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This episode of What Makes Up Your Mind continues our mini-series on AI4MH, Stanford Psychiatry’s Special Initiative of the Chair, AI for Mental Health. This time, we delve into the newest frontiers of Human-Centered AI, Computer Vision Tools, Passive Sensing. Along with the meticulous training and testing of specialized Large Language Models for better and faster diagnoses of mental illnesses, our guest expert is also utilizing AI technology for catching the earliest, often undetected signs of cognitive decline with human trials already underway. Dr. Ehsan Adeli is a Stanford Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and, by courtesy, of Computer Science and of Biomedical Data Science. He co-directs the AI4MH Initiative, Directs the Stanford Translational Artificial Intelligence (STAI) in Medicine and Mental Health Lab, and shares leadership of Stanford’s AGILE Consortium which stands for Advancing Technology for Frailty and Longevity. Follow the links for more on Dr. Adeli and his work, including developing information on a public symposium focused on policies and ethics of using Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health Medicine. And, listen to our other episodes in our AI4MH mini-series. About Dr. Ehsan Adeli: https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/ehsan-adeli and https://stanford.edu/~eadeli/AI4MH: https://med.stanford.edu/content/sm/psychiatry/special-initiatives/ai4mh.html/Stanford Translational AI Lab: https://stai.stanford.edu/Stanford AGILE Consortium: https://med.stanford.edu/ortho-agile.html2026 AI4MH Symposium - Foundations, Frontiers, and the Real World: Shaping AI’s role in mental health: https://med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/special-initiatives/ai4mh/events/symposium2026.html

This mini-series episode of What Makes Up Your Mind looks at another aspect of AI for Mental Health (AI4MH), a Special Initiative of the Chair of Stanford’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Our guest, Dr. Shannon Wiltsey Stirman, is developing ways to utilize Large Language Models (LLMs) to enhance the delivery and availability of the latest mental health treatments for PTSD. As a professor of psychiatry with many years working with the veteran community, Dr. Wiltsey Stirman knows well how the shortage of therapists, and their over-extended bandwidth, limits their access to training and administering the newest in ever-evolving, evidence-based medical care. As co-Director of CREATE – Stanford’s Center for Responsible and Effective AI Technology Enhancement of treatment for PTSD, Dr. Wiltsey Stirman’s work is utilizing this powerful technology to close the research-to-provider-to-patient treatment gap. This is AI as a human-assist for therapists, not a replacement, and our discussion includes what current commercial chatbots can and cannot offer patients. Dr. Wiltsey Stirman is also co-Lead of the Stanford Mental Health Technology and Innovation Hub. More Information About Dr. Shannon Wiltsey Stirman: https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/shannon-wiltsey-stirmanCREATE website: CREATECREATE on LinkedinBy & About CREATE: Research and articles Monthly Webinar Series: CREATE Webinars | CREATEThe Mental Health Technology and Innovation Hub: https://thetechhub.stanford.edu/AI4MH Initiative : https://ai4mh.stanford.edu

If our home, planet earth, is in peril (and it is!), then so are we. As we experience more frequent and ferocious natural disasters, the irreversible loss of life-sustaining habitats, and a climate we’ve turned into an adversary of our very existence, an existential crisis is brewing. Along with concern for our physical security, our mental well-being is being battered in these storms…figuratively, but also quite literally. Among the most affected and concerned are young people who are contemplating their future in a profoundly precarious world. Understanding, documenting, and measuring the emotional cost of their fears and anxiety is the work of Dr. Britt Wray, an instructor in Stanford’s Dept of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and the Director of CIRCLE - Community-minded Interventions for Resilience, Climate Leadership, and Emotional Wellbeing. In this installment of What Makes Up Your Mind, Dr. Wray shares her research into the extent of the trauma of Climate Change on our youth, and her global work in empowering them with tools to manage their mental health in the face of these threats, which includes finding their own ways to take action toward solutions. Dr. Wray's Stanford Profile: https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/britt-wray CIRCLE website: https://circle.sites.stanford.edu/

In medical research, Artificial Intelligence is a game-changer with its power to collect and cross-analyze masses of data and lab findings to find new discoveries. And more, its ability to be trained to unlock answers to specific medical questions offers a quantum leap in refining diagnoses and treatments. In this episode of What Makes Up Your Mind, Dr. Kilian Pohl (professor in Stanford’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and by courtesy, in Electrical Engineering) explains the basics of creating and using AI tools for improving mental health research, including in adolescent substance use, HIV, and lifelong brain development and aging. Listen in on how Dr. Pohl sees this technology bringing better mental healthcare to the entire world. More Information Dr. Kilian Pohl: https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/kilian-pohl AI4MH Initiative : https://ai4mh.stanford.edu Computational Neuroscience Lab: https://cnslab.stanford.edu

Anyone who has grappled with substance use, or loves a person with addictive behaviors, knows the wrenching relationship struggles and the often futile-feeling search for workable help. Well, this episode of WHAT MAKES UP YOUR MIND brings you hopeful developments thanks to the research and clinical work of our guest, Dr. Karen Chan Osilla, a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the Stanford Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Click LISTEN to learn about an empathy-based program called CRAFT - Community Reinforcement Approach and Family Training. A key focus of CRAFT, and Dr. Osilla’s practice, is to support the family and friends of the person with an addiction, thereby empowering them in their own wellness and as effective advocates for their loved one to consider treatment. The positive reinforcement aspect of CRAFT teaches skills that reduce the tension and confrontation that’s so often a part of personal relationships where addiction is present. It’s the opposite of Tough Love. Science shows this approach works, and Dr. Osilla’s research in opioid abuse confirms that. Read more about Dr. Karen Osilla, and find CRAFT resources here: https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/karen-osilla

Our conversation with this nationally recognized researcher and leader in Muslim Mental Health delves into her work of creating bridges between the science of medicine and the spiritual life of patients. Specifically, blending modern psychiatric and psychological treatments with the beliefs, customs, and rituals of Islam. Dr. Awaad’s research has renewed the recognition of the Islamic tradition of holistic care of mind, body, and spirit, reaching back more than a millennium. And, while her focus is on meeting the mental health needs of the Muslim community, the approach of welcoming a patient’s belief system into a treatment plan is applicable to all faiths, philosophies, and cultural experience. For more on Dr. Awaad, her work, and additional appointments at Stanford: https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/Rania_Awaad Director of the Muslim Mental Health and Islamic Psychology Lab https://med.stanford.edu/mmhip.html , where you will find all research publications and links to Dr. Awaad’s many books Chief of centerspace Clinic, providing trauma-informed care within cross-cultural dynamics) https://med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/patient_care/centerspace.html

For neuro disorders like Autism, Attention Deficit, and Hyperactivity, causes and cures have largely remained a mystery. Yet, promising work in Stanford Psychiatry’s BRIDGE Lab is going after answers in the very nucleus of our cells, our genes, the infinitesimal carriers of information that determine the traits of all living things. Dr. Tamar Green, with help from participating families, is scanning the brains of kids with neuro conditions, mapping their genetic pathways to recognize, understand, and eventually intervene in disease-causing mutations. This intricate and microscopic research, sometimes involving more than 30-thousand genes in a single brain cell, is hoped to yield big and wide-raging benefits for treatments and, someday, cures. More Information About Dr. Tamar Green: https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/tamar-greenThe Brain Imaging, Development, and Genetics (BRIDGE) Lab: https://med.stanford.edu/bridge-lab.htmlResearch Participation: https://med.stanford.edu/bridge-lab/for-families-and-participants.htmlResearch Support: https://my.supportlpch.org/give/489426/#!/donation/checkout

In this episode in our CNI-X Mini-Series on WHAT MAKES UP YOUR MIND we meet two of the Staff Mentors who add a unique dimension to Stanford Psychiatry’s Clinical Neuroscience Immersion Experience for high school students. Throughout the two week program, these college-age mentors - usually CNI-X alums themselves - share their knowledge and experience in neuroscience, facilitate discussion, and support participants as they gain confidence in exploring new subjects. Just by their presence, they offer the students an example of where they may choose to be in just a year or two in the future as college students, perhaps on their way to a career in mental healthcare. In this mini-pod, meet Nicola Manalili, who combined her love of science and the desire to make the world a better place and is now in her third year of college studying Public Health. Joining Nicola is Abhi Anand who fell in love with psychology in high school and caught the business bug watching Shark Tank with friends. He put the two together in a recent degree in Business Psychology and Marketing. Learn more about CNI-X, the role of mentors, and how to apply at https://med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/special-initiatives/CNIX.html

The subject is Circadian Rhythms, and you’re going to be surprised at the influence this intricate interaction of body clocks exerts over our lives! The high school participants in Stanford Psychiatry’s two-week Clinical Neuroscience Immersion Experience (CNI-X) always are when they meet Dr. Jamie Zeitzer, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Division of Sleep Medicine. Dr. Zeitzer researches the mysteries of the system that drives almost every living thing on earth, and in humans impacts not just sleep, but everything from our temperature to the quality of our decision-making. As with all of the CNI-X presenters, Dr. Zeitzer’s research and discoveries make for an invaluable lesson in life and self-awareness, as well as science. For more on CNI-X, Dr. Zeitzer, and all the program presenters: https://med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/special-initiatives/CNIX

Bringing high school students into the fascinating world of Brain-Mind science is what the Stanford Psychiatry Clinical Neuroscience Immersion Experience (CNI-X) is all about. Along with the science itself, better understanding the human brain – the miraculous power of it as well as the conditions that can challenge its functioning – is information that will serve participants for a lifetime. This is the gift Stanford’s world-class researchers and clinicians offer CNI-X participants, including Dr. Odette Harris, Stanford Professor and neurosurgeon. Dr. Harris treats traumatic brain injury at all stages, from surgery through recovery. Her CNI-X presentation fosters the critical thinking needed to address the ethics of the life and death decisions that come with her work. Program participants get rare access to Dr. Harris’ unique perspective which is sure to leave a lasting impression. For more on CNI-X, Dr. Odette Harris, and all of Stanford’s expert presenters: https://med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/special-initiatives/CNIX

Teens have no greater ally in their life challenges than Dr. Rafael Pelayo, Stanford Psychiatry Clinical Professor and Sleep Medicine Specialist at the Stanford Sleep Medicine Center. An advocate of healthy sleep for all, Dr. Pelayo is especially passionate about how we - as a society - make it nearly impossible, through school schedules and achievement pressures, for kids to get the sleep they need. In his CNI-X presentation, Dr. Pelayo helps participants see the connection between healthy sleep and the very quality of their lives and relationships. In this mini-pod in our series on the Clinical Neuroscience Immersion Experience for high schoolers through the Stanford Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences you’ll hear why Dr. Pelayo is one of the unforgettable presenters in the two-week program. Go to https://med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/special-initiatives/CNIX for information on CNI-X, Dr. Rafael Pelayo, and all the program presenters.

It isn’t everyone who gets to interact and learn from world-class brain-mind scientists in a small, informal setting, but that’s the uniqueness of the Clinical Neuroscience Immersion Experience (CNI-X) for high schoolers from the Stanford Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. One of the presenters in this two-week summer program uses the newest, cutting-edge tools to treat mental illnesses. Clinical Associate Professor Dr. Kristin Raj is the Chief of Stanford’s Interventional Psychiatry. She introduces students to treatments that “intervene” in the effects of resistant conditions, such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) and delves into the thought-provoking discussion of what it means to work to “heal” but not “change” a psychiatric patient. Learn more about Dr. Kristin Raj’s work, including as Co-Chief of the Stanford Psychiatry Mood Disorder Section and as Director of Education for Interventional Psychiatry at https://med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/special-initiatives/CNIX, where you’ll also find everything you need to know about the CNI-X program.

What better way to build a mentally healthy and thriving world than to offer young people access to some of the very best researchers and care providers in mental wellbeing as they prepare to transition into adulthood?  Stanford Psychiatry’s Clinical Neuroscience Immersion Experience (CNI-X) opens the minds of highschoolers to greater self-awareness, the fascinating workings of their brains, and an opportunity to see themselves in a position to join the mission of improving mental health as career professionals. Learn more about this two-week summer immersion program, both in-person at Stanford and as a virtual experience, with CNI-X Program Manager, Dr. Laura Turner-Essel on this episode of What Makes Up Your Mind, then use the link below for application and financial assistance information for the thoughtful, curious teen in your life. https://med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/special-initiatives/CNIX

The leveling of the playing field between physical and mental health in the sports world may be underway in earnest, with an increasing number of high-profile athletes making their mental wellbeing a top priority and doing so in a very public way. In this discussion, we explore the unique pressures and expectations carried by elite competitors and the efforts of mental health providers to merge mind with body treatments for whole-person health. We also take a look in the mirror as fans to examine what drives the intensity of our adoration and criticism of our chosen athletes and teams. Our experts are from the Stanford Sports Psychiatry and Sports Psychology Program, the nation's first comprehensive mental wellbeing clinic for athletes, serving professional and Olympic athletes from around the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as Stanford's NCAA Division 1 student-athletes. From the psychiatry side of the clinic, we welcome co-founder Dr. Douglas Noordsy, Stanford Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Dr. Francesco Dandekar, Stanford Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and the Associate Director of the Stanford Sports Psychiatry and Sports Psychology Program. As Dr. Noordsy explains, "The (athletic) performance enhancement work is mostly the domain of the psychology part of the program, while psychiatry is more to maintain mental health." Offering expertise in both in a centralized place makes perfect sense to Dr. Dandekar, "all of our services occupy space on the same spectrum of wellbeing." The psychology work is led by Clinic Director Dr. Lisa Post and Dr. Kelli Moran-Miller. In all, more than ten clinicians make up what Dr. Noordsy calls a "brain trust" of care. With backgrounds in athletics, they understand the unique aspects of competing at a high level while juggling other intensive activities like academics and critical life junctures. Balancing athletic performance with the rest of life's demands is among the top challenges elite athletes face, given the time and dedication needed to excel in competitive sports. While some can be motivated by and even thrive on such pressure, anxiety and depression are also not uncommon. Nor is the fear of career-ending injury or the insecurity that can set in during a long and arduous rehabilitation. Intense scrutiny of one's physical form can lend itself to body dysmorphia and eating disorders. And, just the sheer intensity of public attention – good and bad – might be an understandably disorienting experience. Through this lens, it's easy to see the importance of whole-person wellness for competitive athletes and, given the difficulty of navigating life in general, for us all. Follow this link for the Stanford Sports Psychiatry and Sports Psychology Program, its team of experts and the full array of services: med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/patie…care/sports.html To learn more about Dr. Douglas Noordsy and his work: med.stanford.edu/profiles/douglas-noordsy For more on Dr. Francesco Dandekar and the focus of his work: med.stanford.edu/profiles/francesco-dandekar

Much attention has rightly been given to the mental health of American children and youth since the COVID-19 pandemic upended their educational and social wellbeing. However, long before the virus hit, alarms were going off over the mental health condition of our adolescents and young adults. As you’ll hear from our guest in this episode of What Makes Up Your Mind, Stanford Psychiatry Clinical Professor Dr. Steven Adelsheim, research shows that half of all mental health conditions start by age 14, three quarters by age 24, but many go undiagnosed. Further, often when a condition is identified, Dr. Adelsheim explains there aren't enough qualified caregivers to meet the need, nor a cohesive system for early intervention and prevention. National data shows the onset of anxiety or depression can be as early as ages nine or ten. Comparing this statistic to when treatment is accessed - if it is - most kids are going seven to eight years before receiving care. Young people with obvious psychotic illnesses, meaning a loss of touch with reality, go an average of a year and a half before treatment. One in 5 under the age of 18 may be dealing with a serious mental health condition, and of those, up to 80% may be going without care altogether. It's estimated that only one-third of young kids with major depression have been able to access treatment. There is, however, a movement to address this with a proven record of success in countries like Australia, Canada, and Ireland. It's now debuting in the U.S., thanks to Dr. Adelsheim and the Stanford Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing, which he Directs. After years of planning and collaboration, two newly created spaces specifically created and staffed to meet the needs of our youth have opened in Santa Clara County, California….in San Jose and Palo Alto. The name of these new centers is allcove. A cove or safe harbor for all, where every young person can find refuge and support. The name, like the services, staffing structure, and even the physical characteristics of these new brick and mortar centers, was designed not only for youth but with and by them, as well. The plan is for these centers of holistic caring for those age 12 to 25 to multiply across the country, creating a network of integrated youth health centers for mental and physical health care, educational and employment support, substance use treatment, along with peer and family support. This link will take you to the Stanford Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing, working to lay the groundwork for a more inclusive and robust system of youth mental health care and prevention: med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/speci…thwellbeing.html Click here med.stanford.edu/profiles/steven-adelsheim to learn more about Dr. Steven Adelsheim and his work as a youth and adult psychiatrist, and his focus on supporting community and government partnerships in behavioral health, particularly systems for early detection and prevention in pediatric care and school settings. You’ll also find information on his role as the Associate Chair of Community Engagement for the Stanford Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.