AI and Psychosis: What We Know, What We Don't, and What to Watch For

John Torous, MD, MBI

This session reviews the current evidence base on large language models and generative AI in the care of people with psychosis, including bias in AI systems, emerging reports of LLM-associated psychotic phenomena, and frameworks for evaluating AI safety in mental health contexts.

Learning objectives:
1. Critically appraise the evidence on AI in psychosis care, including LLM bias against schizophrenia and the emerging literature on what has been called "AI psychosis
2. Apply a functional typology for understanding LLM-associated psychotic phenomena: when AI acts as catalyst, amplifier, coauthor, or object of delusion.

For similar webinars, please visit the Society for Digital Psychiatry.

John Torous, MD, MBI, is director of the digital psychiatry division in the Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), a Harvard Medical School-affiliated teaching hospital, where he also serves as a staff psychiatrist and associate professor.  He has a background in electrical engineering and computer sciences and received an undergraduate degree in the field from UC Berkeley before attending medical school at UC San Diego. He completed his psychiatry residency, fellowship in clinical informatics, and master's degree in biomedical informatics at Harvard. Dr. Torous is active in investigating the potential of mobile mental health and AI technologies for psychiatry, and his team supports mindapps.org as the largest database of mental health apps, mindApps.ai for benchmarking AI chatbots,  mindLAMP technology platform for scalable digital phenotyping and interventions, and the Digital Navigator program to promote digital equity and access. Dr. Torous has published over 300 peer reviewed articles and 5 book chapters on the topic. He directs the Digital Psychiatry Clinic at BIDMC which seeks to improve access to and quality of mental health care through augmenting treatment with digital innovations. Dr. Torous serves as editor-in-chief for the journal JMIR Mental Health, web editor for JAMA Psychiatry, and a member of various American Psychiatric Association committees.

A Case of Mistaken Identity: Unmasking Non-psychiatric Causes of Psychosis

Megan Good, MD

View Slides

This presentation provides a clinical overview of non-psychiatric causes of psychosis, ranging from autoimmune encephalitis to metabolic and infectious etiologies. We will examine the critical features that distinguish secondary psychosis from primary psychiatric disorders, with a specific focus on first episode psychosis. By understanding these clinical nuances, the entire coordinated specialty care team will better identify when a client’s symptoms necessitate an urgent medical workup rather than traditional psychiatric treatment.

Megan Good, MD is the Medical Director of the ASPIRE Clinic at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She completed an Early Course Psychosis fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School and her psychiatry residency at the University of Louisville, where she served as chief resident. Her research work focuses on non-psychiatric contributors to psychotic symptoms. She is a dedicated advocate for individuals and families affected by psychotic disorders. She is also a proud Kentuckian.

Helping Young People & Families Navigate School Supports

Leslie M. Leslie, JD, and Rebecca Davis, MFA

This training will provide a review of school supports for youth and families who are navigating education during a first episode of psychosis. Attendees will learn how to support clients in understanding their legal rights, identifying and advocating for appropriate accommodations, and navigating hospitalizations or other academic disruptions.

 The Federation for Children with Special Needs (FCSN) is Massachusetts' Parent Training and Information Center (PTIC), a nationally recognized non-proft organization dedicated to empowering families, engaging diverse communities, and eliminating barriers to improve life outcomes for all children and young adults, especially those with disabilities.  FCSN works with families and youth to navigate special education processes and state systems and to connect to community organizations.  The majority of FCSN's staff are family members of or identify as individuals with disabilities. 

Leslie M. Leslie joined the Federation in 2011 and serves as Project Director for the MassPAC project,  providing technical assistance to both Special Education Parent Advisory Councils (SEPACs) and district special education administrators. Leslie is the mother of two young adult sons, both of whom attended public school on an IEP. Leslie holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Science from Tufts University and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.

 Rebecca Davis is a project officer at FCSN and a former teacher, parent advocate, and speaker with nearly two decades of experience in special education and non-profit management.  She is the mother of two young adult daughters, the youngest of whom has multiple disabilities.  Rebecca is dedicated to improving systems of support for all children with disabilities and their families.  

From First Dose to Full Effect: Mastering Clozapine Initiation, Adjustments & Interactions

Jonathan M. Meyer

This module provides a deep dive into safe and effective clozapine initiation, titration schedules, and dose adjustments. Learners will explore drug interactions that affect clozapine metabolism and how to interpret plasma levels to guide treatment decisions. Build confidence in managing complex clinical scenarios from day one of clozapine therapy.

Working with Medical Interpreters: Shifting from Standards of Practice to Intersubjectivity in the Clinical Space

Margaret Lanca
2023 Mass-STEP Conference Day 2

View Slides

Optimal Treatment of Psychotic Disorders: Clozapine, Engagement, and Community

Robert Laitmain, MD & Matcheri Keshavan, MD

Hosted by the New England MHTTC

The program describes a novel approach to engaging patients with psychosis and their families. We seek the development of true collaboration. Critical in this approach is establishing a community of individuals with a common interest that provides support for each other. The support allows the treatment team to secure the patient's trust, develop a therapeutic relationship and do the hard work of creating an optimal clozapine regimen. This session will go on to:

• Describe how we develop clozapine regimens that minimize predictable side effects and optimize benefits;

• Share our results in improving patient outcomes.