Bridging the Treatment Gap with AI-Enhanced Supervision (BRIDGE-AI)

BRIDGE-AI aims to strengthen the quality and scalability of evidence-based psychological treatments in low-resource settings by designing and evaluating an AI-enabled supervision feedback tool for non-specialist counselors in India. Leveraging the CARE platform (an existing, validated AI-powered feedback tool) and over 4,000 Behavioral Activation therapy sessions delivered in Hindi by non-specialists, the study will: (1) Develop the BRIDGE-AI tool to identify key therapeutic techniques and generate timely, culturally-grounded feedback that helps counselors strengthen their practice and supervisors prioritize cases needing additional support; (2) Evaluate the tool’s acceptability, feasibility, and impact on counselor performance and patient outcomes through a pilot trial; and (3) Co-develop an ethical, participatory framework to ensure safe, transparent, and equitable integration into supervision systems. BRIDGE-AI integrates expertise in AI, ethics, lived experience, psychological science, quality-assured supervision, and global mental health to strengthen task-shared care in primary care settings in the Global South. The project combines participatory design with technical innovation to ensure the tool reflects local realities, strengthens therapy-quality measurement, and generates evidence on how AI can safely and effectively collaborate with non-specialist counselors and supervisors. Together, these efforts will lay the groundwork for scalable, trustworthy, and ethically governed quality-assurance systems in global mental health care.