The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health Care: Critical and Careful Considerations

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the landscape of mental health care, offering possibilities ranging from automated psychoeducation tools to AI-driven therapeutic platforms. While this technological expansion carries potential to increase access to mental health services, it also raises profound concerns and remains an area of active debate. Recent evidence highlights not only the promise of improved reach and efficiency, but also the ethical, clinical, and social risks associated with delegating sensitive aspects of mental health care to AI systems. High-profile incidents and emerging reports underscore serious problems, such as the risk of exacerbating mental health crises, errors in diagnosis or treatment, and a pervasive lack of empathy and contextual understanding in AI-facilitated support. Despite these challenges, robust regulation and standardized oversight remain minimal, fueling apprehensions around both safety and the credibility of AI interventions in mental health.This Research Topic aims to foster a rigorous, multi-stakeholder dialogue to critically evaluate the evolving role of AI in mental health care. Its objectives include interrogating current shortcomings, identifying potential avenues where AI may genuinely support clinicians and patients, and laying the groundwork for ethical, reliable, and clinically sensitive deployment of these technologies. We seek to address core questions around risk mitigation, the development of supervisory frameworks, and the delineation of best practices that balance innovation with necessary caution. By drawing together voices from research, clinical practice, policy, and lived experience, the goal is to secure mental health care against the pitfalls of overreliance on untested AI solutions, while safeguarding its long-term integrity.Submissions to this Research Topic should critically examine both the boundaries and opportunities of AI in mental health, with a focus on responsible advancement. We welcome articles that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:• ethical challenges in psychotherapeutic and psychiatric care provided via AI platforms• case reports or reviews on misdiagnosis and over-diagnosis of mental illnesses by AI systems• documentation of neurosis or psychosis exacerbated by AI interaction• guidelines and recommendations for sensitive supervision of AI mental health platforms• evidence from successful AI models and their scalable applications in mental health care. Topic editors: Pragya Lodha, AVINASH DE SOUSA, AMRESH SHRIVASTAVA Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80226/the-role-of-artificial-intelligence-in-mental-health-care-critical-and-careful-considerations