AI-based chatbots offer a new form of mental health help amid shortage of therapists, but can they be trusted?

Chatbots powered by generative AI use vast amounts of data to mimic human language. They are now being offered as stress management and mental health tools

Their creators don’t call what they offer therapy, to avoid regulatory oversight, but say they help with minor issues. However, professionals urge caution

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Mental health AI chatbots offer sympathetic statements and unlike therapists, who are in short supply, are available 24/7. Their creators insist what they offer is not therapy, but healthcare professionals urge caution nonetheless. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:15am, 27 Mar 2024

Download the mental health chatbot Earkick and you’re greeted by a bandana-wearing panda who could easily fit into a kids’ cartoon.

Start talking or typing about anxiety and the app generates the kind of comforting, sympathetic statements therapists are trained to deliver. The panda might then suggest a guided breathing exercise, ways to reframe negative thoughts or stress-management tips.

It’s all part of a well-established approach used by therapists, but please don’t call it therapy, says Earkick co-founder Karin Andrea Stephan.

“When people call us a form of therapy, that’s OK, but we don’t want to go out there and tout it,” says Stephan, a former professional musician and self-described serial entrepreneur. “We just don’t feel comfortable with that.”

Earkick co-founder Karin Andrea Stephan doesn’t want people to call her AI chatbot’s service therapy. Photo: twitter.com/mountaintribe

The question of whether these artificial intelligence-based chatbots are delivering a mental health service or are simply a new form of self-help is critical to the emerging digital health industry – and its survival.

Earkick is one of hundreds of free apps that are being pitched to address a crisis in mental health among teens and young adults.