AI may speed up cultural adaptation of psychological treatment for migrants
Texts for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) that were culturally adapted using AI were perceived as equally relevant and acceptable as texts adapted by a psychologist. The findings, published in JMIR Formative Research, suggest that AI could help make evidence-based psychological treatments more accessible to refugees and migrants.
Culturally adapting psychological treatments is often a complex and time-consuming process. At the same time, there is a substantial need for evidence-based treatments in more languages and for different cultural contexts.
In the new study, researchers investigated whether AI-generated versions of two common CBT techniques would be perceived as equally culturally relevant and acceptable as versions adapted by a human psychologist.
The study included Arabic-speaking refugees and migrants living in Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Participants read CBT materials that had either been translated and culturally adapted by AI or by a psychologist, without knowing who had produced the texts.
The findings showed that the AI-adapted texts were initially perceived as more culturally relevant than the human-adapted texts. In terms of acceptability, there were no significant differences between the AI and human adaptations.
'AI-adapted texts being perceived as at least as relevant as those adapted by humans is encouraging. I hope the technology can help increase access to psychological support in people’s own languages and in ways that reflect their cultural values,' says Youstina Demetry, psychologist and doctoral student at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet and the Centre for Psychiatry Research.
Potential to increase access to treatment
According to the researchers, the results indicate that AI could help reduce the gap between psychological interventions available in English and treatments available in other languages. At the same time, they emphasise that the field is still in its early stages and that AI applications in psychiatry must be developed and implemented within clear quality and safety frameworks.
'We hope the technology can serve as a tool to speed up and broaden access to adapted materials, provided that quality and patient safety remain priorities. Early attempts to culturally adapt treatments using AI represent a promising first step,' says Youstina Demetry.
The study forms part of Youstina Demetry’s doctoral thesis on culturally adapted internet-delivered CBT for young Arabic-speaking refugees and migrants with mild to moderate mental health problems. The thesis also shows that the culturally adapted treatment produced substantial effects on depression and anxiety compared with the control group. In the study, 57.7 per cent of participants in the treatment group achieved remission, compared with 14.3 per cent in the control group. The treatment also improved post-traumatic stress, sleep, resilience and subjective wellbeing, with effects maintained at six-month follow-up.
Mental health in generation 1.5 migrants
The thesis further explores how young Arabic-speaking refugees and migrants describe mental ill health. It highlights the experiences of so-called Generation 1.5 migrants – individuals who migrated before or during their identity-formation years and who need to navigate an ongoing negotiation between the cultural values of their country of origin and those of their new country.
The research also examines barriers to help-seeking and how culturally adapted digital treatments can be made more relevant and accessible for this target group.
On 12 June 2026, Youstina Demetry will defend her thesis, Culturally Adapted iCBT for Young Arabic-Speaking Refugees and Migrants with Mild to Moderate Mental Health Problems, at Karolinska Institutet. The public defence is open to the public and can be followed on Zoom.
The thesis was supervised by Gerhard Andersson, Professor at the Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, and affiliated researcher at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet and the Centre for Psychiatry Research.
Publication
Demetry Y, Carlbring P, Andersson G. Cultural Relevance and Acceptability of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Techniques Adapted by AI or a Human Psychologist: Experimental Study. JMIR Formative Research. 2026;10:e91056. doi:10.2196/91056.