Dr Hasan Derwish
What happens when artificial intelligence can imitate empathy, predict risk, analyse behaviour and become part of the therapeutic relationship?Psychiatrist and Machine: The Future of Mental Health - Powered by AI, Anchored in Humanity explores one of the most important questions facing modern healthcare: how far should we allow artificial intelligence to enter the most human areas of medicine?Written by consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Hasan Derwish, this book examines how artificial intelligence is transforming mental health and psychiatry. From machine learning and digital phenotyping to risk prediction, precision psychiatry, therapy chatbots, large language models and AI companions, the technology is already changing the way mental illness is understood, assessed and treated.But the promise of AI comes with difficult questions. Can an algorithm truly understand distress, or can it only recognise patterns? Can a chatbot offer meaningful therapeutic support, or does it risk creating dependency, reinforcing distorted beliefs or giving vulnerable people a false sense of being understood? What happens when artificial intelligence influences decisions about suicide risk, violence, detention, treatment or liberty? And when an AI-supported decision goes wrong, who is responsible?Drawing on clinical practice, forensic psychiatry, research evidence, ethics, law and real-world dilemmas, Psychiatrist and Machine explores both the opportunities and the dangers of AI in mental healthcare. It examines algorithmic bias, patient safety, consent, capacity, digital therapy, predictive technologies, regulation, professional responsibility and the changing role of the psychiatrist.The book is written for clinicians, students, researchers, policymakers and anyone interested in mental health technology, artificial intelligence, digital mental health and the future of psychiatry. Technical ideas are explained in clear language, making the subject accessible without losing the seriousness of the scientific and ethical debate.At the heart of the book is a simple argument: artificial intelligence may become an extraordinary tool for psychiatry, but technology should support rather than replace the human qualities on which good mental healthcare depends.This is not a book about choosing between humans and machines. It is about deciding what machines should do, what humans must remain responsible for, and how we can build a future of mental healthcare that is powered by AI but anchored in humanity.
