Dr. Becky Brody

Presentation Title: AI Chatbots for Mental Health Nutrition Training

Graduate nutrition students must be able to discuss the complex relationship between depression and diet patterns, yet many have limited opportunities to practice these sensitive conversations. This session presents an AI-based teaching innovation that incorporates a set of custom-built chatbots to provide students with realistic, low-stakes counseling practice on the interrelationship between mental health and nutrition.

We will describe the educational need that inspired this project. Students often report feeling unprepared to engage in discussions involving mood, appetite, motivation, and emotional eating. Online programs add additional constraints, making consistent, high-quality role-play experiences difficult to scale. Because depression has profound nutritional implications, Registered Dietitian Nutritionists must develop confidence and skill in navigating these conversations. Custom GPT chatbots served as simulated “clients” who responded dynamically, allowing students to practice communication strategies safely and repeatedly.

We will outline the development of the custom GPT, including the creation of detailed client personas, the integration of evidence-based mental health and nutrition content, the refinement of the custom GPT prompts, and the implementation of guardrails to ensure appropriate, ethical AI behavior. Students used the chatbot as an experiential practice tool, first engaging in a text-based counseling interaction and then in a voice-enabled interaction. They reflected on their communication approach, considered alternative strategies, and then experimented with revised responses.  

Kolb’s model of experiential learning guided this design. Students began by interacting with an AI client (Concrete Experience), completed a reflection and discussion with classmates about the counseling session (Reflective Observation), connected their interaction to the didactic content (Abstract Conceptualization), and re-engaged with the chatbot to incorporate what they learned into a second counseling session using the voice-enabled feature (Active Experimentation).  
We will present de-identified student feedback and share examples of counseling interactions, reflections, and pre- and post-activity survey data. Students reported increased comfort initiating mental-health discussions, awareness of how tone and phrasing influence rapport, and appreciation for a low-risk space to practice sensitive communication. Many commented that the chatbot felt surprisingly realistic, prompting them to express empathy and think critically about patients' verbal cues. However, others noted that not seeing the client's body language made it somewhat difficult to read cues.  

We will conclude by sharing lessons learned for instructors, including how to design AI simulations that enhance clinical skill development; how to frame expectations for students new to AI interactions; and how to gather meaningful assessments of learning in AI-supported activities.

Attendees will leave with a replicable model for integrating AI chatbots into online health professions programs or other educational programs, along with actionable strategies for designing ethical, engaging, experiential learning experiences that prepare students for real-world interactions.

Bio

Dr. Rebecca Brody is a Professor in the Department of Clinical and Preventive Nutrition Sciences and a Registered Dietitian whose work bridges clinical expertise, innovative teaching, and interprofessional collaboration. Her scholarship centers on preparing the next generation of dietitians and health professionals through research on clinical nutrition topics, advanced practice, and ethical decision-making in clinical care. More recently, Dr. Brody has expanded her research portfolio to examine the psychological factors that shape student success and well-being, including grit, growth mindset, burnout, and the intersection between diet and mental health disorders, as well as the emerging role of artificial intelligence in health professions education. A passionate educator, Dr. Brody is known for her innovative teaching approaches. She integrates clinical simulation, immersive learning, and AI-driven tools to deepen students’ clinical reasoning and professional skills. Her recent work includes designing a virtual hospital simulation that engages learners in leadership, change management, and interprofessional care, as well as developing AI-powered chatbots that help students practice counseling around ethically and clinically challenging situations.