Digital Health explores how digital technologies can support and enhance psychological wellbeing, from prevention and early detection to intervention and ongoing care.
This research area spans online and remote therapies, AI- and chatbot-based interventions, digital screening and risk assessment tools, and hybrid models that combine digital and human support. We work closely with industry partners to co-develop, test, and deliver AI-powered solutions, ensuring that research findings are translated into practical, scalable, and impactful digital interventions.
What we investigate
- Designing, testing, and evaluating digital tools (apps, AI/chatbots, online platforms) for mental health support and intervention
- Examining effectiveness, usability, engagement, safety, and ethical implications of tech-mediated care
- Tailoring digital interventions for different populations (e.g., young people, older adults, diverse cultural groups)
- Exploring how digital tools can augment traditional therapies, including hybrid delivery, scalability, and sustainable implementation
Why it matters
Digital technologies offer opportunities to reach people who face barriers to traditional services, while also improving access, personalization, and efficiency in mental health care. As demand from service users, clinicians, and industry continues to grow, rigorous research is essential to ensure these tools are effective, ethical, and equitable.
Examples of research and collaboration
- Benchmarking AI in Mental Health
This project is developing a benchmark framework to evaluate the safety, effectiveness, and ethical standards of AI systems used in mental health support. By bringing together clinicians, people with lived experience, and technical experts, the project aims to translate therapeutic competencies into practical assessment tools. The resulting framework will provide guidance for industry, regulators, and service providers, helping to ensure AI-driven interventions are held to the same standards as human practitioners and deployed in ways that are equitable, safe, and trustworthy.
- AI Avatars for Workplace Wellbeing
This project examines the use of AI avatar-led programmes to support employee mental health and reduce barriers to accessing care. Delivered in partnership with an industry provider, the intervention combines structured evidence-based approaches with interactive digital delivery. The research focuses on evaluating the effectiveness, usability, engagement, and ethical considerations of avatar-based support, with the goal of generating evidence to inform scalable workplace wellbeing solutions.
- AI Chatbots for Emotional Support
This project investigates whether a generative AI chatbot can provide meaningful one-off emotional support to individuals experiencing depression and anxiety. Building on earlier work with a relationship-support chatbot, the research explores how advanced conversational AI can offer empathic, accessible, and immediate support to those who face barriers to traditional therapy. The study will also assess the role of risk-monitoring features to ensure safety and ethical standards in digital mental health care.
- AI as Research Interviewer
This project explores the potential of AI to conduct qualitative research interviews on sensitive topics such as mental health and relationships. Using a chatbot adapted to follow structured interview guides, the research compares AI-led interviews with human-led and unmoderated approaches. The focus is on participant comfort, trust, data quality, and ethical implications, with the aim of understanding whether AI interviewers can provide a scalable, cost-effective, and less judgmental alternative in large-scale social and health research.
- AI Chatbots for Relationship Support
This project evaluates human-like conversational agents as a scalable form of relationship support. It examines safety (including risk detection and escalation), personalization (e.g., adapting interaction style), and comparative effectiveness versus traditional human-delivered support. Outcomes of interest include relationship wellbeing, engagement, user experience, and ethical acceptability, with the goal of identifying when and how AI-mediated coaching can complement existing services while maintaining high standards of care.
- Digital Literacy and Inclusive Access
This project addresses the digital divide in mental health technologies by investigating how digital literacy, device access, and confidence shape engagement and outcomes across diverse groups (e.g., older adults and other underserved populations). Using co-design, plain-language interfaces, and targeted onboarding supports, it develops and tests practical strategies to improve uptake, safety, and equity of digital interventions. The work integrates an explicit equity lens and draws on insights from studies involving older adults and cross-institutional collaborations.
Main contact
- Dr Laura Vowels, Lecturer in Digital Health
Staff
- Prof Cecilia Essau, Professor
- Dr Kaz Brandt, Associate Professor
- Dr Angela Loulopoulou, Associate Professor
- Dr Paul Dickerson, Associate Professor
- Dr Christophe Clesse, Senior Lecturer
- Dr Staci Weiss, Lecturer
Research Students
- Zainab Alshamali, PhD Student
- Shivali Sharma, PhD Student (incoming, January 2026)
- Pegah Zeinoddin, SENSS PhD Student (incoming, April 2026)
Key Publications
Vowels, L. M. & Marcantonio, T. (2025). Exploring how large language models understand sexual communication in hypothetical sexual situations. The Journal of Sex Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2025.2547814
Vowels, L. M., Vowels, M. J., Sweeney, S. K., Hatch, S. G., & Darwiche, J. (2025). The efficacy, feasibility, and technical outcomes of a GPT-4o-based chatbot Amanda for relationship support: A randomized controlled trial. PLoS Mental Health, 2(9), e0000411. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000411
Vowels, L. M., Francois-Walcott, R. R. R., Granjean, M., Darwiche, J., & Vowels, M. J. (2025). Navigating relationships with GenAI chatbots: User attitudes, acceptability, and potential. Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, 5, 100183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbah.2025.100183
Vowels, L. M., Sweeney, S. K., & Vowels, M. J. (2025). Evaluating the efficacy of Amanda: A voice-based large language model chatbot for relationship challenges. Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, 4, 100141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbah.2025.100141
Hatch, G., Goodman, Z. T., Vowels, L. M., Hatch, H. D., Brown, A. L., Guttman, S., Le, Y., Bailey, B., Bailey, R., Cheavens, J., Esplin, C., Harris, S., Holt, P., Malik, N., McLaughlin, M., O’Connell, P., Rothman, K., Ritchie, L., Strunk, D., Top, D. N., & Braithwaite, S. (2025). When AI meets couple therapy: A Turing test for the heart and mind. Plos One Mental Health, 2(2), e0000145. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000145
Döring, N. Thuy-Dung, L., Vowels, L. M., Vowels, M. J., & Marcantonio, T. (2025). The impact of artificial intelligence on human sexuality: A five-year literature review 2020-2024. Current Sexual Health Reports, 17, 1-39. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11930-024-00397-y
Vowels, L. M., Francois-Walcott, R. R. R., & Darwiche, J. (2024). AI in relationship counselling: Evaluating ChatGPT’s therapeutic efficacy in providing relationship advice. Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, 2(2), 100078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbah.2024.100078
Vowels, L. M. (2024). Are chatbots the new relationship experts? Insights from three studies. Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, 2(2), 100077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbah.2024.100077
Weiss, S. M., Taylor, J. & Marshall, P. J. (2025). “ChatGPT, how are you feeling today?” Mind perception, AI chat agents, and uncanniness. Interaction Studies, 28(5), 433-449.
Taylor, J., Weiss, S. M., & Marshall, P. J. (2020). “Alexa, how are you feeling today?” Mind perception, smart speakers, and uncanniness. Interaction Studies, 21(3), 329-352.