Caption: Machine learning is an artificial intelligence technology that becomes proficient at autonomously performing a task, when given data and examples of desired behavior. It can identify meaningful patterns that humans may not have been able to detect as quickly without the machine's help. MIT scientist Rosalind Picard collaborates with clinicians to develop tools for mental health care delivery. A machine-learning expert and a psychology researcher/clinician may seem an unlikely duo. But MIT's Rosalind Picard and Massachusetts General Hospital's Paola Pedrelli are united by the belief that artificial intelligence may be able to help make mental health care more accessible to patients.

A machine-learning expert and a psychology researcher/clinician may seem an unlikely duo. But MIT's Rosalind Picard and Massachusetts General Hospital's Paola Pedrelli are united by the belief that artificial intelligence may be able to help make mental health care more accessible to patients. In her 15 years as a clinician and researcher in psychology, Pedrelli says "it's been very, very clear that there are a number of barriers for patients with mental health disorders to accessing and receiving adequate care." Those barriers may include figuring out when and where to seek help, finding a nearby provider who is taking patients, and obtaining financial resources and transportation to attend appointments. Pedrelli is an assistant professor in psychology at the Harvard Medical School and the associate director of the Depression Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).