Ignite Healing AI
Ignite Healing AI is a research and innovation space exploring ethical, non-clinical uses of artificial intelligence to support nervous-system regulation, capacity awareness, and self-agency.
This work is exploratory and research-oriented. It does not provide therapy, diagnosis, medical treatment, or crisis support.
What This Is
Ignite Healing AI serves as the conceptual and ethical incubator for emerging research at the intersection of AI, mental health, and human systems. The work focuses on understanding how patterns of overwhelm, shutdown, urgency, and capacity mismatch appear in everyday language, planning behavior, and self-reflection—and whether AI can safely support awareness of these patterns without directing behavior or replacing human care.
The intent is not to automate mental-health support or replicate clinical practice. Instead, this research asks whether AI can function as a reflective mirror that helps individuals notice early signs of dysregulation and engage in self-directed, consent-based regulation practices.
Why This Research Exists
Through more than two decades of leading complex systems, digital transformation, and organizational change, I observed a consistent pattern: many system failures are driven not by technical flaws, but by human overload, urgency cycles, and mismatches between expectations and capacity.
People bring their nervous systems—and their lived histories—into every system they use. When capacity is exceeded, cognition narrows, communication breaks down, and even well-designed systems become difficult to use.
Ignite Healing AI exists to explore whether AI can be designed to recognize these capacity-related patterns and offer gentle, non-coercive support that respects autonomy and limits—particularly for individuals who are underserved by traditional mental-health pathways.
Research Approach
This work uses practice-based, exploratory methods rather than formal clinical trials.
- reflective journaling and language observation
- qualitative pattern recognition in everyday planning and reflection
- applied systems analysis grounded in real-world workflows
- consent-based AI interaction design
- safety and harm-mitigation analysis
- explicit non-clinical scope and boundaries
The emphasis is on learning, ethics, and design principles rather than outcomes or prescriptions.
Applied Frameworks Informing This Work
Regulation-Centered System Design™ (RCSD™)
A systems-thinking framework that treats nervous-system regulation as
foundational to behavior, adoption, and decision-making. RCSD™ reframes
resistance, burnout, and “failure” as capacity mismatches rather than
motivation problems.
Systems in Serenity™
A reflective model for understanding how safety, pacing, and clarity
influence sustainable performance over time. It emphasizes reducing
urgency-driven cycles in favor of steady, humane throughput.
Scrum for One™
An adaptation of Agile and Scrum principles designed for individuals whose
capacity fluctuates due to stress, trauma, neurodivergence, or caregiving
demands. Scrum for One™ emphasizes micro-sprints, explicit capacity
check-ins, consent-based prioritization, and retrospectives focused on
regulation rather than productivity. The framework generates observable
qualitative signals relevant to AI-supported pattern recognition.
Ethics and Boundaries
Ignite Healing AI does not diagnose, treat, or intervene in mental-health crises. It does not provide therapy, coaching, or clinical guidance. It does not replace professional care or human relationships.
All research emphasizes autonomy, consent, transparency, and harm reduction. Any exploration of AI interaction prioritizes user agency, reversibility, and clear limitations.
About the Researcher
SK Lowther (they/them) is a Senior Project Manager, Business Systems Analyst, and Equity Facilitator with more than 20 years of experience leading complex systems and digital transformation across healthcare, government, nonprofit, and education sectors.
Their professional background includes Agile and Scrum delivery, business and systems analysis, change leadership, and responsible technology adoption, alongside formal training in psychology, social work, embodiment, and nervous-system regulation. Ignite Healing AI represents their current focus as an independent, emerging researcher exploring how AI might support human capacity and regulation in ethical, non-clinical ways.