Webinar 4: The Promises and Pitfalls of using Machine Learning in Mental Health

By David Gosar, PsyD, PhD

 

Content

The tremendous advancement of machine learning in the past decade is beginning to have a significant impact on the field of mental health.
It has both opened up new avenues for identifying individuals at risk for poor mental health outcomes and factors that prevent such outcomes.

However, machine learning comes with many pitfalls if used it without an awareness of the underlying algorithms and their potential limitations. Being able to critically assess the use of machine learning in mental health and other fields of psychology is a skill psychologist in the 21st century will need.
In the upcoming talk we aim to provide information on the basics of the most popular machine learning models and their limitations.
We also present the concept of explainable artificial intelligence, developed to ensure that high stakes applications of machine learning are grounded in sound psychological theory.
Finally, we also provide information on EU regulations and professional guidelines developed to steer the application of machine learning to the benefit of the mental health community and the public at large.

We hope the talk will empower attendees to be able to critically assess the literature in the field and evaluate any e-health application of machine learning they may encounter or may aim to develop themselves.    

 

Bio

David Gosar (PsyD, PhD) is a clinical psychologist working at the Department of Child, Adolescent and Developmental Neurology at the University Children’s Hospital in Ljubljana.
His main research interests lie in the domains of developmental neuropsychology and neuroimaging.
He also pursues his professional interests in the domains of psychometrics and e-psychology. In collaboration with Slovenian test publishers he has been involved in the development and adaptation of numerous internationally recognized psychological assessment tools.
He is also a member of the Slovenian test commission, advising the Slovenian Psychological Society on the practice of psychological assessment.
As a member of the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations Project group on eHealth he furthermore strives to help incorporate advancements in the field of e-psychology, data science and information technology into mainstream psychology in an ethically responsible and scientifically rigorous fashion.

 

Resources

Look at the full video recording, or download the slides here:

Remote video URL