Digital technology and AI in children’s mental health
At the King's Maudsley Partnership, we are using digital technology and AI to transform how we understand, prevent, and treat mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions in children and young people - from analytics tools that predict how and when a condition might develop, to wellbeing apps, all co-designed with young people themselves.
The challenge
The scale of the challenge of mental health conditions is daunting and our usual approaches cannot cope. Digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI) offer an opportunity to meet that challenge. These tools can help us work smarter, supporting quicker, more accurate clinical decisions. And we want to make treatment more personalised and effective.
The King’s Maudsley Partnership does groundbreaking work. We develop digital tools to predict and prevent mental health issues in children and young people and create better and more effective treatments.
Like children, young people and families, we are also aware of the potential downsides of AI. We study the impact of the use of AI on developing skills in thinking and the brain.
Our approach
We organise our work in digital technology and AI into three related areas. Each one addresses a different aspect of the challenge. Together, they create a complete programme that covers discovery, innovation, and real-world impact.
The Pears Maudsley Centre helps speed up our work. It brings clinicians, researchers, engineers, informaticians, and designers together in one place. This way, new tools can go from idea to clinical use more quickly than ever.
Our work in digital technology and AI
Digital innovation
We develop tools and platforms underpinned by new technologies, such as AI, apps and virtual reality, that can support quicker and more informed clinical decision making, and provide better, more personalised treatment for children and young people.
AI in research
We are using AI to unlock new insights from complex data - helping us predict how mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions develop, personalise treatment, and identify children who need support earlier.
The impact of technology on children and young people
We are working to understand how the digital world - including social media, smartphones, and screen time - affects children and young people's mental health, wellbeing, and development.