European expert network launched to steer AI use in mental health care

During the ECNP congress in Munich, Paris Alexandros Lalousis of King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience introduced the first European working group dedicated to artificial intelligence in mental health. The network, now counting 19 experts from leading European institutions, was created by the ECNP to unify discovery, prediction, evaluation and governance of psychiatric AI on a single platform.

Its tasks include drafting a risk-benefit framework, issuing policy recommendations, and establishing interoperable data systems that protect patient privacy while enabling predictive treatment models. Co-chair Tim Hahn of the University of Münster presented a three-year agenda and called on scientists, regardless of their stance on AI, to collaborate. Members bring diverse expertise, from basic machine-learning drug discovery to patient-focused chatbot assessment, aiming to map current activities and guide safe clinical deployment. ECNP leadership stressed that AI will transform patient interactions and must be continuously supervised for fairness and real-world safety.