Robot-first approach to AI-powered mental health care in Russia

Robot-first approach in healthcare

An executive from the development team, Dmitry Domarev, explained to socialbites.ca that SberZdorovye, Russia’s health service that helps people find and choose doctors, has started testing a remote psychological support system guided by new algorithms. The initiative builds on a platform already used for remote patient monitoring across various illnesses.

“For roughly two years, remote monitoring projects have been rolled out in more than 40 regions of Russia. Some areas that already host a monitoring platform are now piloting this new service to improve the emotional well-being of employees and citizens,” noted the spokesperson for socialbites.ca.

At present, the service is not open to mass consumers. Instead, organizations and government agencies can place orders for it.

Under the program, clients must supply SberHealth with the list of individuals who should receive psychological monitoring—such as expectant mothers or employees prone to burnout. The client covers the cost of psychologist consultations, making the end user free. In some cases, several sessions with an expert may be arranged.

Domarev described a system in which a robot initiates contact with a person and asks questions about their psychological state, including whether there are thoughts of self-harm.

“The robot uses an internationally approved questionnaire and runs it through to the user. The test asks about feelings of depression, overall well-being, and the motivation to act. The robot analyzes responses and forwards them to a specialist who can determine conditions such as anxiety or other extremes. This process helps pinpoint emotional hotspots,” Domarev explained.

The core questionnaire starts with three questions, but the robot can request additional queries if more information is needed.

After collecting the responses, the robot assesses the person’s psycho-emotional state. The data then goes to a clinician for a re-check to confirm whether intervention is necessary and to schedule a remote consultation.

SberHealth expects that within months the psychological monitoring system will be enhanced with AI-driven tools that review the dialogue between the robot and the patient.

“There are wide possibilities for applying artificial intelligence in healthcare,” Domarev stated. “Our aim is for AI to analyze the patient’s voice, including tone, potential use of profanity, speech volume, and other signals. Depending on how a patient communicates emotionally, the neural network can provide additional context to the doctor or psychologist involved with the patient.”

Artificial intelligence as a potential substitute for the psychologist

Olya, founder of AIBY, a health technology company focused on mental health and telemedicine, emphasized that psychology and mental health are among the key areas where AI has recently made strides. Osokin, in an interview with socialbites.ca, echoed this view.

“AI can assist practitioners before, during, or after sessions, which is the direction this program aims to take. Automating data capture, recordkeeping, and follow-up actions saves valuable time for clinicians,” Osokina noted.

According to him, AI could offer more targeted interactions for those who need help most and when it is most urgent.

“It is worth noting that not all specialists welcome these innovations. Some are up to date and see the value of technology in medicine, while others believe that only humans can truly understand a person.”

A representative of Gazeta.ru also pointed out concerns: machines may provide standard answers, while human clinicians can differentiate based on a patient’s psychotype and context.

Anastasia Afanasyeva, clinical director at Alter, a platform connecting people with therapists and psychologists, questions the program’s likelihood of success. She cautions that while increasing access to psychological help matters, the field of psychology and psychiatry remains narrow. Relying solely on answers without assessing appearance, expressions, and situational context can lead to errors. She suggests that social stress levels depend on broader factors such as illness prevalence, unemployment, social stability, and other events, which AI cannot fully resolve.

Afanasyeva also notes that some patients may withhold essential details from the robot, making the gathered information less reliable.

Nevertheless, developers are currently limiting the robot’s role to the initial screening stage and plan to transition patients to human psychologists as needed. SberHealth believes that this approach could become a benchmark for future AI-assisted psychological care.