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Recent studies suggest that many Americans with mental health conditions now turn to AI chatbots for mental health advice. Now a new paper in JAMA Psychiatry suggests that therapists should regularly ask patients about their use of AI for emotional support, just like they seek information about sleep, exercise and how much you drink. NPR's Rhitu Chatterjee reports.
RHITU CHATTERJEE, BYLINE: These days, when people feel stressed or anxious, many reach for an AI chatbot like ChatGPT. It's at their fingertips and easy. Study author Shaddy Saba is an assistant professor at New York University Silver School of Social Work.
SHADDY SABA: You know, people who are using these tools on a regular basis to ask about stressful experiences and how to cope with stressful experiences, personal relationship challenges.
CHATTERJEE: For example, anticipating a tough conversation with a boss or a friend.
SABA: How do I approach it? Do I say this? Do I say that?
CHATTERJEE: People also vent to chatbots and ask for ways to cope with anxiety and depression.
SABA: If they're doing a back and forth with a chatbot about these things, they might be picking up on ideas of what might be helpful for them. They might also be, you know, exposed to ideas that might be less helpful for them.
CHATTERJEE: That's why Saba and his coauthors suggest mental health providers ask clients about their use of AI.
SABA: The extent that we can prompt our clients to bring these conversations, you know, in increasing detail even, into the therapy room, I think there's potentially kind of a treasure trove of information.
CHATTERJEE: Information about the main causes of stress in someone's life, or whether they're turning to a chatbot to avoid confrontations.
VAILE WRIGHT: Let's say, for example, you have a client who is having relationship issues with their spouse.
CHATTERJEE: Psychologist Vaile Wright is with the American Psychological Association.
WRIGHT: And instead of trying to have open conversations with their spouse about how to get their needs met, they're instead going to the chatbot to either fill those needs or to avoid having these difficult conversations with their spouse.
CHATTERJEE: Wright says understanding this background will help a therapist better support the patient.
WRIGHT: So helping them understand how to have a safe conversation with their spouse, helping them understand the limitations of the AI as a tool for filling those gaps and those needs.
CHATTERJEE: Talking about AI use can also help therapists learn about things that their patient might not voluntarily share with them. Psychiatrist Tom Insel is former director of the National Institute of Mental Health.
TOM INSEL: People often use the chatbots to talk about things that they can't talk about with other people 'cause they're so worried about being judged.
CHATTERJEE: For example, if they are having thoughts of suicide - he says discussing AI use also allows mental health providers to educate patients about the risks of using a chatbot like a therapist.
INSEL: Because it's the opposite of therapy in so many ways, you know, they're affirming. They may even be sycophantic.
CHATTERJEE: Which only reinforces a user's thoughts and feelings.
INSEL: Therapy is there to help you change and to challenge you and to get you to talk about things that are particularly difficult.
CHATTERJEE: And helping people understand this can itself be transformative for their mental health in the long run. Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR News.
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