AI and empathy: Could ChatGPT be your next therapist?

The National

6 hours ago

During a recent WhatsApp chat, a friend told me that she views ChatGPT as her new "friend" and said the chatbot had helped her manage every day tasks.
She explained how it's helped her find tailored meal plans and source the the best holiday deals. She also said that she uses ChatGPT as a space to explore her innermost thoughts, sometimes even turning to it to help her process difficult experiences from the past.
She is not alone.
More people are opting for alternatives to conventional therapy, bypassing the vulnerability or discomfort that can come with opening up to another person. Introducing a digital element has proved useful, and very accessible, to many. A 2024 Oliver Wyman Forum survey suggested that 36 per cent of Gen Zs and millennials would consider using AI for mental health support.
It's something Maria Young, a freelance psychologist working in Abu Dhabi, says she is very aware of. Some of her clients are using ChatGPT, and in some cases TikTok, as a way of understanding and navigating mental health issues. She adds that it's fast becoming the norm among her younger clients, mainly those under 40, who are using it as a substitute.
Young isn't dismissive when asked about using the technology for mental health support, and says that "it's always best to find a human therapist, but when there are barriers in place, you can use AI to plug the gap." She adds that it should be "used as a coping strategy, rather than companionship".
She explains that living in a city with many immigrants, loneliness is something she sees a lot. She adds that AI "could help bridge the gap in therapy after moving to a new place and trying to gather an understanding of new surroundings".
The London-trained psychologist encourages people to use it as "a tool when there are barriers stopping you from accessing services". Young gives the example of an 18-year-old patient who has been diagnosed with ADHD and is using ChatGPT to help manage her time more effectively and navigate challenges.
She says that, in her opinion, there are several factors that might prevent someone from seeking help with a mental health issue, and technology is a new tool in the box.
The cost of therapy was a driving factor for Nenah (name changed to protect privacy) when seeking alternative digital help. She says one-on-one sessions with a professional have become unaffordable following a change in financial circumstances. For the past few months she has been using the chatbot about four times a week to help her process her thoughts and feelings.
Overall, she's found it remarkably successful. "Unlike an actual therapist, the chatbot remembers everything I say, asks questions, is more likely to draw on different theories and offers a few options to take," she says.
Factors such as shame, fear, money and time all stand in the way of getting people through the door to conventional therapy, according to Young. She stresses that, if therapists help AI to grow, it could be a way to ease some of the strain.
Both Young and Nenah mention its significance for men. According to British mental health provider Priory's 2025 statistics, 40 per cent of the 1,000 men polled in the UK have never spoken to anyone about their mental health. This is despite the fact that 77 per cent of those polled have lived with anxiety and depression, as well as high levels of stress.
Nenah adds that, as ChatGPT has replaced Google for many of her tech-savvy friends, it means that her male friends are finding it an easily accessible space to ask broader questions about feelings.
London psychotherapist Alice Sinclair does not share this optimism. She says, 'Therapy is for connection, connecting to yourself and discovering parts of yourself that aren't serving you, and then working through them.
'To use ChatGPT for that, it's essentially disconnecting you even further from yourself.'
She explains that there could be many knock-on effects of not talking to a human, which could slow down the healing process. Trained therapists have an education in body language, which can help pick up on nuances not familiar to the untrained eye, and the use of ChatGPT removes the possibility of that type of analysis. Sinclair also outlines 'a risk of dependency rather than working towards a solution'.
Despite her reservations, Sinclair says that she had experimented with the platform, once asking ChatGPT what to do if she experienced suicidal thoughts. She said she was impressed with the results. In her professional opinion, it said everything right, giving a detailed answer, with options of different clinics and numbers to call for immediate help.
It seems there might be space for the platform in the evolving mental heath conversation. But the first step remains, for individuals to seek the professional help they need.