Lessons Learned from Building AI Tools for Delivering Cognitive Therapy Skills: From Multi-Agent Systems to Automated Safety Testing and Reporting

Join us on November 5th, 2025 12-1pm PT to hear from Dr. Philip Held, Ph.D., of Rush University and Project Lead at the CREATE Alacrity Center. 

Dr. Philip Held will share lessons learned from developing a suite of AI tools designed to enhance the delivery and training of cognitive therapy skills. Socrates is a patient-facing AI system that engages individuals in Socratic dialogue to promote cognitive restructuring and symptom reduction, using a multi-agent framework that combines an AI therapist with two AI supervisors. Complementing this, Socrates Coach provides a training environment for clinicians to practice therapeutic techniques with AI-generated patients and receive automated, real-time feedback from AI supervisors. The session will also highlight ASTRA (Automated Safety Testing and Reporting Application), which ensures that AI-mediated therapy remains safe and clinically appropriate. By comparing human-coded therapy transcripts with large language model outputs, ASTRA supports rigorous, scalable safety validation. Attendees will gain practical insights into designing, testing, and implementing trustworthy AI systems for mental health.

About the speaker: Dr. Philip Held is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Rush University Medical Center, where he serves as Director of Research and Innovation at the Road Home Program: The National Center of Excellence for Veterans and Their Families. His research focuses on developing briefer and more accessible evidence-based treatments for PTSD and related conditions. In his work, Dr. Held combines clinical treatment with advanced analytics, including machine learning and AI, to tailor treatments and match individuals with the approaches in which they are most likely to succeed. Dr. Held also developed "Socrates" and “Socrates Coach,” two generative AI platforms to support existing cognitive interventions and provider training.

Register here: https://stanford.zoom.us/meeting/register/PKWfToBhTUuJpwY894w1Tg 

CME credits: You may be eligible to receive CME credits for attending this Hubinar. More information will be provided at the start of the event. If you have questions, please reach out to Pippa Kennard (pippa@stanford.edu). 

Recording: Check out the recording here.