Oct 1, 2025
I came across this article from NPR talking about some of the risks for people turning to ChatGPT or other LLMs for mental health assistance. It starts by focusing on cost as a primary reason people look to AI for assistance, but quickly jumps to the benefits of being able to “talk” with the therapist in the middle of the night, not feeling pressure or judgement, and not being constrained by time.
When I started my mental health journey, I went to BetterHelp. ChatGPT didn’t exist, but it seemed safer and easier to start online with a Zoom screen separating me from this scary person who was going to ask me questions about my childhood.
My therapist only ever engaged with me via text messaging on BetterHelp, so I never experienced their deep, penetrating gaze peering into my soul. She also quickly recognized that my needs exceeded her remote capabilities and pointed me toward some in-person therapy. A few therapists later, I am quite happy and really look forward to our weekly in-person sessions.
At the same time, I often find myself thinking this is not enough. I went to a 7 day Hero’s Journey Men’s retreat and made as much progress there as I had in the prior 18 months. Further, my girlfriend is a therapist, and she is always telling me that her patients tell her “If I could only have you in my ear at any time of day, it would be amazing!
We can’t be on retreat all the time, and therapists often aren’t available for more time even if one could afford it, which really got me thinking that AI could provide a valuable solution. But AI as a standalone made me nervous for some of the reasons raised in the NPR article, including some I hadn’t fully considered.
That is why we are building the Therapii AI chatbot to augment and serve at the direction of the therapist. It will not be optimized for patient engagement, it will only support the therapeutic plan laid out by the therapist. Patients can only access the tool with the authorization of their existing therapist, who will be able to review and monitor their patient’s activity, course correcting as appropriate.
AI is an exciting new technology that holds a lot of promise for improving access to mental health therapies and improving patient outcomes. It is also not free of risks and I appreciate NPR bringing them to the public’s attention. At Therapii, we are committed to proceeding with caution and always keeping the patient’s well-being as our guiding light in all of our decisions.
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