The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into mental healthcare, often termed computational psychiatry, promises enhanced accessibility, efficiency, and personalized support. However, the prevailing discourse largely remains at a surface level, focusing on functional applications like chatbot therapy or diagnostic automation. This project argues for a critical, deeper interrogation of the profound and often uncomfortable psychological and ethical ramifications that are currently underexplored. The central argument is that without a comprehensive understanding and proactive addressing of these deeper issues such as the psychological and ethical implications of human-AI attachment, the mental health risks of AI misdiagnosis and over-reliance, the emotional effects of interacting with synthetic empathy, and the moral status of sentient-seeming systems in therapeutic contexts, we risk fundamentally undermining the integrity of mental healthcare and human well-being in the long term.

This book will be distinctive by moving beyond the immediate utility of AI to explore its complex human impact. It will offer a robust, research-backed examination of the subtle yet pervasive ways AI reshapes identity, autonomy, and therapeutic boundaries. The particular benefits offered by its content, scope, and organization include providing a much-needed critical lens on a rapidly evolving field, synthesizing disparate research into a cohesive framework, and highlighting the urgent need for ethical frameworks and policy imperatives that are truly "future-proof." It aims to satisfy the need for a foundational text that stimulates vital dialogue among scientists, policymakers, and practitioners, ensuring that AI's evolution in mental health is guided by human-centric values rather than technological expediency or commercial gain.

Mirza Jahanzeb Beg, PhD is Head of the Centre for Advanced Behavioural Policy, Innovation and Leadership (CABPIL) and Head of the Department of Psychology at Kumaraguru College of Liberal Arts and Science, India. He is a psychologist, researcher and author specializing in clinical psychology, psychotherapy, and the application of AI in mental health. His work focuses on the intersection of behavioural science, technology, and public policy, with interests in AI ethics, digital inequality, computational psychiatry, and the psychology of the digital divide.

Dr. Beg has published numerous scientific articles and editorials, authored books, and contributed to national and international journals, magazines, and newspapers. His perspectives on AI and psychotherapy have been featured by Deutschlandradio (Radio Germany), alongside leading researchers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. He has collaborated with researchers affiliated with Stanford University and premier Indian institutions, including JIPMER, AIIMS, and NIMHANS.

A Gold Medallist in Clinical Psychology, Dr. Beg has also received advanced training in Diplomacy, International Law, and United Nations procedures from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, and has been mentored by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and President of Timor-Leste, Dr. José Ramos-Horta. His academic and professional engagements include invited lectures, expert panels, and interdisciplinary collaborations on artificial intelligence, mental health, behavioural science, and public policy.