Social Robots for Supporting Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnosis and Treatment

Abstract

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a severe psychiatric disorder with profound public health impact due to its high prevalence, chronic nature, accompanying functional impairment, and frequently occurring comorbidities. Early PTSD symptoms, often observed shortly after trauma exposure, abate with time in the majority of those who initially express them, yet leave a significant minority with chronic PTSD. While the past several decades of PTSD research have produced substantial knowledge regarding the mechanisms and consequences of this debilitating disorder, the diagnosis of and available treatments for PTSD still face significant challenges. Here, we discuss how novel therapeutic interventions involving social robots can potentially offer meaningful opportunities for overcoming some of the present challenges. As the application of social robotics-based interventions in the treatment of mental disorders is only in its infancy, it is vital that careful, well-controlled research is conducted to evaluate their efficacy, safety, and ethics. Nevertheless, we are hopeful that robotics-based solutions could advance the quality, availability, specificity and scalability of care for PTSD.

Human-Robot Relationship: long-term effects on disclosure, perception and well-being

“…The authors explain that social robots could support people to get into therapy and maximize the effectiveness of the therapy by increasing the patients' engagement and continuing the support outside the therapy session. In a previous paper (53) we addressed similar benefits of using social robots for diagnosing and treating people suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social robots can assist with overcoming several logistical and social barriers that trauma survivors face when required to monitor symptoms and when seeking mental health interventions.…”

User experience of human-robot long-term interactions

“…Nevertheless, our results also stress that the discussion theme has no meaningful nor significant effect on the way people perceive Pepper and the interaction. These preliminary results provide important evidence concerning the potential of introducing social robots in real-life applications for long-term use and establishing meaningful relationships with these agents over time (see [8]).…”

Human-Robot Relationship: long-term effects on disclosure, perception and well-being

“…Social robots hold great potential for delivering or improving psycho-social interventions [7], supporting mental health [52], monitoring symptoms of chronic psychopathologies [53], aiding rehabilitation [30] and providing much-needed physical and social support across a number of daily life settings [1]. For example, a previous study by Nomura and colleagues [54] showed the benefits of employing social robots for minimising social tensions and anxieties, describing that participants with higher social anxiety tended to feel less anxious and demonstrate lower tensions when knowing that they would interact with robots in opposition to humans.…”

“…The authors explain that social robots could support people to get into therapy and maximize the effectiveness of the therapy by increasing the patients' engagement and continuing the support outside the therapy session. In a previous paper [53] we addressed similar benefits of using social robots for diagnosing and treating people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social robots can assist with overcoming several logistical and social barriers that trauma survivors face when required to monitor symptoms and when seeking mental health interventions.…”