Should I Use ChatGPT as a Therapist?
We see this question popping up a lot lately and it’s time we answered it because ChatGPT is just going to say yes.
Generally people don’t wake up thinking “I’m going to replace therapy with AI today”. It’s more nuanced than that. When you’re anxious, lonely, or stuck in a loop and need to talk your way out of it, going to your ChatGPT app seems like a great idea.
ChatGPT responds immediately and without judgement. Without asking for their credit card…
Of course people are trying it.
We are going to talk more about the difference between self support and therapy and when one should be used over the other.
The Appeal Of AI Support At Home
Virtual counselling and online therapy have already shifted how we think about support.
We’re all now used to being at home on a screen, talking through real things. AI feels like the next logical step. It’s always available. It doesn’t cancel (for now...). It doesn’t get tired (for now...). It doesn’t react when you say something messy or contradictory. For someone who feels overwhelmed or unsure where to start, that can feel like relief. A neutral guidance where you don’t even have to face a real human being to tell them what’s wrong.
There’s also the cost piece. Therapy is often an investment, and not everyone has benefits or the funds for it. AI tools feel accessible in a way that mental health care often hasn’t been.
When It Genuinely Feels Helpful
Sometimes, in a very limited way, it can help. Putting thoughts into words can take the edge off.
Seeing your feelings reflected back can slow your breathing. Using it to organize what you want to say to someone, removing emotion and leaving facts on the page, or to make sense of a situation, can feel grounding. For some people, it becomes a place to practice saying things out loud before they say them to a real person.
…but here’s where things get complicated.
What Therapy Actually Offers That AI Can’t
Therapy isn’t just about receiving words. It’s about being met. A therapist is paying attention to what you say and what you don’t say. They’re noticing patterns over time. They’re holding context, memory, and relationship. They’re responding not just to your language, but to your pace, your affect, your hesitations. Even in online therapy, even through a screen, there’s a felt sense of another person being with you.
AI doesn’t have that. It can simulate understanding, but it doesn’t experience it. It doesn’t feel concerned when something sounds off. It doesn’t sit with uncertainty. It doesn’t feel the weight of responsibility when someone is vulnerable. And because it doesn’t feel those things, it can’t ever truly hold them.
The Problem With Confident Answers That Aren’t Always True
There’s also the issue people don’t always realize until it happens. AI is confident even when it’s wrong. It will straight up lie to you with confidence, about the smallest things, all the way to the biggest. Even after you’ve called it out on it!
This shows up most clearly in what’s called hallucinations. The system fills in gaps. It makes connections that sound reasonable but aren’t accurate. It can assert things that feel reassuring or authoritative without actually being true. When you’re talking about feelings, that might seem harmless. When you’re talking about mental health, relationships, trauma, or decisions that affect your safety or wellbeing, it becomes a real problem.
There have already been documented cases of people following AI-generated advice that turned out to be false or dangerous. Not because they were reckless, but because the information was delivered with confidence. The same thing can happen emotionally. An AI can validate a belief that actually needs gentle challenging. It can reinforce a narrative that keeps someone stuck. It can miss when a situation requires outside support because it doesn’t truly assess risk.
It also tends to lean towards being agreeable to you… meaning you can influence it into being what you “need” in any given situation. But this is more often than not, not what’s best for you.
The Quiet Cost Of Replacing Connection
And then there’s the piece we don’t talk about enough…we are already isolated.
A lot of people are craving connection and not getting enough of it. Replacing human interaction with something that feels like connection but isn’t can quietly deepen that gap. It can make it easier to avoid reaching out. Easier to stay inside your own head. Easier to keep everything contained in a space where nothing is asked of you and nothing pushes back.
That might feel comfortable at the moment. Over time, it tends to shrink a person’s world rather than expand it.
Where AI Fits, And Where It Doesn’t
This doesn’t mean AI has no place at all. It just means it needs a boundary.
Used as a tool, it can sometimes be helpful. Used as a replacement for therapy, it falls short in ways that matter. It doesn’t offer genuine empathy in the way humans do. It doesn’t build trust over time. It doesn’t repair ruptures. It doesn’t notice when you’re saying the same thing every week and gently wonder why. It doesn’t hold accountability, confidentiality, or ethical responsibility in the way a trained professional does.
Virtual counselling and online therapy exist precisely because people need flexibility without losing that human element. Being at home doesn’t remove the relationship. It just changes the room you’re in. The work still happens between two people, in real time, with care and intention.
A More Honest Question To Ask Yourself
If you’re using AI to help you think, journal, organize, or to find words when you’re overwhelmed, that can be okay.
If you notice it becoming the place you turn instead of reaching out and seeking support when things feel heavy, that’s worth paying attention to.
The question isn’t really “should I use ChatGPT as a therapist?”... It’s “what am I actually needing right now?”.
Sometimes the answer is clarity. Sometimes it's a relief. And sometimes, it’s another human being.
If you’re considering online therapy or virtual counselling and wondering how it compares, the difference is simple but important. One is a tool. The other is a relationship. And for the kind of change that lasts, relationships still matter.
Feeling like what you need right now is a real conversation? Lindsay supports depression and anxiety and has online booking spots available. You don’t have to leave the comfort of your home but can still get the connection and support you need. Book your first session with Lindsay.
