Alison Darcy

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About

Alison Darcy is a pioneering researcher and clinical psychologist whose work sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence, relational frame theory, and digital mental health. She is best known for founding and leading the development of Woebot, a relational conversational agent designed to deliver cognitive behavioral and psychoeducational interventions at scale. Her landmark 2016 study on conversational agents and mental health, which has accumulated over 50 citations, was among the first to ground sentiment dynamics and mirroring behaviors in human-language dialogs within a behavioral framework, taking a critical step toward deploying AI in therapeutic settings. Darcy’s more recent work includes a randomized controlled trial protocol for a relational agent targeting substance use disorders, demonstrating feasibility and acceptability in two formative studies. Her contributions have helped shape the emerging field of digital therapeutics, bridging the gap between evidence-based psychological treatment and scalable technology. With a career marked by innovation at the nexus of clinical science and human-computer interaction, Darcy continues to influence how researchers and practitioners think about automated, accessible mental health support.