While AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, can allow you to engage in real-time and immediate conversations, they shouldn’t be used as a substitute for mental health therapy, as it can lead to misleading or harmful responses.

With artificial intelligence (AI) tools on the rise, many people are turning to AI chatbots as a substitute for mental health therapy.

The American Psychological Association (APA) notes that an increasing number of people are using chatbots to help process difficult emotions or discuss relationship challenges. While this allows users to access immediate conversations without incurring costs or waiting lists, chatbots are unregulated, and currently, there are limited safeguards in place to protect users.

The APA has warned that AI chatbots can cause potential harm when used for mental health, particularly for vulnerable individuals. It can lead to confusion or even harmful or dangerous responses that can have significantly negative consequences.

It’s also important to remember that they can’t offer the same level of support as connecting with a licensed mental health professional. There are many alternatives available to help you access safe and effective mental health care.

It’s important to remember that AI bots like ChatGPT are not trained or licensed mental health professionals.

One of the biggest risks of using an AI chatbot as a substitute for a therapist is that it may not always be able to identify high risk or emergency situations. They also have no way of delivering crisis intervention, which can mean that mental health emergencies can go unchecked, erasing the chance of a professional being able to offer vital support.

Other significant risks of using AI bots for mental health therapy include:

  • AI chatbots will often agree with the user and are likely to reaffirm what they are saying, even if it is harmful.
  • It can lead to an increase in health misinformation and misdiagnosis, with users turning to chatbots for health advice.
  • It may cause a person to become reliant on using AI tools to process their feelings or talk about their concerns.
  • AI chatbots may create a false sense of security, leading users to feel they don’t need to speak with a healthcare professional about their symptoms. This can result in a missed opportunity for diagnosis and necessary mental health support.

Setting healthy limits

While AI chatbots can be an effective and quick way to manage emotions that arise in the moment, such as stress or anxiety, they cannot provide the same level of support that a human can.

If you are using ChatGPT to help manage your mental health, it’s important to identify safe limits around how you use your tech.

This may look like the following:

  • Set time limits so you don’t become reliant on the tool.
  • Identify the primary way you will use it, such as to reflect or learn coping skills. Try to stick to this.
  • Stop immediately if you feel unsettled or experience worsening symptoms.

There are many ways you can still use ChatGPT as a safe and effective tool for your mental health. This includes:

  • Journaling: You can use ChatGPT to generate journaling prompts tailored toward your health goals.
    • Prompt example: “Provide me with a daily journaling prompt I can use to reflect on my day and practice gratitude.”
  • Mindfulness exercises: The tool can also be used to identify mindfulness exercises to help reduce stress.
    • Prompt example: “Give me a quick mindfulness exercise I can complete in under five minutes to help reduce stress.”
  • Creating routines: If you would like to incorporate healthier habits into your day-to-day life to improve your mental health, ChatGPT can help you create a tailored routine.
    • Prompt example: “Create an evening routine for me that will help me unwind after work. It should include activities that will also help me sleep better.”
  • Brain dump: If you find yourself overwhelmed by your to-do list and don’t know where to start, you can use the tool to ‘dump out’ all of your tasks and ask it to organise your day based on priority or energy levels.
    • Prompt example: “Help me organize the following tasks into a manageable to-do list. I would like to take regular breaks and finish all my tasks by 4 pm.”

ChatGPT can be an effective and accessible method for exploring ways to reflect on and develop healthy habits and skills in a judgment-free environment. Still, it’s important to maintain safe boundaries and avoid becoming overly reliant on it.

Changing settings to help detect health misinformation

You can change the settings of most AI chatbots to help reduce or limit misinformation. To do this, you need to:

  • Open the settings menu.
  • Select “custom instructions” or “preferences.”
  • Set your preferences to include a specific instruction or prompt, such as:
    • “Inform me when your answers are not based on reliable or verified information.”
    • “Tell me when your answer is speculative.”

Remember, AI chatbots can often provide false information, such as statistics, facts, and citations. When it comes to health information, it’s important to self-verify the answers you receive using reliable sources.

While AI chatbots can be an effective tool, it’s important to remember that it can’t offer the same level of support as connecting with a licensed mental health professional.

Your mental health matters, and you deserve to have access to safe options.

Here are some accessible and low cost mental health care options to consider:

  • Community clinics: Community clinics can be a great way to access affordable and local counseling and therapy. Many clinics offer a sliding scale that takes your income into account.
  • Employee assistance programmes (EAPs): Most workplaces offer EAPs, which are free services that can include confidential, short-term counseling, well-being initiatives, and crisis intervention.
  • Student services: If you’re a student, you may be able to access free or low cost therapy or counseling through your school or university. Most institutions have a dedicated well-being hub or resource centre you can visit to find out more.
  • Support groups: Support groups can help bring together people who have shared experiences. These can provide an empathic and non-judgmental space where you can share and learn management techniques from others.

Remember that many of these options can be accessed in person and online.

With artificial intelligence (AI) tools on the rise, many people are turning to AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, as a substitute for mental health therapy.

While this can allow users to access immediate and real-time conversation, without having to endure a cost or waiting list, AI chatbots are unregulated, and there are currently limited safeguards in place to protect users.

There are many alternatives available to help provide you with access to safe and effective mental health care.