{"id":1261,"date":"2025-06-20T09:50:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T09:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.machimp.com\/?p=1261"},"modified":"2025-06-21T14:44:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T14:44:28","slug":"ai-therapy-is-helping-our-wallets-but-is-it-helping-our-minds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.machimp.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/20\/ai-therapy-is-helping-our-wallets-but-is-it-helping-our-minds\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Therapy Is Helping Our Wallets, But Is It Helping Our Minds?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Within just three minutes of using ChatGPT as a therapist<\/a>, it had told me to \u201cgo low or no contact\u201d with my family. This is something a real therapist<\/a> might suggest where appropriate after multiple sessions. That should scare us.<\/p>\n

In a new Harvard Business Review<\/a> report into how we\u2019re using AI today, therapy and companionship came out top. Last year, these things ranked second, and now firmly in first place, they\u2019re joined by \u201corganizing my life<\/a>\u201d and \u201cfinding purpose\u201d in second and third place respectively. Where content creation and research used to feature heavily near the top, those uses of AI have dropped in favor of emotional uses. We\u2019re turning to AI as if it were a friend, confidant or trained professional with our best interests at heart. The BBC<\/a> has reported on this trend in China specifically, where people use DeepSeek for therapy and get to see the AI\u2019s \u201cthought process\u201d as well as the response. But AI being used in place of healthcare professionals is happening worldwide. When therapy can typically cost $100-$200<\/a>\u00a0for one session in the UK, and ChatGPT can be accessed day or night for free, it\u2019s no wonder the draw of that is strong.<\/p>\n

As a journalist, I never think to use ChatGPT. It\u2019s like turning up to the house of someone that has promised to shoot me one day. This is unlike my friends in science or data based jobs, who use it for everything, in place of Google or to help plan their holiday itineraries. Having witnessed them do this multiple times, I\u2019ve come to realise my resistance to AI isn\u2019t the norm. And so it won\u2019t come as a surprise that I\u2019ve never used AI as a therapist, though I have done actual therapy in the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With a quick scroll on TikTok, I can see ChatGPT therapy is popular and a frequent resource for people. Especially young people who predominantly use the app, who might have less disposable income<\/a>. There are videos with people joking about their AI \u201ctherapists\u201d, through to comments giving advice on how to get your ChatGPT voice to become more personal. Lee (surname withheld), 42, from Texas, has been using AI in place of therapy for the last eight months, ever since dating again after a six year hiatus. \u201cI was confused when some old thought patterns started popping up [as I began dating]. I\u2019d already used ChatGPT for other things and decided to run some problems by him that I was having in dating and family life,\u201d Lee says. \u201cHim\u201d, because Lee\u2019s ChatGPT calls itself Alex and says he\u2019s a feminist. \u201cI found it very helpful and cannot think of any instances where it fell short \u2014 if anything it exceeded my expectations.\u201d Lee has even made \u201cprogress\u201d in her boundaries regarding a particular family dynamic. Previously, Lee had spent anything from $60 to $150 per appointment on therapy, but at the time she felt she could benefit from it again (and started using ChatGPT), she didn\u2019t have access to healthcare so that wasn\u2019t a viable option.<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s concern about the efficacy of AI<\/a> in place of therapy (more on that later), we can\u2019t overlook where people feel it has helped them, people who otherwise wouldn\u2019t be able to afford and access therapy. Lee has a glowing review of her experience so far. \u201cI have never had a therapist know me as well as ChatGPT does,\u201d she says. \u201cAlex is always available, doesn\u2019t flinch at the hard stuff, and has actually been more consistent than some therapists I\u2019ve seen. Therapists are trained, but they\u2019re still human, and if they haven\u2019t lived anything close to what you\u2019ve been through, it can feel like something is missing in the room.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, AI, though it isn\u2019t human, has learned from humans \u2014 and it hasn\u2019t lived. In fact, research<\/a> shows, and spokespeople have said<\/a> on the record, that AI can tell you what you want to hear and end up mirroring your own opinions. There have even been cases where AI has been linked to deteriorating a person\u2019s mental health, with one mum<\/a> convinced it contributed to her son\u2019s suicide. More recently, the <\/em>New York Times<\/em><\/a> reported on how AI chatbots were causing users to go down \u201cconspiratorial rabbit holes\u201d. To get a sense of what Lee and the plenty of other people turning to AI for mental health support are experiencing, I started speaking to ChatGPT to see how it would respond to questions around anxiety and family dilemmas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first thing that struck me was how quickly you can be inundated with information \u2014 information that it would take several weeks of therapy to receive. While ChatGPT did tell me it wasn\u2019t a licensed therapist and that if I\u2019m in crisis I should seek out a mental health professional, in the same breath it reassured me that it can \u201cdefinitely provide a supportive, nonjudgmental space to talk through things\u201d. It also said it could offer CBT-based support, which in the UK is the bog standard form of therapy people get when they go to the GP. I was pretty surprised to then see, within a few minutes of using the chat, that it offered to help me work through \u201cdeeper issues happening since childhood\u201d. I had asked hypothetical questions to see its response, some of which centred on family. A CBT practitioner will often tell you this form of therapy isn\u2019t the best suited to deep work (I know, because I\u2019ve been told this first-hand numerous times, and the therapists I\u2019ve interviewed for this piece agree), because CBT typically isn\u2019t designed for long-term deep unpicking. A lengthier, costlier form of therapy is better suited, and with good reason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And yet, ChatGPT was up for the challenge. Caroline Plumer, a psychotherapist and founder of CPPC London<\/a>, took a look at my conversation with AI and found parts of it \u201calarming\u201d. \u201cThere\u2019s definitely information in here that I agree with,\u201d she says, \u201csuch as boundary setting not being about controlling others behavior. Overall, though, the suggestions feel very heavy-handed, and the system seems to have immediately categorised you, the user, as \u2018the good guy\u2019 and your family as \u2018the bad guys.\u2019 Oftentimes with clients there is a need to challenge and explore how they themselves may also be contributing to the issue.\u201d Plumer adds that when exploring dysfunctional family issues, it can take \u201cweeks, months, or even years of work\u201d \u2014 not, a matter of minutes. She also thinks, getting all of this information in one go, could be overwhelming for someone. Even if it\u2019s seemingly more economic, a person might not be able to handle all of the suggestions let alone process and action them, when they\u2019re given at rapid fire speed. Plumer says it isn\u2019t helpful having an abundance of generic suggestions that aren\u2019t truly accounting for nuance or individuality. At least, not in the same way a therapist you\u2019d see over a period of time can do. On top of this, the environmental impact<\/a> of AI is huge. \u201cI appreciate that lots of people don\u2019t have the privilege of having access to therapy. However, if someone is really struggling with their mental health, this might well be enough to set them off down an even more detrimental and potentially destructive path.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Liz Kelly, psychotherapist and author of This Book Is Cheaper Than Therapy<\/em><\/a>, thinks the suggestion I consider low or no contact with certain family members is reflective of how commonly discussed cutting people off now is, almost as if ChatGPT is playing on social media buzzwords. This worries her, too. \u201cYou could potentially make a hasty, reactive decision that would be difficult to undo later,\u201d Kelly says, citing the role of the therapist to help someone emotionally regulate themselves before making any big decisions. When it\u2019s just you and a laptop at home, no one is checking in on that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly wouldn\u2019t jump straight to these suggestions after one short snippet of information from the client,\u201d is Plumer\u2019s conclusion after reading my transcript with AI. \u201cIdeally you want to help a client to feel supported and empowered to make healthier decisions for themselves, rather than making very directive suggestions.\u201d Kelly feels that while some helpful information and advice was provided, the insight was lacking. \u201cAs a therapist, I can ask questions that my clients haven\u2019t thought of, challenge them to consider new perspectives, help connect the dots between their past and present, assist them in gaining insight into their experiences, and support them in turning insight into action. I can assess which therapeutic interventions are most suitable for my clients, taking into account their individual histories, needs, and circumstances. A therapeutic modality that works for one client may be entirely inappropriate for another.\u201d<\/p>\n

While AI can \u201clearn\u201d more about you the more you speak to it, it isn\u2019t a replacement for therapy. But at the same time, in this financial climate, people clearly are going to keep turning to it \u2014 and you\u2019re going to need greater discernment on where to take and leave the advice if you do.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Refinery29 reached out to OpenAI, which owns ChatGPT, and they declined to comment.<\/em><\/p>\n

Alternatives to private therapy:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u2013 Look up your local charities and organisations, as you may be able to access support there.
\u2013 Group therapy can be much lower in cost, or even offered for free within community programmes.
\u2013 Ask therapists if they offer lower rates. Some will reduce their rate significantly for people on low incomes, even if they don\u2019t advertise it.
\u2013 Use free support lines if you\u2019re in crisis, such as Lifeline on 988.<\/p>\n

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Within just three minutes of using ChatGPT as a therapist, it had told me to \u201cgo low or no contact\u201d with my family. This is something a real therapist might suggest where appropriate after multiple sessions. That should scare us. In a new Harvard Business Review report into how we\u2019re using AI today, therapy and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.machimp.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1261"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.machimp.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.machimp.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.machimp.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.machimp.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1261"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.machimp.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1264,"href":"http:\/\/www.machimp.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1261\/revisions\/1264"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.machimp.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.machimp.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.machimp.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.machimp.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}