The Synergy of Clinical Psychology and Affective Computing: Advancements in Emotion Recognition and Therapy

Affective computing is a rapidly developing technique of employing artificial intelligence to detect, analyze, and predict human emotions and clinical psychology is a specialized branch of psychology that deals with, but is not limited to diagnosis and intervention of mental disorders and also focus on causes that lead to development of these disorders. Emotions and lack of ability to understand among both the individuals experiencing them as well family, friends, and society they live in are a leading cause of most disorders. Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming an integral part of all aspects of life right from shopping to travel bookings to dating as well as there is a growing trend of dependency on AI (artificial intelligence) for emotional support as well as counseling and therapeutic interventions through online mode. Leading body of research suggests that successful marriage of technology and psychology can prove very beneficial for providing and identifying emotions that trigger mental disorders and be useful in providing required intervention and treatment keeping into account the principles and guidelines as per DSM-V and ICD-11. We propose a study of synergizing affective computing with principles and applications of theories of clinical psychology like psychodynamic, cognitive, humanistic, and existential to augment recognition of emotions with the help of techniques like emotion recognition, measurement using physiological signals, voice and speech analysis as well as voice and sentiment mining to identify disorders and to offer assistance in providing therapy and interventions. Applications of theories of clinical psychology through machines will improve human-machine interaction and will be useful in offering mental health services to a larger section of society which is otherwise not available or is scarcely available due to paucity of availability of mental health professionals like psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, and trained social workers as well as stigma attached to it. The researchers also draw attention towards challenges while using affective computing. Although affective computing can prove extremely beneficial, it is necessary to follow ethical framework of therapy and legal obligations of the law of the land where it is practiced along with social and cultural perspectives on emotions to ensure maximum advantages to vulnerable sections of society requiring it.