COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH IN THE AGE OF GENERATIVE AI: RETHINKING PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT, ACCESSIBILITY, AND ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY

Abstract

Community mental health is increasingly shaped by digital transformation, and the emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) presents both new possibilities and complex challenges for psychological well-being. GenAI can potentially expand access to mental health information, psycho education, and self-reflection, particularly for individuals facing geographical, financial, or social barriers to conventional services. However, its integration into community mental health also raises concerns regarding privacy, misinformation, algorithmic bias, emotional dependency, digital exclusion, crisis management, and accountability. This conceptual chapter critically examines the evolving role of GenAI in community mental health, arguing that it should complement rather than replace human-centred psychological support. Drawing on World Health Organization guidance and recent literature on conversational AI in healthcare, it proposes a six-principle framework which include accessibility, augmentation, safety, transparency, human connection, and accountability and positioning GenAI as a supportive component of, rather than a substitute for, broader community mental health ecosystems and the human relationships at their core.