Assessing the use of ChatGPT as a psychoeducational tool for mental health practice

IF 1.2 Q3 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL

Counselling & Psychotherapy Research Pub Date : 2024-04-25 DOI:10.1002/capr.12759

Rakesh K. Maurya, Steven Montesinos, Mikhail Bogomaz, Amanda C. DeDiego

{"title":"Assessing the use of ChatGPT as a psychoeducational tool for mental health practice","authors":"Rakesh K. Maurya, Steven Montesinos, Mikhail Bogomaz, Amanda C. DeDiego","doi":"10.1002/capr.12759","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n \n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Background</h3>\n \n <p>Psychoeducation is an important part of mental health services offered by counsellors. This study used qualitative content analysis to explore ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool, as a resource for psychoeducation in the context of mental health.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Method</h3>\n \n <p>Researchers created carefully crafted prompts based on common psychoeducational themes provided to clients, covering seven critical areas: depression, anxiety, general health, substance abuse, religious/spiritual issues, lifestyle, routine health habits and interpersonal matters. A coding manual was developed encompassing six criteria to assess the quality of psychoeducational responses of ChatGPT: accuracy, clarity, relevance, empathy, engagement and ethical considerations.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Findings</h3>\n \n <p>The reviewers assessed ChatGPT's responses to 21 psychoeducational prompts as accurate, clear and relevant, with an empathic tone in responses to emotionally challenging queries. ChatGPT engages users by offering actionable steps and suggestions. The tool consistently demonstrated ethical considerations by advising users to consult qualified professionals when necessary. The findings suggested ChatGPT's potential as a reliable source of psychoeducation, particularly for individuals with very limited access to mental health resources.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Conclusion</h3>\n \n <p>This research underscores ChatGPT's potential as a valuable psychoeducational resource for mental health concerns while emphasising the need for ongoing assessment and user feedback to address its limitations and ensure responsible practice in the dynamic field of AI-powered mental health support. Future studies should explore user experiences and incorporate diverse perspectives to further enhance our understanding of ChatGPT's utility in real-world mental health contexts.</p>\n </section>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":46997,"journal":{"name":"Counselling & Psychotherapy Research","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Counselling & Psychotherapy Research","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/capr.12759","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Psychoeducation is an important part of mental health services offered by counsellors. This study used qualitative content analysis to explore ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool, as a resource for psychoeducation in the context of mental health.

Method

Researchers created carefully crafted prompts based on common psychoeducational themes provided to clients, covering seven critical areas: depression, anxiety, general health, substance abuse, religious/spiritual issues, lifestyle, routine health habits and interpersonal matters. A coding manual was developed encompassing six criteria to assess the quality of psychoeducational responses of ChatGPT: accuracy, clarity, relevance, empathy, engagement and ethical considerations.

Findings

The reviewers assessed ChatGPT's responses to 21 psychoeducational prompts as accurate, clear and relevant, with an empathic tone in responses to emotionally challenging queries. ChatGPT engages users by offering actionable steps and suggestions. The tool consistently demonstrated ethical considerations by advising users to consult qualified professionals when necessary. The findings suggested ChatGPT's potential as a reliable source of psychoeducation, particularly for individuals with very limited access to mental health resources.

Conclusion

This research underscores ChatGPT's potential as a valuable psychoeducational resource for mental health concerns while emphasising the need for ongoing assessment and user feedback to address its limitations and ensure responsible practice in the dynamic field of AI-powered mental health support. Future studies should explore user experiences and incorporate diverse perspectives to further enhance our understanding of ChatGPT's utility in real-world mental health contexts.

查看原文本刊更多论文

评估将 ChatGPT 作为心理健康实践中的心理教育工具的使用情况

心理教育是辅导员心理健康服务的重要组成部分。本研究采用定性内容分析的方法，探讨了ChatGPT作为一种生成式人工智能（AI）工具在心理健康背景下的心理教育资源。研究人员根据提供给客户的常见心理教育主题精心制作了提示，涵盖七个关键领域：抑郁、焦虑、一般健康、药物滥用、宗教/精神问题、生活方式、日常健康习惯和人际关系问题。编写了一份编码手册，其中包含六个标准来评估ChatGPT心理教育反应的质量：准确性、清晰度、相关性、同理心、参与度和道德考虑。评审者评估了ChatGPT对21个心理教育提示的回答是准确、清晰和相关的，在回答情感上具有挑战性的问题时带有同理心的语气。ChatGPT通过提供可操作的步骤和建议来吸引用户。该工具通过建议用户在必要时咨询合格的专业人员来始终如一地展示道德考虑。研究结果表明，ChatGPT有潜力成为心理教育的可靠来源，特别是对于那些获得心理健康资源非常有限的个人。本研究强调了ChatGPT作为一种有价值的心理健康教育资源的潜力，同时强调了持续评估和用户反馈的必要性，以解决其局限性，并确保在人工智能驱动的心理健康支持的动态领域中负责任的实践。未来的研究应该探索用户体验，并纳入不同的观点，以进一步提高我们对ChatGPT在现实世界心理健康背景下的效用的理解。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Counselling & Psychotherapy Research PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL-

CiteScore

4.40

自引率

12.50%

发文量

期刊介绍： Counselling and Psychotherapy Research is an innovative international peer-reviewed journal dedicated to linking research with practice. Pluralist in orientation, the journal recognises the value of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods strategies of inquiry and aims to promote high-quality, ethical research that informs and develops counselling and psychotherapy practice. CPR is a journal of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, promoting reflexive research strongly linked to practice. The journal has its own website: www.cprjournal.com. The aim of this site is to further develop links between counselling and psychotherapy research and practice by offering accessible information about both the specific contents of each issue of CPR, as well as wider developments in counselling and psychotherapy research. The aims are to ensure that research remains relevant to practice, and for practice to continue to inform research development.