54% believe AI can help with mental health crises, a poll in Cincinnati shows

As part of our year-long reporting project on how schools are using artificial intelligence to identify students with mental health issues, The Enquirer heard from nearly 100 people in the Cincinnati community.

Here you will learn more about who they are and how they felt.

Most were students, parents, psychiatrists and youth workers. Nearly 80 people completed our survey, while about 20 attended our public listening session at the library to share their thoughts.

Cincinnati residents expressed everything from cautious optimism to uncertainty and concern that AI could be used to determine whether someone is suicidal, depressed or anxious. Many said their biggest concerns about using AI in this way were protecting students from data breaches and biased results.

“My concern would be that once the AI says a student is a threat, they will be treated as such,” shared a school principal. “But I also see the helpful aspect of bringing up someone who may have slipped through the cracks.”

Over half believe AI can help with mental health crises in young people

People who believed AI would help solve the youth mental health crisis reached a slim majority of 54% over those who disagreed or were unsure. This larger group agreed or strongly agreed that an AI-powered app that detects signs of stress could help address the mental health crisis in adolescents.

51% said AI would make schools safer.

And some clinicians who attended our listening session saw the benefit of using AI to predict suicide attempts.

“We’re really, really, really bad at predicting human behavior,” said Paul Crosby, a psychiatrist and president of the Lindner Center of Hope, a mental health center in Mason. “I understand why people are looking for solutions like this, because we haven’t found any good ones ourselves.”

Isaac Trice, a clinical counselor at Talbert House in Western Hills, said algorithms already play a role in diagnosing his clients’ mental health.

“Clients come in and say, well, TikTok told me I was a narcissist,” he said. “That’s why I think it’s important for us to stay current and use these tools.”

Still, every AI-related question in the survey resulted in 30% or more of respondents answering “neutral” or “not sure,” indicating clear uncertainty among many about using AI to detect mental health problems.

Gharrie Hoffman, who has a master’s degree in community counseling, doesn’t like the idea of using AI but feels like she “doesn’t know enough about it.” She wants to see results that prove it works before making a judgment.

One in three are comfortable with AI recording of therapy sessions, most people are concerned about bias

The question that produced the most even split among respondents was whether respondents were comfortable with the AI listening to their therapy sessions: 33% of respondents said they were comfortable with it, while 27% said they were not be the case.

Owen Kovacic, a student at the University of Cincinnati, described AI listening in on therapy sessions as “intrusive and terrible for trust.”

Quinn Meriss, a recent college graduate from Oak Hills, worries that using AI to detect mental health problems could lead to children being involuntarily hospitalized when it’s not necessary.

Merriss also wondered whether therapists using AI would discourage students from seeking help. “How many kids will stop talking because they don’t want it to be involved?” they asked.

The question that produced the clearest majority was about bias. Nearly 60% of respondents said using AI to check language for mental health or safety risks could lead to biased results or unexpected problems, while 10% said this would not be the case.

“When it comes to AI, it can be biased based on the information fed to it,” said UC student Awa Bolling, a sentiment shared by at least two other students.

Some people expressed doubts about using technologies like AI to solve a mental health crisis that may have been caused by too much screen time in the first place.

As Trice, the clinical advisor at Talbert House, put it: “When it comes to AI, are we chasing one pill at a time?”

People agree that we need more doctors and disagree about how to make schools safer

Students from high school through graduate school largely agreed on the need for more accessible mental health services.

They said increasing the availability of mental health professionals, reducing the cost of therapy and giving students more time during the day to address their mental health are ways to get more help for students. UC student Awa Bolling said “more scope for academic success” could provide relief for stressed-out students.

Respondents agreed that schools could be safer, but differed on what that should look like.

A handful of people suggested increasing the number of police officers on campus. Still others considered security equipment such as door locks and metal detectors important.

More than one person identified hallways as areas to monitor for bullying. According to a Taft High School student, having adults in the hallways “protect students from bullies” and “accompany the victim to class” would make a difference.

As director of the Trauma Recovery Center at Neighborhood House, Sheila Nared helps teen victims of violent crime process their trauma and practice resilience.

Nared believes that giving communities most affected by violence a voice in decision-making is the key to preventing violence.

“Those closest to the problem are the ones closest to the solution,” Nared said, but also “furthest from the resources and the power.”

What gives people hope? Hope Squad helps

Listening session participants cited young people talking about their mental health as a sign that stigma is decreasing and access to mental health professionals is improving.

Carlie Yersky, a clinical counselor for Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health, said she finds hope in students’ access to trained psychologists at their schools.

“When I was a kid, we didn’t have therapists in school,” Yersky said. “Now every school in Cincinnati works with a mental health agency.”

Other participants emphasized the importance of human and community-centered solutions to the mental health crisis.

“Create a culture of people caring about other people,” suggested Olive Weaver, a senior at Mason High, “instead of delegating any part of the work to AI.”

Weaver and others at the listening session pointed to Hope Squad, a peer-to-peer suicide prevention program implemented in hundreds of schools across Ohio, as an example.

At Mason High School, Hope Squad is a class of over 80 students. Each grade has its own Hope Squad team, led by a teacher advisor and meeting four days a week. Hope Squad members’ job is to look for peers who are struggling and connect them with a teacher or counselor if they need help.

“Often our children recognize problems long before adults do,” said Beth Celenza, one of the school’s four Hope Squad counselors. Therefore, teaching is about “giving students the opportunity to do something with this information.”

Before Hope Squad was launched in 2017, the school district averaged one suicide per year, district spokeswoman Tracey Carson said.

It was just one of the interventions the district has implemented since then, Carson said, but together the interventions appear to be working.

“I haven’t had a suicide since.”

How we did it

The Enquirer reported last year on how schools are using artificial intelligence to identify students with mental health issues. As part of our project, we took a two-pronged approach to hearing from the community.

First, we released a survey that we distributed online and in person in areas with high foot traffic, such as the University of Cincinnati, Findlay Market and The Neighborhood House, a social service organization in the West End. Next, we hosted a listening session at the main branch of the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library downtown, which was open to everyone.

The result was that we heard from a large and diverse group of Cincinnatians, ranging from teenagers to those in their 60s.

The respondents were made up of 64% students and 23% parents. Another 9% were mental health providers and 7% worked with children in schools or community organizations. Most parents surveyed had children high school age or younger and lived in areas stretching from Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, to Cincinnati suburbs such as West Chester Township.

54% believe AI can help with mental health crises, a poll in Cincinnati shows

ByAmelia Journalton

By Amelia Journalton

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