5 Trends from Behavioral Health Tech
How can apps, APIs, and now AI help solve people’s most personal real-world challenges? That’s the question the annual Behavioral Health Tech conference was designed to answer. Our team is just back from an inspiring few days gathered with professionals devoted to improving mental health at scale, and we wanted to share our observations and insights from this always thought-provoking event.
AI will be the onramp to care (if not the destination)
No surprise, the topic of AI dominated or at least crept into almost every conversation. How can this powerful technology help people get connected to the right mental health support, and how can we prevent it from doing harm? AI-powered "therapy" tools are moving faster than anyone could have imagined, and the script has flipped from uncertainty to optimism that AI will identify mental health needs, provide tailored preventive support, and help people access the right care, rapidly. When designed ethically with clinical oversight and scientific rigor, AI can offer nonjudgmental listening that helps some people feel more comfortable than they might with a clinician, and be a brand new, essential onramp to care.
A backdrop to this conversation is awareness of the dangerous, sometimes catastrophic phenomenon of people relying on general purpose LLMs for support these models are not equipped to provide—and growing alarm at how many of them are confiding suicidal ideation.general purpose The technology is racing ahead with limited oversight, making the creation of safe alternatives urgent. One thing experts can agree on: We must build with human clinicians involved at every step in the design and evaluation of AI systems.
Strong partnerships accelerate access and outcomes
While telehealth transformed the ability to connect providers with individuals in need of support, opportunities remain for ensuring people access the right care at the right time, stay engaged in treatment, and achieve meaningful outcomes. The first step is always connecting people to care, so providing a welcoming front door, in the form of AI-powered navigators, can lower barriers to help seeking and access—while also helping stakeholders measure impact. These navigators guide people to the appropriate care, reach out for follow-up assessments, track provider quality, and understand outcomes in an agnostic way to report back to payers. While in the past patients had to scroll through provider directories in search of a provider actually accepting new clients, now when the Talkspace API is synced into payer directories patients can click through to book with a provider who specializes in their needs and has appointments that work with their schedule.
With the ability to gather more real-time data comes increased expectations about the availability and quality of that data. Payers and their clients want partners who can collaborate to create the reporting they need, and clinical outcomes data that meaningfully informs how care is delivered. Beyond the expected PHQ/GAD scores, measurements of quality of life, therapeutic alliance, engagement, time in care, and NPS scores are necessary to tell a fuller story.
The future is personal and peer-supported
As the “loneliness epidemic” has grown from a catchphrase to a true public health concern with significant financial cost for health plans, there’s a recognition that solutions connecting people with peers and strengthening social health are an essential component of any comprehensive offering.
Our own Ron Goldman, President of Wisdo Health and now leading the build-out of Talkspace Community shared, “As technology and AI continue to play a larger role in healthcare delivery, we must remember that health is inherently personal. Empathy, companionship, and social support, especially from those with lived experience, are essential to our wellbeing and to driving positive behavior change and better health outcomes in the people we are all dedicated to help and support.”
Facilitating authentic community connections between people with shared experiences—of grief, anxiety, caregiving, cancer treatment, or GLP-1 weight loss, for example—provides a highly valuable therapeutic option while relieving pressure on providers of one-on-one care.
Engage youth directly, early, and often
Concerted and creative efforts have been made to address the youth mental health crisis since the pandemic, and this remains urgent amid growing evidence that vulnerable teens are seeking companionship and support from AI that wasn’t built for that purpose—a practice which is especially dangerous and even deadly when developing brains are involved. We need a proactive “surround sound” approach to reaching teens with offers of mental health support, since they may not see a PCP or pediatrician regularly and can be reluctant to confide in parents or other adults.
Offering free therapy directly through school districts and cities (as Talkspace has done in partnership with NYC, Seattle, Baltimore County Public Schools, and more) has shown positive results for both engagement and outcomes, and equipping educators, school counselors, and parents/guardians with the tools they need to have nonjudgmental, stigma-free mental health conversations with youth is essential. These days those conversations must include AI, and the risks of relying on it for companionship or mental health support. While being extremely careful not to judge or stigmatize, it’s the responsibility of adults to make youth aware that AI is not a replacement for human connection, and then providing them with access to informed teen therapy if appropriate.
Primary care remains an essential access point
Despite all the tech-enabled paths to seeking care directly, mental health screening by primary care providers remains a vital means of identifying when treatment is needed. However, overworked PCPs often don’t have good referral options or feel empowered to effectively care for behavioral health—so it’s the role of the mental health care community to ensure PCPs know where to refer, and are equipped with communication strategies and materials to make these referrals actionable and seamless for the patient. Doctors must be able to trust their behavioral health partners to provide a great patient experience and deliver results.
One underutilized solution, discussed at BHT, is the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM). With a care coordinator connecting patient, PCP, therapist, and psychiatry provider, this model empowers PCPs to refer to care with the confidence that the patient will receive consistent follow-up and the primary care office will receive progress notes. CoCM is proven to be a highly effective way to treat anxiety and depression, especially in patients who might not access or stay engaged in care without their PCP’s encouragement. CoCM is an evidence based, reimbursable way to build a continuum for sustainable clinical impact, and we hope to see more medical practices adopting it.
Government funding and regulation are known unknowns
As much of the federal government is being transformed, uncertainty about funding and the regulatory environment hung over BHT. The possibility of reduced Medicaid funding may hinder the development of robust cost savings and outcomes solutions. On the other hand, slower regulation in the AI space may be accelerating the development of solutions as companies try to quickly develop proven and safe models.
During this time of big changes one thing is certain: Licensed therapists and psychiatrists, including the superstar ones at Talkspace, will keep listening and supporting their clients through it all, and technologists and business leaders will continue to find new ways to support their vital work.
