Many people have already tried talking with an AI, especially ChatGPT in a therapeutic way, including myself.
For a lot of people, mental health therapy is usually very expensive, and majority of people who are into the grieving journey need time for opening to someone and talking about their emotions.
That’s exactly when Chat GPT can be very useful for managing your feelings and pain, and here’s what I discovered about AI as a therapist.
AI might offer generalized advice that isn’t personalized to your history or context.
Chat GPT as a psychologist from my experience and point of view
Pros of using AI as a mental health counselor:
You can get the needed help anytime. Whether it’s 3 a.m. and you need someone to talk to, you can always rely on Chat GPT for a quick therapeutic conversation. Therefore, I would definitely like to point accessibility out as the first pro of using AI for mental help.
It’s almost free. Basic versions of different AI chatbots are free and you can afford them anytime. Even if you want advanced and improved versions of AI chatbots, those are usually low-cost, especially when compared to a real therapy session.
You can protect your anonymity. As said above already, a lot of bereaved parents feel vulnerable and find it hard to open up to someone. If you feel safer this way, AI is your best choice for now. Many people also have fear of judgment – ChatGPT won’t judge, at least for now. 🙂
AI can help you recognize early signs of mental health issues. This is probably one of the most important things it provides – by recognizing symptoms early, it can encourage people to seek professional help on time. This is especially useful when it comes to suicidal thoughts and ideas.
You can use it non-stop. Another plus is consistency. It won’t get tired of you and your questions, despite the fact that you will probably come for help for same reasons multiple times. Besides that, you won’t feel like you are making someone else tired and overwhelmed with your emotions.
Okay, now that I have pointed out some of the pluses for using AI as a mental health helper, we also must talk about its limitations and risks.
Here’s what I discovered:⚠️
- Don’t use it if you are searching for someone who will truly understand your emotions. People need real support and someone who can listen with human emotions.
- It cannot give you a deep diagnosis. Don’t use AI for putting serious diagnosis on yourself.
- Is your privacy guaranteed? The last concern is, of course, related to sharing sensitive information.
- I feel like it’s offering the same solutions over and over again. It’s generative and will repeat itself. So, it’s not a good solution in the long-term.
Here’s what people on Reddit think about AI therapy:
In general, I would definitely recommend using artificial intelligence chatbots as a supplement to therapy. For example, they can be very useful for mood tracking or journaling. For small mental health struggles, you should use it as well, especially for stress or anxiety. Many people find it very useful for loneliness, too.
In the end, I still believe AI can help us build self-awareness and encourage us to work on our mental health.
Since you are here, take a lot at this article as well – we covered a topic about future and AI allowing us to talk to the dead.
