Almost 1 in 5 Americans will deal with a mental health condition at some point in their life. Yet, in many cases, we're still relying on individuals to take the initiative and seek treatment, despite the continuing stigma against asking for help for mental health struggles and the fact that nearly 40% of Americans live in areas where there aren't enough mental health professionals to meet the community's needs. Add to this the mental health challenges Covid-19 brings and one is forced to ask: How will we ever meet this growing need? Artificial intelligence (AI) can help. As a supplement to teletherapy, which I wrote about previously, AI and machine learning have the potential to revolutionize the way we diagnose and treat mental health conditions. In the future, algorithms may be our first line of defense against the mental health struggles that can be debilitating for so many people.

Almost 1 in 5 Americans will deal with a mental health condition at some point in their life. Yet, in many cases, we're still relying on individuals to take the initiative and seek treatment, despite the continuing stigma against asking for help for mental health struggles and the fact that nearly 40% of Americans live in areas where there aren't enough mental health professionals to meet the community's needs. Add to this the mental health challenges Covid-19 brings and one is forced to ask: How will we ever meet this growing need? Artificial intelligence (AI) can help. As a supplement to teletherapy, which I wrote about previously, AI and machine learning have the potential to revolutionize the way we diagnose and treat mental health conditions. In the future, algorithms may be our first line of defense against the mental health struggles that can be debilitating for so many people.