Building Trust with AI: How Essential is Validating AI Models in the Therapeutic Triad of Therapist, Patient, and Artificial Third? Comment on What is the Current and Future Status of Digital Mental Health Interventions?

Abstract

Since the publication of "What is the Current and Future Status of Digital Mental Health Interventions?" the exponential growth and widespread adoption of ChatGPT have underscored the importance of reassessing its utility in digital mental health interventions. This review critically examined the potential of ChatGPT, particularly focusing on its application within clinical psychology settings as the technology has continued evolving through 2023 and 2024. Alongside this, our literature review spanned US Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) validations, assessments of the capacity to interpret human emotions, analyses concerning the identification of depression and its determinants at treatment initiation, and reported our findings. Our review evaluated the capabilities of GPT-3.5 and GPT-4.0 separately in clinical psychology settings, highlighting the potential of conversational AI to overcome traditional barriers such as stigma and accessibility in mental health treatment. Each model displayed different levels of proficiency, indicating a promising yet cautious pathway for integrating AI into mental health practices.