Delivering Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Using A Conversational SocialRobot

TL;DR

This research demonstrates that a conversational social robot named Ryan can effectively deliver internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy to older adults, showing promise as an alternative to traditional therapy methods.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel AI-driven dialogue management system, Program-R, enabling a social robot to administer structured iCBT to elderly patients with depression.

Findings

Robot-based iCBT improved mood scores in participants.

Participants found the robot-delivered therapy acceptable and engaging.

Quantitative analysis supports the viability of robot-assisted mental health treatment.

Abstract

Social robots are becoming an integrated part of our daily life due to their ability to provide companionship and entertainment. A subfield of robotics, Socially Assistive Robotics (SAR), is particularly suitable for expanding these benefits into the healthcare setting because of its unique ability to provide cognitive, social, and emotional support. This paper presents our recent research on developing SAR by evaluating the ability of a life-like conversational social robot, called Ryan, to administer internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) to older adults with depression. For Ryan to administer the therapy, we developed a dialogue-management system, called Program-R. Using an accredited CBT manual for the treatment of depression, we created seven hour-long iCBT dialogues and integrated them into Program-R using Artificial Intelligence Markup Language (AIML). To assess the effectiveness of Robot-based iCBT and users' likability of our approach, we conducted an HRI study with a cohort of elderly people with mild-to-moderate depression over a period of four weeks. Quantitative analyses of participant's spoken responses (e.g. word count and sentiment analysis), face-scale mood scores, and exit surveys, strongly support the notion robot-based iCBT is a viable alternative to traditional human-delivered therapy.