More people are turning to AI-powered chatbots for mental health support, the Washington Post reported Oct. 25.
Easily accessible chatbots can offer support to individuals who can't access or afford therapy, but some experts told the Washington Post they are concerned the bots can provide unhelpful and potentially harmful guidance.
Here are six things to know about chatbots and mental health:
- Woebot, an AI-based chatbot that launched in 2017, is designed to help patients manage depression, anxiety and other conditions. The bot has more than half a million users, according to CBS News, and is only available through health plans or providers.
- Woebot pulls its responses from a prewritten library, vetted by mental health professionals, according to the Washington Post. Generative AI programs, including ChatGPT, do not have the same guardrails, according to the report.
- A spokesperson for OpenAI, which owns ChatGPT, told the Washington Post the platform often suggests users seek out professional mental healthcare.
- In April, David Mohr, PhD, director of the Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., told the Wall Street Journal a true AI therapist is still years away.
"There's still too many ways it can go off the rails," Dr. Mohr said. - Though generative AI chatbots may not be able to provide clinical therapy, the products can help support individuals between sessions with therapists and guide users to mental health resources, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- In October, Headspace added Ebb, a chatbot, to its online platform. The chatbot is not used to treat mental health conditions, and does not provide mental health advice or diagnoses, according to Headspace.
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