As the primary choice for treating insomnia, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is recommended. However, the availability of therapists trained in CBT-I is limited worldwide, and particularly in Japan, patients often face challenges in accessing CBT-I even when they express a desire for it.
We are currently investigating the effectiveness and feasibility of providing CBT-I remotely to address this issue. This involves connecting medical institutions with trained therapists offering CBT-I via teleconferencing, allowing patients to attend sleep clinics remotely. Additionally, we aim to elucidate the mechanisms of CBT-I by capturing factors such as gaze, facial expressions, voice, and physiological indicators during therapy sessions.

Providing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) remotely through teleconferencing systems or telephone is a crucial study to enhance access to CBT-I, especially considering the challenges faced by those who may find digital technology daunting.
In this research, we target insomnia patients who have consulted their primary care physicians, where in-person CBT-I was difficult. Patients can choose between CBT-I via teleconferencing or CBT-I via telephone, based on their preferences. The study aims to verify the feasibility of implementing remote CBT-I and address the potential challenges associated with the digital delivery of CBT-I for individuals less comfortable with technology.

The Distress Questionnaire-5 (DQ5) is a tool to assess nonspecific psychological distress according to the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition) and may be used in a variety of clinical settings.
We are developing a Japanese translation of the DQ5 in accordance with the COSMIN guidelines for scale research.

In recent years, there has been a growing demand for on-demand training in acquiring medical communication skills, as opposed to traditional face-to-face training. This research aims to investigate the effectiveness of on-demand medical communication training in enhancing the communication skills of interpersonal support professionals.
Additionally, the study seeks to develop a program that can automatically assess the empathetic capabilities of these professionals by extracting empathy from their interactions with simulated cases.

It has become evident that the support humans seek from each other and the support they desire from robots differ. In this study, we are conducting research focused on children who have sought treatment in child psychiatry to explore the differences in support needs between interactions with humans and robots.
Simultaneously, we are developing autonomous agent robots designed to provide empathetic support to individuals.

（Main Researcher：Yoko Niikawa）

The characteristics of children's sleep vary significantly based on developmental stages. Moreover, children's sleep is closely intertwined with caregivers' sleep patterns and mental health.
This study investigates the relationship between sleep issues in children, parenting behaviors, and mental health problems in caregivers. We are also exploring effective support methods to address and improve sleep and mental health issues for children and their caregivers.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) delivered by human therapists is recommended as the most evidence-based treatment for insomnia. However, human support has various limitations.
Therefore, in this study, we are developing a Therapist Avatar using generative AI to address these limitations.

We will examine linking therapeutic effects with the body's movements, skin conductance, and linguistic features observed during psychotherapy. Research utilizing multiple types of information during psychotherapy is still limited, and methods to process different kinds of information into analyzable forms have yet to be firmly established.
Therefore, in this study, we will concurrently build a database called a registry to store processed data while also exploring processing methods for various types of information during psychotherapy.

(Main Researcher: Hiroku Noma)

Insomnia, characterized by the distress of inability to sleep, and Sleep Apnea Syndrome, characterized by daytime sleepiness, may appear contradictory at first glance. Still, it has been revealed that they often coexist at a high rate.
However, there is currently no established research or treatment approach for the coexistence of insomnia and sleep apnea syndrome. In this study, we aim to aggregate data from patients who have sought medical attention, utilizing artificial intelligence technology to investigate the pathophysiology and validate the treatment responsiveness of interventions for the coexistence of these two conditions.

（Main Researcher：Haruhito Tanaka, Kei Muroi）

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT) is the first choice in insomnia treatment guidelines overseas, but in reality, CBT is rarely used for insomnia treatment worldwide. This is due to a lack of various resources, and in order to promote and implement CBT, it is necessary to develop CBT-I that can be implemented in clinical settings.
In this study, we are developing a “super” short-form CBT (Reasonable Access to Brief Behavioral Insomnia Treatment; RABBIT) provided by medical staff, and are working to verify its effectiveness through a randomized controlled trial.

(Joint research with Dr. Nagai Makie @ University of Toyama)

This project aims to examine the communication process between therapist and client in psychotherapy from the perspective of the interaction between verbal and non-verbal elements, using a research method that combines clinical psychology and experimental psychology.
We aim to elucidate the process of psychotherapy by measuring verbal and non-verbal data from both the therapist and client over time using sensing devices such as NIRS, and analyzing these multi-modal data.

(Joint research with Dr. Nanako Nakamura @ Chuo University)

Nurses' mental health care is a problem that also relates to the quality of medical health care. To take care of laboror's mental health, it is important to have mental health care system based on cognitive behavioral therapy such as self-care (health care done by themselves) or line care (health care done by worker's boss or managers). However it is known that for nurses, these are being sabotaged and effects don't last long. Our goal is to develop self/ line care program and personalized follow-up system for nurses using generative AIs (Large Language Model, LLM).
We validate effectiveness and saftiness of improving nurses' mental health and work condition, by conducting an intervantion research using health care app with GPT-4 targeting nurses.

(Main Researcher: Kei Muroi)

In order to improve the effectiveness of psychotherapy, it is necessary to “disassemble” psychotherapy and verify the effectiveness of each component, and it is thought that multi-modal machine learning is effective for this purpose. However, in previous research, there have been issues such as the integration of unimodal information and the identification of importance, and an analytical model has not yet been established.
This research will establish an analytical model for psychotherapy, and by applying the model to clinical data, it will clarify its usefulness in clinical practice.

(Main Researcher: Shio Maeda)

Psychotherapy is a verbal exchange between therapist (Th) and client (Cl), but the rules of thumb and tacit knowledge of Th are a black box as to what kind of interaction enhances the effectiveness of therapy under what circumstances.
In this study, we use the verbal information exchanged in psychotherapy as an anchor, and estimate the patterns of transition in nonverbal information such as eye contact, body movements, and the content of treatment, and the therapist's involvement required in a specific "context. The purpose of this project is to create a program that automatically evaluates these patterns with the help of machine learning and other methods.

(Main Researcher: Hiroku Noma)

In recent years, it has become clear that sleep problems are closely related to diabetes. However, health guidance for diabetes patients is mainly focused on diet and exercise, and there is no established program that addresses sleep, and its effectiveness has not been fully demonstrated.
In this study, we will develop a new health guidance program for diabetes patients with sleep problems, combining conventional health guidance with an intervention centered on cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I).

(Joint research with Dr. Maiko Nishimura @ Kyoto Koka Women's University)

Delayed sleep-wake phase disorder (DSWPD) is a sleep disorder that causes a misalignment of the body's biological rhythms, such as being unable to fall asleep until dawn and falling asleep during the day.
In this study, we are providing psychological therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy via a video call system for this sleep disorder, and are verifying its effectiveness and safety. During the study, we use a wristwatch-type device to measure sleep and activity in daily life, and we collect voice and eye movement data during counseling. We are working to elucidate the mechanisms by which sleep disorders improve based on this diverse data.

(Joint research with Dr. Hitomi Oi @ Nihon University College of Human Environment)

General practitioners see patients with a wide range of complaints. We believe that cognitive behavioral therapy is effective for treating somatoform disorders, which are difficult to approach, but there are only a limited number of facilities that can provide cognitive behavioral therapy.
Against this background, we are developing tools to make it easier for general practitioners to introduce CBT into their practice, and we aim to verify the effectiveness of these tools. We also plan to qualitatively examine the impact of introducing this tool on the practice of general practitioners.

(Joint research with Dr. Yukiko Ishikawa @ Jichi Medical University)

Infants’ night waking is one of the first problems most new parents face after giving birth to their child. Night waking doesn’t only end at night, but also affects the mental well-being of parents and infants during the daytime. It also may cause some developmental problems for the child, which many parents worry about.
This study identifies which intervention improves the night waking problem the best, focusing on infants who can’t walk and use their energy during the daytime.

(Main Researcher: Karen Jinno)