Multidisciplinary research priorities for artificial intelligence in mental health: a call to action
A Position Paper by 20 authors across Australia, the UK, the Netherlands, Brazil, Germany, China, Sweden, Czechia and the United States setting out a coordinated roadmap for the responsible evaluation and implementation of AI in mental health. It argues that rapid research growth has outpaced coordinated frameworks, leaving efforts fragmented, standards inconsistent and safeguards for safety and ethics largely absent, and organises near-term actions and longer-term goals under four priority domains.
Publisher
The Lancet Psychiatry (Elsevier)
Published
9 Jul 2026
Added
today
Key Findings
- Domain 1 (Strengthen safety and evidence standards) addresses deficits in clinical evidence and safety oversight, emphasising the need for robust comparative trials, standardised safety testing, and adaptive regulatory frameworks
- Domain 2 (Centre ethics, equity, and patient voices) calls for transparent reporting, integration of patient perspectives throughout the AI lifecycle, representative datasets and equitable governance structures
- Domain 3 (Evolve the role of the clinician) addresses defining core competencies, clarifying clinical oversight and accountability, and trialling new workforce models
- Domain 4 (Facilitate sustainable implementation and systems integration) targets interoperability with clinical infrastructure and sustainable financing and implementation pathways
Methodology Notes
Lancet Psychiatry 2026;13(9):792-803, published online 2026-07-09 (Epub date in the PubMed record, PMID 42425118; OpenAlex publication_date agrees), September 2026 issue. A Position Paper (expert consensus roadmap), not an empirical study; peer-reviewed in the journal. Author affiliations from the PubMed record include Deakin University, University of Manchester, Amsterdam UMC, Black Dog Institute (UNSW), UNIFESP, Goethe University Frankfurt / European Alliance against Depression, UCL, Central Institute of Mental Health Heidelberg, Beijing Anding Hospital, Uppsala University and Beth Israel Deaconess / Harvard Medical School. Lancet and ScienceDirect block automated fetchers from this workspace; verified via the PubMed record (full author list, affiliations and abstract) and the OpenAlex-deposited abstract. Full text not read.
Authors
Jake Linardon, Joseph Firth, Andre F. Carvalho, Claudi L. Bockting, Helen Christensen, Luiz Henrique Junqueira Dieckmann, Scott Griffiths, Sunil Gupta, Ulrich Hegerl, Kezhi Li, Claudia Liu, Michael Maes, Wolfgang Marx, Mariel Messer, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Ives C. Passos, Petr Winkler, Xiangyang Zhang, Charlotte Blease, John Torous
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Cite This
APA
Jake Linardon et al. (2026). Multidisciplinary research priorities for artificial intelligence in mental health: a call to action. The Lancet Psychiatry (Elsevier). https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(26)00127-6
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