Oct 22, 2026 · 33 min · 10 segments
With the rise of AI, more people are turning to chatbots for mental health support. And for many, it makes sense: a chatbot is available around the clock, accessible from your phone in the middle of…
Gail SaltzGuest
Neha PathakHost
So what are some of the ways that you think that people should recognize that AI-based tools for mental health can realistically help them? So what are some of the green flags that this is a tool that is going to be helpful versus a red flag that, hey, this is maybe a tool that's not going to protect my privacy or is not evidence-based, as you mentioned?
So at this juncture, and I say at this juncture because the reality is very little research has been done.
And a lot of the information that's presented as research is really done by the company itself and therefore is not what I would call truly evidence-based.
That being said, I think there is a role supported by research for some screening of patients.
In other words, entering symptoms as prompted and having some sort of screening to both say whether in fact you should be contacting a mental health professional or it should be evaluated or a concern that you have made a turn for the worst or an assessment that maybe you are having improvement.
Have you basically developed more severe symptoms such that you really should be receiving some sort of treatment or an escalation in treatment? And AI can be useful in helping a patient to do that, to rehearse and to practice what the clinician has selected for them, particularly in people who are struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder.
So you all note that there is nothing on this list that speaks to moderate to severe clinical issues.
And in fact, I think that we don't find any evidence that AI is helpful with moderate to severe mental illness.
And in fact, actually, it can be dangerous even to use with somebody who has more severe illness, particularly not good for crisis escalation for anybody who is quickly becoming more severely ill, particularly if we're concerned about crisis symptoms, psychosis, or suicidality, or risk of self-harm in any way.
So what are some of the ways that you think that people should recognize that AI-based tools for mental health can realistically help them? So what are some of the green flags that this is a tool that is going to be helpful versus a red flag that, hey, this is maybe a tool that's not going to protect my privacy or is not evidence-based, as you mentioned?
So at this juncture, and I say at this juncture because the reality is very little research has been done.
And a lot of the information that's presented as research is really done by the company itself and therefore is not what I would call truly evidence-based.
That being said, I think there is a role supported by research for some screening of patients.
In other words, entering symptoms as prompted and having some sort of screening to both say whether in fact you should be contacting a mental health professional or it should be evaluated or a concern that you have made a turn for the worst or an assessment that maybe you are having improvement.
Have you basically developed more severe symptoms such that you really should be receiving some sort of treatment or an escalation in treatment? And AI can be useful in helping a patient to do that, to rehearse and to practice what the clinician has selected for them, particularly in people who are struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder.
So you all note that there is nothing on this list that speaks to moderate to severe clinical issues.
And in fact, I think that we don't find any evidence that AI is helpful with moderate to severe mental illness.
And in fact, actually, it can be dangerous even to use with somebody who has more severe illness, particularly not good for crisis escalation for anybody who is quickly becoming more severely ill, particularly if we're concerned about crisis symptoms, psychosis, or suicidality, or risk of self-harm in any way.
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