How A Machine Learned To Spot Depression

[bananas]

http://www.capradio.org/news/npr/story?storyid=407978049

How A Machine Learned To Spot Depression
By Stacey Vanek Smith | NPR
Thursday, May 21, 2015

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I'm in a booth with a computer program called Ellie. She's on a screen in front of me.

Ellie was designed to diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, and when I get into the booth she starts asking me questions — about my family, my feelings, my biggest regrets.

Emotions seem really messy and hard for a machine to understand. But Skip Rizzo, a psychologist who helped design Ellie, thought otherwise.

When I answer Ellie's questions, she listens. But she doesn't process the words I'm saying. She analyzes my tone. A camera tracks every detail of my facial expressions.

<snip>

[newthinking]

1. If a Soldier is *not* depressed after having experienced war.... Is that a healthy individual?

It is a good thing to find better tools to diagnose depression and PTS, but I have to wonder..... the purpouse is to root out and resolve depression, but not what made them depressed? There are many factors that can cause depression. But some can be situational. So is it actually "healing" them to get them to not be depressed but yet remain in the unhealthy lifestyle that their body is reacting (naturally) to?

The same thing in society. Nobody seems to be asking why depression has been growing in our society. They assume that the answer is to help people to feel better, but if it is the structure of a society that is causing much of the depression, then are we not kind of missing the point?

[MADem]

2. Well, not all treatments consist of "Take this pill and get back to work."

In cases like PTSD, cognitive behavioral therapy can be useful in addition to other modalities that involve interface with the individual.

The goal is resolution and processing of the emotions, not covering up/kicking over the traces.

Here:

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/treatment/therapy-med/treatment-ptsd.asp