HARMONY 2026

Program at a Glance

A full day of research, discussion, networking, and interdisciplinary collaboration!

About HARMONY

HARMONY (Human-centered AI Research for Mental health, an Open Networking sYmposium) is a pioneering interdisciplinary event dedicated to advancing Human-centered AI Research for Mental Health, co-located with IEEE/ACM Conference on Connected Health: Applications, Systems, and Engineering Technologies (CHASE 2026) held in Pittsburgh, August 6, 2026. Addressing this complex and urgent topic demands expertise across a wide range of domains. As mental health challenges continue to escalate globally, we must break down disciplinary silos to enable groundbreaking discoveries and innovative, impactful solutions for the future of humanity.

HARMONY brings together researchers and practitioners from fields including—but not limited to— Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Psychology, Psychiatry, Behavioral Science, Anthropology, Philosophy, Social Science, and Neuroscience. If you are passionate about improving human wellbeing, have bold ideas, or seek collaborators beyond your field, HARMONY offers a unique opportunity to build interdisciplinary partnerships that can drive real-world change.

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Time and Location

Venue: Courtyard by Marriott Pittsburgh University Center, Pittsburgh, United States

Date: Thursday, August 6, 2026

Co-located with: IEEE/ACM CHASE 2026

Registration

Please visit the CHASE website for more information about registration. See you at HARMONY 2026!

Who Should Attend?

HARMONY is designed for researchers and practitioners who wish to:

• Connect across disciplines and meet collaborators outside their usual circles.
• Exchange visionary ideas beyond the mainstream.
• Tackle real-world challenges through research, practice, and open discussion.

HARMONY’s format blends academic presentations with interactive sessions, small-group networking, and cross-sector panels. Together, we will explore HARD problems, generate fresh insights, and co-create a roadmap for future work.

At the close of the symposium, participants may be invited to collaborate on a Shared Report — distilling lessons learned, emerging opportunities, and a collective vision — so the conversation continues well beyond Pittsburgh in 2026.

Topics of Interest

We invite contributions on a broad range of topics at the intersection of AI and mental health, including (but not limited to) the following. Please refer to each track for its specific focus.

Special Note for Non-Computing Experts:

Even if your current research in mental health does not yet involve AI, you are still eligible (and encouraged!) to submit. Submissions should articulate a high-level vision for how AI technologies could enhance your work (no technical details needed), including the mental health challenges that could be addressed through AI and the types of computing experts you aim to collaborate with. As long as this vision is outlined, your submission will be considered within the scope of the HARMONY Workshop.

Special Note for AI Experts:

Even if your current research does not directly address mental health, you are still eligible (and encouraged!) to submit, as long as you are motivated to apply your technical expertise to this critical societal challenge. Submissions should articulate a high-level vision for how your methods and approaches could be leveraged to advance mental health solutions. Detailed domain expertise or clinical validation is not required at this stage. However, submissions should clearly articulate the intended applications of your techniques and identify the types of mental health professionals or domain experts you aim to collaborate with. As long as this vision is outlined, your submission will be considered within the scope of the HARMONY Workshop.

Example Topics in Scope:

• Preventive self-care (e.g., meditation training or other educational tools before symptoms emerge)
• Sustaining long-term positive engagement with digital interventions (e.g., incentives for behavior change)
• Public perceptions of the future of AI (e.g., fear, anxiety, attachment to AI personalities or relational AI tools)
• Neuroplasticity and neuroscience-inspired mental health solutions
• Contemplative AI and Wise AI
• AI education and digital literacy for diverse populations
• Methods to evaluate or test AI’s own mental health
• Digital addiction and overuse (e.g., social media, news consumption, AI assistants)
• Evidence-based interventions with AI-aided capabilities (e.g., technology-enabled Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programs)
• Truly personalized, context-aware digital interventions on mental health (e.g., adaptive to life stages or transitions)
• Legal, ethical, and policy considerations (e.g., AI technology and policy change)
• Equity and access in AI-driven healthcare (e.g., addressing disparities and avoiding “rich-get-richer” dynamics)
• Community building with deep, meaningful connections in the age of AI
• Translating research to practice (e.g., case studies)

HARMONY Team

The HARMONY organizing team consisted entirely of the amazing Computing Innovation Fellows (CIFellows). The CIFellows 2020 program was launched by the Computing Research Association (CRA) and the Computing Community Consortium (CCC), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. The HARMONY team is here to help! :)

For general questions about the HARMONY workshop, please contact the General Chairs:

• Yixue Zhao: yixue [the symbol you know] yixuezhao.com
• Yi Ding: yiding [the symbol you know] purdue.edu

For questions about a particular track such as submission questions, please contact the Program Chairs for each track:

• Rafal Kocielnik (Practice Track): rafal.kocielnik [the symbol you know] cshs.org
• Amir Ghasemian (Research Track): amirgh [the symbol you know] ucla.edu

Submission Link

Submit your high-quality work here: https://harmony26.hotcrp.com/

Early submissions have the opportunity to receive early paper notifications and more time to work on the camera-ready version. If you want to participate in the early submission cycle, please make sure to check “The submission is ready for review” in the HotCRP submission system before the early submission deadline.

Join Our Team

We are intentionally expanding beyond our core IEEE/ACM CHASE community of computing and AI experts to bring broader mental health expertise into the conversation.

If you have extensive experience in mental health — clinical, research, community-based, funding, or policy — and believe in our mission, we’d love to have you join our interdisciplinary Program Committee!

Application Deadline: March 10, 2026

Light Review Load: ~3 papers (1, 3, or 6 pages each)

Apply Here: https://forms.gle/8opJMBAwngdkLFqq9

Workshop Flyer

You can also download the flyer pdf here.

Accepted Papers

Speakers

Keynote Speaker & Panelist

David Creswell, William S. Dietrich II Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Carnegie Mellon University; CEO, Equa Health

David Creswell is the William S. Dietrich II Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University and the CEO of Equa Health. His research explores how people adapt and thrive under stress, with a focus on the mind-body connection and pathways to resilience. He conducts community-based intervention trials, laboratory experiments, and neuroimaging studies to uncover how different stress management strategies, such as mindfulness meditation, self-affirmation, and cognitive reappraisal, can enhance coping, reduce stress, and improve health outcomes. Talk Title: Digital mindfulness meditation training, respiration tracking AI, and health

HARMONY Panelists

Rayid Ghani, Distinguished Career Professor, Joint Appointment in Machine Learning Department and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University

Rayid Ghani is a Distinguished Career Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, with joint appointments in the Machine Learning Department (School of Computer Science) and Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy. His work focuses on designing, developing, deploying, and evaluating Machine Learning and AI systems that improve real-world outcomes in public and social settings with an explicit focus on fairness and equity. He works closely with governments and organizations to build AI systems that are used in practice and produce measurable impact in areas such as public health, human services, criminal justice, and workforce development.

Josh Oltmanns, Assistant Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis; Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Josh Oltmanns is an Assistant Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. His research focuses on integrating AI and multi-method approaches to enhance psychological assessment and health prediction. He directs the Personality, Mental Health, and AI research laboratory, where they use natural language, speech, and movement processing to identify behavioral markers of personality and psychopathology and study how personality relates to health outcomes over time and how personality and mental health change, including in response to therapy. He is also a licensed clinical psychologist.

Andrew Begel, Associate Professor, Software and Societal Systems, Carnegie Mellon University; Affiliate Professor, Information School, University of Washington; Previously Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research

Dr. Andrew Begel, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Software and Societal Systems Department at Carnegie Mellon University. Prior to this, he spent over 16 years as a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research. Andrew’s goal is to create inclusive workplaces where all people, especially those with disabilities and the neurodivergent, can be successful, without discrimination. His recent work has helped people on the autism spectrum gain employment and facilitate social interaction, helped blind software developers collaborate with their sighted colleagues, and used affective computing and biometrics to better understand how software developers do their work. He is a Distinguished Member of the ACM.

Research Track

The HARMONY Workshop invites submissions to its Research Track focused on advancing Human-centered AI Research for Mental Health. HARMONY is an interdisciplinary forum designed not only to present results, but to discuss emerging ideas, challenge assumptions, and foster deep cross-disciplinary dialogue.

We explicitly encourage submissions that prioritize novel insights, bold vision, and integration across fields, even if the work is early-stage, conceptual, or exploratory.

Submission Link

Submit your high-quality work here: https://harmony26.hotcrp.com/

⚠️ Important: Research Track is double-blind. Please remove all author identity. Otherwise, the submission will be desk-rejected. Research Papers that do not follow the IEEE format will also be desk-rejected without review.

Scope and Goals

Mental health is a complex, human-centered problem that cannot be addressed by any single discipline. The goal of the HARMONY Research Track is to:

• Spark meaningful discussion rather than polished conclusions
• Highlight how the field is evolving and where it should go next
• Foster new collaborations across traditionally siloed communities

We welcome contributions that raise important questions, propose new perspectives, foster interdisciplinary collaborations, or outline future research directions.

Topics of Interest

We invite submissions on topics including, but not limited to:

• AI-augmented assessment and intervention — Computational methods for detecting, monitoring, or supporting mental health
• AI’s impact on mental health — Effects of recommender systems, algorithms, and platform design on user wellbeing
• Auditing and accountability — Evaluating AI systems for psychological and behavioral harms
• Theoretical and conceptual frameworks — Models for understanding human-AI interaction in therapeutic or wellness contexts
• Fairness, equity, and safety — Addressing bias, ensuring equitable access, and safeguarding vulnerable populations
• Ethics, governance, and policy — Legal, regulatory, and societal considerations for AI in mental health
• Evaluation and methodology — Developing rigorous approaches to assess AI-driven mental health tools
• Interdisciplinary bridges — E.g., AI × neuroscience × psychology, or technology × lived experience × policy
• Speculative and visionary work — Forward-looking perspectives on contemplative AI, neuroplasticity-inspired solutions, or the future of AI and wellbeing

Submissions that integrate multiple domains are especially welcome.

Review Criteria

Submissions will be evaluated based on:

• Relevance to human-centered AI and mental health
• Significance of the problem in the era of rapidly advancing AI
• Clarity and originality of ideas
• Discussion potential — capacity to stimulate dialogue and collaboration
• Interdisciplinary value — integrative insight across fields

We emphasize thoughtfulness and impact over completeness or scale.

Submission Information

• Formatting: Research Papers must follow the IEEE conference proceedings format, consistent with the formatting and submission guidelines of CHASE 2026, except for the page limit. Extended Abstracts may use any readable format (open format).
  • ⚠️ Important: Research Papers that do not follow the IEEE format will be desk-rejected without review.
• Author identity: Research Track uses double blind review.
  • ⚠️ Important: Please remove all author-identifying information from all submissions. Otherwise, the submission will be desk-rejected.

Presentation and Participation

Accepted submissions will be presented at the HARMONY workshop. Accepted Papers (not Abstract) will appear in the CHASE 2026 proceedings. The Best Paper Award will be selected among the accepted Papers.

Authors should be prepared to actively engage in discussion-oriented sessions and networking activities. HARMONY is designed as a community-building space. Contributors are encouraged to view their submissions as conversation starters rather than final statements.

Questions?

For inquiries about the Research Track, please contact the Program Chair:

Amir Ghasemian
University of California, Los Angeles
amirgh [at] ucla.edu

Practice Track

The HARMONY Workshop invites submissions to its Practice Track, which complements the Research Track by focusing on real-world applications, deployment experiences, and lessons learned at the intersection of AI and mental health.

This track is designed for industry, startups, nonprofits, healthcare organizations, philanthropists, funding agencies, public-sector entities, and translational research teams who are actively working to bring ideas out of the lab and into people’s lives.

The goal is simple and ambitious: connect people across sectors who are motivated to solve the same mental health challenges through concrete action.

Submission Link

Submit your high-quality work here: https://harmony26.hotcrp.com/

⚠️ Important: Practice Track is single-blind. Please include all author identity. Otherwise, the submission will be desk-rejected. Practice Papers that do not follow the IEEE format will also be desk-rejected without review.

Scope and Goals

While research advances understanding, impact ultimately depends on execution. The HARMONY Practice Track aims to:

• Surface down-to-earth, real-world experiences deploying AI-enabled mental health solutions
• Share practical challenges, failures, and lessons learned in implementation
• Highlight pathways from research to products, services, programs, and policy
• Foster cross-sector collaboration among those building, deploying, and sustaining solutions

Inspired by translational initiatives such as ARPA-H, this track emphasizes actionable insights, best practices, and scalable impact, including early efforts to plant seeds for commercial products, public programs, or sustainable interventions.

Examples of Accepted Submissions

We welcome contributions around various aspects related to practice, including (but not limited to):

• Case Studies

  • Real-world deployments or pilot studies
  • Mature real-world products to demo and share the pathways for practical adoption
  • What worked, what didn’t, and why
  • Pathways from research to commercialization or large-scale real-world impact
  • Accepted in Practice Paper format

• Lessons Learned / Failure Reports

  • Candid reflections on challenges such as adoption, trust, regulation, data, incentives, or sustainability
  • Lessons learned on balancing profits and good hearts
  • Insights that others can learn from and build upon to bring research to the real world
  • Accepted in Practice Paper format

• Translational & Product-Oriented Work

  • Early-stage products, services, or platforms targeting real users
  • Mature products and success stories
  • Product lifecycles from the lab to the real world
  • Accepted in Practice Paper format

• Work-in-progress

  • Early concepts, prototypes, field studies, or implementation concepts (not yet tested or deployed)
  • Initial stages (e.g., requirement gathering, needs identification) with a conceptual vision for later stages
  • Accepted in Extended Abstract format

• Philanthropy & Funding Opportunities

  • Philanthropists and funding agencies aiming to support impactful, interdisciplinary projects beyond the mainstream
  • Current funding opportunities and available resources
  • Future opportunities and connections that can bring promising ideas into real-world impact to uplift humanity
  • Accepted in Resource Sharing Papers format

Topics of Interest

Relevant topics include, but are not limited to:

• Measuring real-world impact beyond academic metrics
• Deploying AI-driven mental health tools in real-world settings
• Bridging research, regulation, and market realities
• User trust, engagement, and long-term adoption
• Fundraising strategies and funding opportunities
• Working with clinicians, communities, or underserved populations
• Scaling interventions responsibly and ethically
• Translational pathways
• Public–private partnerships and ecosystem building

Presentation and Participation

Accepted contributions will be presented in interactive, discussion-oriented formats designed to encourage cross-sector exchange and networking.

The Practice Track is intentionally structured to help participants:

• Find collaborators across industry, academia, government, and nonprofits
• Share grounded insights that accelerate real-world impact
• Build momentum toward deployable, scalable, practical solutions
• Identify promising teams and initiatives for potential investment

Submission Information

We accept three types of submissions:

• Formatting: Practice Papers must follow the IEEE conference proceedings format, consistent with the formatting and submission guidelines of CHASE 2026, except for the page limit. Extended Abstracts and Resource Sharing Papers may use any readable format (open format).
  • ⚠️ Important: Practice Papers that do not follow the IEEE format will be desk-rejected without review.
• Author identity: Practice Track uses single blind review.
  • ⚠️ Important: Please include all author-identifying information in all submissions. Otherwise, the submission will be desk-rejected.
• Scope: Practice-focused contributions emphasizing real-world experience, implementation, and impact. Early-stage efforts and translational work are welcome.
• Review criteria: Practical relevance, clarity of lessons learned, real-world impact potential, cross-sector value, and ability to stimulate discussion.
• Publication: Accepted Practice Papers will be included in the CHASE proceedings. Accepted Resource Sharing Papers will be invited for oral presentation, but the paper will not be included in the CHASE 2026 proceedings.

Any Questions?

For inquiries, please contact the Practice Track Chair:

Rafal Kocielnik
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
rafal.kocielnik [at] cshs.org