The laboratory of psychotherapy and neuroscience research conducts scientific studies based on the Research & Development (R&D) principle. The research questions are directly related to specific problems in medical and psychotherapeutic practice. Research results are used to develop methods and innovative tools to be fed back into clinical applications.
Research Cluster Depression
The Depression Research Cluster was established at the IAPNs Research Laboratory in 2022. In the five-year, externally funded program, several sub-studies will be conducted in two corresponding areas, the Psychotherapy Science Arm and the Neurobiology Arm.
Phase I
To date, a partial study on the diagnosis and classification of depression, as well as a second one on the current state of theoretical modeling and treatment dimensions of the three influential therapeutic methods (analytic/deep psychological, cognitive behavioristic, and systemic psychotherapy) have been largely completed. The aim of the literature study is to identify theoretical and methodological correspondences, discrepancies, and antinomies and to discuss cross-procedural approaches on this basis. The third sub-study serves to bring together the previous findings with the interest of identifying depression as a differentiated spectrum disorder for which novel, cross-procedural, neurobiologically informed treatment methods need to be developed in some areas.
Phase II
For the neurobiological research arm, we are preparing a study on the status of neurobiological hypothesis generation on the development and course of depression. In one sub-study, the focus is particularly on the epigenetic effects of environmental influences in the context of depressive disorders. A second sub-study will focus on the state of neuropeptide research in animal models and in humans with regard to the development and treatment of depressive disorders.
Phase III
Clinical development and testing of highly individualized treatment approaches for a selected disorder from the depression spectrum using hybrid, neurophysiologically supported therapy methods. In a second step, the development of AGI-supported digital devices for monitoring and interventional support of the disease and recovery process is planned. Phase III is carried out in cooperation with clinical institutions and psychotherapists in private practice. It will extend beyond the current five-year period.
Cultural analysis research cluster: China project
The Academy has been working on the research field of China for many years. A few questions have been developed for this purpose. A number of these were developed during and in connection with Professor Wolf’s numerous visits to China as part of the training of psychotherapists and other cultural and scientific exchanges with China.
Parts of these works and results were published in 2023. Professor Wolf published them under the title “China’s Renaissance. On the art of staying the same and changing rapidly” published by Amazon kindle ebook and in German by LIT- Verlag/Münster -Germany. Please refer to this publication and its table of contents for the individual sub-topics.
In addition to the substantive issues, we were particularly interested in the socio-psychological aspect. As is generally known and as is also the subject of this book, China continues to be a projection surface for various ideas and prejudices that people in this country have about China. As a result, there are three directions of academic and journalistic literature on China: one that is more culturally analytical and understanding (mostly sinologists), one that is very critical of China and tends to be polemical (mostly journalists and politicians) and one that is or wants to be in the middle, so to speak, that is understanding and also critical.
Of great interest to our research is, of course, which ideas about China and its development the first and third positions are projectively focusing and which mechanisms and patterns are at work. The belonging literature on perception, communication, the formation of prejudices, wrong and right thinking etc. is largely known and has already been received and will be compiled in a corresponding project proposal.
Here, we would like to give some examples of the special features of the image of China, or rather of images of China. In doing so, we will try to use terminology that is as neutral as possible, for example to speak of critics where in more recent German polemics there is quickly talk of deniers, phobics or haters. Such expressions, which are obviously laden with negative affects, are of course themselves part of a massive prejudice structure.
1
The role of the Chinese Communist Party is usually insufficiently analyzed. This applies to its history and its resulting and repeatedly redefined functions for the entire Chinese system in the present, i.e. politics, state, economy and society, culture, etc. This applies to its connection to the entire history of China. This applies to the connection to the entire history of the Chinese empire (ruling elites, mandarinate) and the development in the 20th century through wars and civil wars, as well as to the connections between the theory and practice of the Chinese Communist Party and the totalitarian communist traditions as they existed in the 20th century in other countries, especially the Soviet Union, but also in Western and Southern Europe and other regions of the world in terms of mindset and ideas. However, this also applies not least to the function of the Chinese Communist Party as a medium for negotiating conflicts over interests and different positions in the various provinces and autonomous regions – a whole world of its own that is larger than the EU and the USA put together.
2
The development of the economy and its dynamics is usually presented inadequately and only one-sidedly. So-called problem groups such as migrant workers or the Uyghurs or other ethnic minorities are often placed in the foreground and their fates lamented without adequate relativization to the overall development. This applies to the actual population figures and the relationships between the various groups (for example in Tibet or Xinjiang) and their economic development and social position, as well as the political conflicts, dangers and threats from religious fundamentalist terrorists and more.
3
This also applies to the so far only partial and experimental introduction of the so-called social points system, which is prematurely interpreted as a totalitarian surveillance instrument – contrary to the belief of a large number of Chinese themselves.
4
On the other hand, there are enthusiastic and inspiring reports about developments in the high-tech sector, for example those about this development in Shenzhen and the surrounding Bay Area, which perhaps tend to neglect critical aspects, for example with regard to working and production conditions.
The type and extent of projective tendencies and mechanisms are determined by thought patterns and affects. The planned research work to analyze the corresponding structures of prejudices should focus precisely on this, namely which cognitive distortions take place and how are these linked to one-sided affect? Which political and economic interests play a role in the background must of course also be taken into account, as social psychology is not naive.
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Psychotherapy
Innovation and disruption in all areas of life brought about by artificial intelligence won’t stop at psychotherapy. Projections assume that in this decade, at least 50% to 70% of personal psychotherapies will be taken over by chatbots capable of deep learning and communicating emotional content with empathy, based on comprehensive therapeutic information. These developments are the background for a study on the expansion, functionality, and development of AI chatbot psychotherapies.
1. Comparative study on the growth rates of therapy apps and therapy chatbots in Germany and the USA.
2. Analysis of the functionality of simple health apps compared to advanced AI chatbots based on deep learning artificial general intelligence.
3. Benefit-risk analysis of AI chatbots compared to traditional personal Psychotherapy.
Start of study: October 2023
Duration 30 months
Research Cluster Human Robots in Public Health
The Humanoid Robots project was started in 2021.
In a first section, the discussion on the evaluation of the use of HRs in general and in particular in the area of support, supply and care in the healthcare sector was received. It moves on very different levels. We are familiar with reports on studies, research projects, but also one-sided statements and comments. In addition, we have received expert opinions from competent experts from cooperating research institutions.
The subsequent evaluation of the IAPN came to the conclusion that, at any rate, supplementary and supporting activities of the robots are unproblematic and ethically justifiable. With increasing autonomy, ethical questions arise for the programs and algorithms, as in the case of autonomous cars, which still need to be clarified.
First of all, this relates to the labor force argument. Everywhere in Germany, especially in the field of nursing, there is a massive shortage of workers. Robots would therefore not replace them, but at least compensate for a massive shortage to some extent. With regard to the people to be cared for and looked after, skeptical voices can also be heard. However, there is predominantly acceptance, as has already been shown by active examples (Paro the seal, Nao the play robot, Pepper the communication robot). At this stage of the project, the different functions of HRs were analyzed and differentiated.
For this area of application, the academy has compiled a catalog of tasks, a kind of specification sheet, which lists the required services of such a robot from the perspective of possible customers, i.e. operators of the relevant facilities. This list is based on the activities of daily living that are considered standard in the care sector.
At the same time, the Academy has compiled information on all humanoid robots that have been developed and are being developed in recent years. This starts in the 2000s, especially in Japan and the USA, and continues with enormous progress up to the current present. In the meantime, such robots are also being developed in China, Hong Kong, India, and not least in Germany.
Great progress has been made in two respects.
On the one hand, with regard to the pragmatic performance of robots in terms of sensors, sensitivity, mobility, handling and dealing with things and people. This is currently being massively increased by the growing use of artificial intelligence.
On the other hand, with regard to their receptive and effective communicative abilities. The latest developments of communication of humans with machines by means of artificial intelligence, exemplified by ChatGPT, are impressive. Without a doubt, such communication can enable machines to understand and carry out differentiated tasks and instructions and, in turn, to communicate with humans in a reactive/active manner in an inquiring or also proactively prompting manner.
By way of example, we will name the models that we consider to be the most advanced. These are Ameca, Erica, Sophia, Atlas, Jia JiaApollo/Vakyrie, Jubot, Garmi, Apollo and Optimus.
Humanoid robots will not act as individual figures in an otherwise unchanged environment. This will also be possible, but it does not exploit the potentials that exist in interaction with a digitized environment. Thus, it is easy to imagine that routines will be programmed, that individual orders will be given via digital commands, that monitoring of successful work will occur automatically and will be additionally monitored at a control center, that possible error messages will be forwarded directly to an intervention center, and more. Equally appropriate is the embedding in a suitable structural milieu that can make optimal use of the HRs’ work.
In this context, the advantages compared to human workers were updated and compiled based on the current state of development. This seemed sensible and appropriate because the media debates predominantly accentuate the risks of using these robots and much less the advantages. These advantages of humanoid robots are:
- They can be set up for any known language and do not need to learn it first
- they are not subject to mood swings, are not bad-tempered, spiteful, inattentive, exhausted or ill
- In principle, they can work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, i.e. 168 hours a week, four times the work of a human worker.
- they do not need vacation and have no absenteeism due to sick leave, which combined averages about two out of every twelve months per year
- the “resilience” and endurance of HRs also brings economic benefits compared to human staff, depending on the cost of acquisition and operation.
- all their competencies and operability, their shape, design, feel, smell, and all their graces can be designed and modified according to need and desire, and according to milieu-specific and culture-specific acceptance
- they are not infectious and do not transmit diseases
In the meantime, there are first facilities that are using humanoid robots for care and communication on a trial basis. For the time being, we have limited ourselves to the relevant experiences in Germany and have also compiled a list of these avant-garde projects. The academy wants to get in contact with these institutions to evaluate their experiences and to supplement or modify the task catalogs, and then to carry out more targeted testing of the most advanced robots for their suitability.