AI and mental health: Tool, trend, or the future of therapy?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a potential tool to improve access and quality of mental healthcare. The demand for accessible and affordable mental healthcare is higher than ever. Researchers estimate that about 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. and Canada has a mental health problem, but less than half have access to appropriate treatment. AI mental health tools may help people get quick access to care, reduce costs, and personalize treatments.

Talkspace examines how researchers are studying how AI mental health care tools can be integrated into the current therapy landscape. As these AI therapy techniques evolve and become more common in practice, it’ll become clearer if AI for mental health is a useful tool, a passing trend, or the future of how therapy is provided.

The Rise of AI for Mental Health

AI developers aim to use AI to ease the burden on mental healthcare providers. A 2023 study published in The Lancet Psychiatry found that about half of people globally will meet criteria for at least one mental health condition by age 75. Despite the high demand for mental healthcare, appropriate care can be difficult to access. More than half of United States psychologists surveyed in 2024 didn’t have an opening for new patients.

At the same time as the growing demand for accessible and affordable mental health care, more AI mental health tools have become available for both providers and users. One of the most widely used types of AI for mental health is chatbots like ChatGPT. These tools can offer mental health support in the form of supportive conversations, guided self-reflection, and providing mental health information. Many other paid and free apps using AI for mental health support have also become available recently.

AI tools have also become easier to use, more responsive, and more conversational. Although AI tools can offer support to people who otherwise may not be able to access care, it can be easy to mistake the mental health support you receive from AI tools for actual treatment. This means some people with serious mental health problems may not seek the care they need.

How AI Is Currently Being Used for Mental Health

AI is already playing a support role in mental health care. These AI tools can help in several ways, including:

• Making it easier to get timely mental health support
• Improving how mental health issues are identified and diagnosed
• Offering more affordable therapy options
• Developing personalized patient care plans
• Helping people better understand their mental health

Below, Talkspace dives deeper into some of the ways AI mental health tools are currently being used.

Mental health chatbots

When you think of AI for mental health, you’re likely thinking about a mental health chatbot. A chatbot is an AI tool designed to simulate a natural conversation. There are many general-use chatbots, but there are several other chatbots purpose-built for use in mental health.

Chatbots interact with you using natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning technology. NLP helps the chatbot understand and generate human-sounding language. Machine learning technology helps chatbots identify patterns to learn and adapt their responses over time. As AI technology has improved, it’s become increasingly difficult to tell the difference between humans and AI in some chatbots.

Symptom monitoring, journaling, and mood trackers

Symptom monitoring is a common part of many mental health treatment plans. AI tools for mental health can help you and your therapist tune into your emotional patterns over time. They can ease this process by tracking your symptoms and sharing them with your therapist.

Symptom monitoring

AI-powered symptom monitoring — including mood tracking and wearables — can automatically collect data and send information about how you’re feeling directly to your provider. By assisting in symptom monitoring, AI-powered tools may help reduce the need for frequent in-person visits for some people. This extra data can give your provider a clearer picture of how you’re doing between sessions and can help with tracking your progress.

Journaling

AI-powered journaling apps offer guided reflections to help you explore your thoughts, emotions, and experiences. These tools can also be helpful if you’re new to journaling, since they can give personalized prompts to get you started. Some AI journaling apps can also analyze the emotional tone of your journal entries and highlight patterns in your moods and stress levels over time, giving you valuable insight into your mental health.

Mood trackers

An AI mood tracker can help you follow your emotional well-being by monitoring stress and mood changes. Depending on the app, mood trackers may use daily check-ins, voice or facial expression analysis, or the language in journal entries to find patterns in how you’re feeling. Over time, mood tracking may reveal trends in what worsens or improves your symptoms.

Clinician assistance

AI tools for mental health aren’t just about supporting individuals looking for therapy. Several AI tools are also available to help mental healthcare providers behind the scenes and free up more time to spend with their patients. For example, AI programs can help streamline administrative tasks, such as scheduling, keeping health records, and billing.

“Applications for AI in mental health are varied. It can be used to aid in session notes, to provide relevant resources when needed. It can be helpful in reducing some of the workflow currently challenging mental health professionals. Ethical and confidentiality considerations should be identified as AI is introduced into the profession,” said Talkspace therapist Minkyung Chung, MS, LMHC.

AI tools with NLP technology can help clinicians keep a record of session notes and flag important patterns and themes over time. Other AI tools can use facial and voice analysis to help clinicians diagnose mental health conditions early and identify people at risk for serious mental health problems. Some AI-based techniques can help clinicians predict how you might respond to specific treatments to create personalized treatment plans.

The way that AI and mental health tools work together is still evolving. AI mental health tools for clinicians aren’t meant to replace mental health providers but rather to support them and give them more time and information to better serve their patients.

Opportunity for clinician insight (use this question to spark a relevant insight): How do you feel about AI being used to assist clinicians (e.g., transcribing sessions, triaging)? Has this impacted your workflow or care delivery?

Is AI Mental Health Support Just a Trend?

As AI mental health tools continue to grow in popularity, health experts are also investigating their efficacy and safety. While employing AI-based tools for mental health support presents many exciting possibilities, some may be tempted to see tech solutions, like AI, as a cure-all for complex problems. This is known as the “Silicon Valley solutionism” effect.

Studies of AI chatbots for treating mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and stress have had inconsistent results, with some studies showing significant improvements, while others find little to no benefits. For example, one 2024 study found that AI chatbots helped temporarily reduce depression and anxiety symptoms. However, another 2024 study found that short-term interventions using a mental health chatbot didn’t reduce stress or improve well-being.

Sometimes AI tools can be dangerous. In 2023, the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) had to remove its AI-powered chatbot for giving harmful advice about eating disorders. Overall, more research is needed to learn how effective AI tools may be.

There’s also the question of what’s lost when we lean too heavily on AI for emotional support. Although AI chatbots are convenient, they can’t replace the presence and human empathy of a licensed therapist. As AI for mental health continues to evolve, it’s important to make sure it complements human care, rather than replacing it.

Will AI Redefine the Future of Therapy?

Advanced AI mental health tools are already beginning to challenge traditional ideas of what therapy may look like in the future. Experts are asking, "What will therapy mean when it's delivered by a machine instead of a human?"

Some new AI tools aim to simulate certain aspects of the therapeutic relationship between a patient and their therapist through natural conversations, emotional responsiveness, and memory of past interactions. Emerging concepts, like digital companions, may offer some people emotionally responsive support. However, even advanced AI tools can’t truly replicate or replace the trust, empathy, and nuance of a trained human therapist. While AI tools can offer support or a sense of companionship, the therapeutic alliance — the bond between a therapist and client — is built on shared humanity and empathy that can’t be replaced with technology-based techniques.

Rather than replacing therapists, AI tools may help bridge gaps in mental healthcare access or complement traditional therapy with human oversight. A hybrid model that involves a therapist and an AI copilot can help detect patterns, predict outcomes, and recommend optimal treatment plans.

The Ethical and Existential Stakes of Using AI in Mental Health

Innovations in AI mental health tools raise ethical questions that shape how they are developed and used. It’s important to balance the benefits of AI technology with strong ethical safeguards for responsible use.

Balancing Innovation With Ethical Responsibility

Using AI in mental health means prioritizing well-being while also addressing serious concerns, such as privacy, data security, and bias. Before integrating AI into mental healthcare, it’s important to understand what data AI tools use and how decisions are made. Transparency in AI-driven decision-making is key.

Data ownership and privacy

Another concern is data ownership and privacy. Health information between a licensed therapist and a patient must follow privacy and confidentiality regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). However, a conversation with a chatbot, like a ChatGPT “therapist,” isn’t protected under the same laws, leaving an opportunity for others to access sensitive information. That’s why it’s so important to make sure you understand how your data is being collected and stored when using AI tools for mental health.

Gaps in regulation

One major challenge is the lack of clear regulations over AI in mental health. Agencies that typically regulate new mental health treatments, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), aren’t designed to review AI-powered treatments. However, the FDA has drafted guidelines to regulate certain AI medical devices for safety and efficacy.

Embracing Innovation Without Losing Humanity

While AI mental health research is still in the early stages, it’s clear that AI has the potential to improve and expand access to mental healthcare. Continued research across many different fields of study and strong ethical oversight can help keep AI mental health tools safe, effective, and person-centered.

So, will AI replace therapists? In short, no. In mental healthcare, where the stakes are high, human oversight of AI tools is essential. While AI has a wide potential impact to innovation in mental health, it's important to continually review aspects like quality, security, safety, and accessibility.

This story was produced by Talkspace and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.