Biography

Professor Connie Chong is an Assistant Professor at the Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her research in contextual behavioral science (CBS) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on mental health support for caregivers of children with special needs and chronic conditions. Expanding into machine learning and natural language processing, she developed Pai.ACT®, an AI-driven chatbot that provides personalized ACT-based emotional support, mirroring trained counselors. Its voice-to-text functionality enhances user-AI communication, while a stepped-care model offers tailored interventions, including professional online counseling. Pai.ACT® holds patents in the United States and China and has earned significant recognition, including a Gold Medal at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva and a Silver Medal at the Silicon Valley International Invention Festival in 2024. As founder and CEO of ACTuWISE Limited, Prof. Chong advances caregiver mental health through interdisciplinary AI and psychology solutions.

Abstract

Mental health challenges are increasingly prevalent among caregivers of children with special needs, a demographic for whom traditional therapeutic methods often present significant barriers to accessibility and personalization. To address these obstacles, Prof. Chong and her team have developed Pai.ACT®, a mobile application that integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The application is powered by ACT-LLM, a specialized AI system developed by fine-tuning a foundational language model on an expert-annotated dataset of ACT therapeutic dialogues. This model utilizes natural language processing to analyze user interactions, generate diagnostic reports on clients' emotional needs within the ACT framework, and deliver tailored therapeutic interventions. Preliminary studies demonstrate that Pai.ACT® users experience significant improvements in psychological flexibility and notable reductions in parenting stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, the ACT-LLM has shown high accuracy in identifying therapeutic needs and customizing support for individuals. In this presentation, Prof. Chong will share the experiences and challenges encountered during the development of Pai.ACT® and ACT-LLM. She will further outline her vision for the platform's commercialization and the establishment of an AI-driven, ACT-specific ecosystem in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. This ecosystem aims to support both caregivers of children with special needs and practitioners in learning and effectively executing ACT.