologies for over 15 years, including 2 patents in this area as well as over 15 patents in the area of wireless sensors. Dr. Fletcher earned 4 degrees from MIT (S.B. Physics, Electrical Engineering, Information Technology M.S. and PhD) and has founded four start-up companies over the years, in the area of wireless sensors and mobile health. Dr. Fletcher has led technology development for several NIH-funded studies in the areas of mental health, drug addiction, and behavior medicine.
Karin Hodges Dr. Hodges is a Licensed Psychologist and clinical researcher who specializes in treating mental illness and fostering mental wellness in children. She practices in Concord, MA. Dr. Hodges received education and training from UCLA, Antioch University, New England (AUNE), Dartmouth Medical Center, and Franciscan Hospital for Children, and she has also trained and worked in various elementary and middle schools and mental health clinics throughout New England, including in Roxbury, MA; Dorchester, MA; Ashfield, MA; Brookline, MA; as well as in Keene, NH. Dr. Hodges has taught courses in psychology at AUNE, including Tests and Measurements; Interventions; and Group Interventions.
Guest Lectures This course will feature several invited lectures by clinicians and scientists from Harvard Medical School, Mass General Hospital, and MIT.
We would like to thank the MIT J-WELL program for providing the initial grant support to make this class possible.