Chubinidze Dimitri, Perry Catherine, Tchanturia Kate
Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College London, London, UK.
Department of Eating Disorders, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Neuropsychiatr. 2025 Sep;39(3):144-154. doi: 10.1007/s40211-025-00538-2. Epub 2025 Jul 28.
This study explored the feasibility and therapeutic potential of combining artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted visual elicitation with sensory-attuned guided reflection to support emotional expression and engagement in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN).
We conducted a two-session, therapist-led intervention with two adults with restrictive AN. In session 1, we guided participants to reflect on emotionally challenging experiences using metaphor and sensory language cues. We translated these narratives into prompts for DALL·E (v3; OpenAI, San Francisco, CA, USA), an AI image-generation tool. In session 2, participants selected from curated images to reflect on and deepen their exploration of emotional experiences. We analysed the data using reflexive thematic analysis and performed a cross-case synthesis.
Visual metaphors helped to externalise and communicate emotions, evoke embodied responses and refine affective descriptions. The co-creative process fostered therapeutic engagement and a greater sense of agency in both participants.
AI-assisted visual elicitation, integrated into a structured therapeutic process, may offer an additional benefit to talking therapy for individuals with AN. By enabling visual expression, this approach could support emotional insight and communication in populations with emotion labelling and regulation differences.
本研究探讨了将人工智能（AI）辅助的视觉启发与感官协调引导式反思相结合，以支持神经性厌食症（AN）患者的情绪表达和参与度的可行性和治疗潜力。
我们对两名患有限制性AN的成年人进行了由治疗师主导的两阶段干预。在第一阶段，我们引导参与者使用隐喻和感官语言线索反思情感上具有挑战性的经历。我们将这些叙述转化为人工智能图像生成工具DALL·E（v3；美国加利福尼亚州旧金山OpenAI）的提示。在第二阶段，参与者从精选图像中进行选择，以反思并深化他们对情感体验的探索。我们使用反思性主题分析对数据进行了分析，并进行了跨案例综合分析。
视觉隐喻有助于将情绪外化和交流，唤起身体反应并完善情感描述。共同创作过程促进了两名参与者的治疗参与度和更强的自主感。
将AI辅助的视觉启发融入结构化治疗过程中，可能为AN患者的谈话治疗带来额外益处。通过实现视觉表达，这种方法可以支持在情绪标签和调节存在差异的人群中进行情绪洞察和交流。
