Webinar - Rethinking “Treatment as Usual” in the Age of AI and Online Content
The Society of Digital Psychiatry, in collaboration with JMIR Mental Health—an open-access, peer-reviewed journal published by JMIR Publications—invites you to a webinar titled “Rethinking “Treatment as Usual” in the Age of AI and Online Content.”
In digital mental health trials, “treatment as usual” (TAU) is often used as a control condition—but does it actually reflect how people seek help online? In this engaging session, Dr Kaveladze and Dr John Torous will explore how popular online content—such as YouTube videos, infographics, and articles—can serve as more realistic and ecologically valid TAU controls. The webinar will also examine how TAU conditions may need to evolve alongside the rapid rise of AI-enabled mental health tools.
Key Takeaways:
- Rethinking “Treatment as Usual” (TAU): Discover why “treatment as usual” (TAU) needs to be re-evaluated as a control condition in digital mental health trials, as the session questions whether it accurately reflects how people seek help online.
- Exploring Realistic Control Alternatives: Learn how popular online content, such as YouTube videos, infographics, and articles, can serve as more realistic and ecologically valid alternatives for TAU controls.
- Evolving TAU for the Age of AI: Understand why TAU conditions must evolve alongside the rapid development and rise of AI-enabled mental health tools.
The webinar will be held on May 29, 2026, at 12 PM EST. To register, please use this link:
Speaker:
Dr Benjamin Kaveladze
Dr Benjamin Kaveladze is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Dartmouth’s Center for Technology and Behavioral Health. He is interested in making digital mental health resources more effective, appealing, and scalable. His current work centers on developing and evaluating AI-enabled mental health interventions.
Read Dr Kaveladze related work here.
Moderator:
John Torous, MD, MBI; Cofounder, Society of Digital Psychiatry
Dr Torous is the director of the Digital Psychiatry division in the Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, an affiliated teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, where he also serves as a staff psychiatrist and member of the academic faculty. He has a background in electrical engineering and computer sciences; he earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, before pursuing medical school at the University of California, San Diego. Dr Torous completed his psychiatry residency, fellowship in clinical informatics, and master’s degree in biomedical informatics at Harvard. He actively investigates the potential of mobile mental health technologies for psychiatry and has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and 5 book chapters on the subject. Dr Torous serves as the editor-in-chief of JMIR Mental Health.