Therapists + AI: First Study Demonstrating Meaningful Clinical Outcomes in Parents

We are excited to share the publication of the first ever study demonstrating how generative AI can actively augment therapists' work in delivering evidence-based parenting interventions.

Published in Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, our research examined how a set of therapists plus AI coach “Pat” delivered Parent Management Training (PMT) to families of children with behavioral challenges in Chile.

What we did

The model we tested was truly collaborative. Students receiving training to become psychologists, but with no prior PMT experience, facilitated four live sessions. During these sessions, they guided parents through interactions with Pat and discussed progress. Between sessions, parents completed four additional PMT modules independently with Pat.

This hybrid approach allowed therapists to monitor progress, ensure quality, and provide human connection while Pat delivered consistent, evidence-based content and in-the-moment support.

What We Found

Significant improvements in children:

• Behavioral problems (externalizing symptoms)

• Emotional problems (internalizing symptoms) 

• Aggression, attention, and thought problems (measured with the CBCL)

Significant improvements in parents:

• Depression 

• Anxiety 

• Stress levels (measured with DASS-21)

Therapeutic alliance and satisfaction:

• Caregivers reported high satisfaction, 

• A strong therapeutic alliance with Pat (i.e., “I felt respected by Pat,” “Pat and I collaborated in setting the goals for this program,” and “I feel that what I did with Pat will help me achieve the changes I desire.”)

• Engagement: caregivers engaged deeply with the platform completing most of the activities and exchanged an average of 376 messages with Pat throughout just eight weeks.

  
  

The Power of Augmentation, Not Replacement

This work reinforces something we believe deeply. The conversation shouldn't be "AI vs. clinicians." It should be "How much more impact can clinicians have with the right AI?"

What we're seeing

• Accessibility: Families could engage with evidence-based content at home, on their schedule

• Efficiency: Four live sessions still produced meaningful outcomes

• Scalability: Even psychology students could deliver effective interventions with AI support

• Continuity: Parents had 24/7 access to coaching between sessions

• Safety: While we do not report it in this study, we did not see any inappropriate response from Pat, conversations were always monitored by therapists and some of our new publications are focused on this topic.

• Therapists’ augmentation. Pat didn't replace the therapists. Pat augmented their support during the sessions and filled the “support gap” in-between sessions.

  
  

Quotes From Caregivers (that say it all)

• Strategies:

  • “I realized I had the tool, I applied it, and it made a change in him. That one time was very impactful, he smiled more, it was a wonderful experience.”

  • “If I wasn’t satisfied with an answer, I could ask again, and it would give me more strategies, more ideas.”

  • “I put into practice everything they taught me, and it went really well for me.”

• Increasing insight:

  • “It felt like I was really talking to a therapist, to someone with that level of expertise, because it brought up reflections or made me think deeply.”

  • “It made me realize some things, some mistakes that one sometimes makes, or things one overlooks, so I became more aware of how to approach certain situations.”

• User experience:

  • “It was easy at the beginning. And when I had my first problem, it was resolved right away.”

  • “I think one of its biggest advantages is that you can personalize the questions. It doesn’t just rely on theory; you can focus it on the specific case of each child.”

    
    

The Bigger Picture

Only a fraction of children who need mental health services actually receive them. Barriers like cost, time constraints, transportation, and therapist availability keep families from accessing evidence-based interventions like Parent Management Training.

We designed Parente to augment clinicians, enabling them to support more families, enhance care quality, and expand access to evidence-based interventions where they’re needed most.

Read the study

I invite you to read the full study here: link

And I'd love to hear your thoughts. For parents, would having 24/7 access to evidence-based parenting guidance change your experience? 

For clinicians working with families, what would it mean for your practice if you could offer this kind of between-session support?

What's Next

This is just the beginning. We have several papers that will be coming out soon examining different aspects of AI-augmented care. 

We're currently working on multiple additional studies (RCTs) with researchers across several institutions. Stay tuned!  

The future of mental healthcare is about bringing human connection and technological innovation together, to create greater impact, reach more families, and help more children thrive.

Acknowledgment

This particular study represents a true collaboration with an exceptional team: 

• Carlos Felipe Rivera-Cepeda (University of Santo Tomas - Chile), 

• Daniella Vaclavik, Daniel Bagner (Florida International University- USA)

• Antonio Hardan (Stanford University) , 

• Eduardo Bunge  (Parente and Palo Alto University).

At Parente we are proud of our outcomes and grateful for the team of researchers that trusted us.

Onward!

Dr. Eduardo Bunge is a psychology professor at Palo Alto University and co-founder of Parente, where he leads the development of evidence-based parent training programs to address the youth behavioral crisis. Connect with Eduardo or reach out directly at eduardo@parentehealth.com