Expert urges caution as young people seek mental health support from AI
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Turning to artificial intelligence chatbots for mental health advice is a growing trend among young people.
A study published in JAMA Pediatrics finds nearly 1 in 5 young people surveyed have used artificial intelligence to get advice or help when they’re struggling.
Researchers found that 40% of those teens using AI for emotional support are doing so at least once a month and consider the advice helpful.
Novant Health Coastal Region Director of Behavioral Health Kathleen Young, PhD said while AI can be used as a tool, chatbots should not be used as a substitute for person-to-person mental healthcare.
“You certainly can put in symptoms of the way that you’re feeling and ChatGPT would give you a diagnosis, but it doesn’t necessarily have the skills to be able to understand what follow up questions would be necessary to really understand what’s going on, as well as the context that the person is in,” Young said.
“There are definitely things that you can use to supplement something like therapy to maybe get suggestions for stress management techniques,” Young stated. “My concern comes in to play whenever people start thinking about ChatGPT being like a person and having a relationship with that instead, because it’s not the same as having a relationship with a therapist or a trusted other person.”
Young said if parents are concerned about their teen’s mental health they can be on the look out for changes in mood, changes in behaviors, changes in relationships, isolation or differences in school performance.
“I think in general the more that we can promote real relationship building, the better,” Young added. “Being able to just show interest. Ask questions and get young people talking in other situations. If you can have conversations in just regular everyday settings, that’s going to make it more likely to be able to have conversations whenever things are difficult too.”
If anyone is struggling with mental health, Young has some advice.
“One of the things I’ll recommend to people a lot is if you are interested in talking to somebody for therapy, PsychologyToday.com is a great website where you can put in information about what you’re looking for in a therapist, looking at insurance and types of therapy,” Young said. “You can also as an adult be able to talk to your other care providers as well. And then if you are having thoughts of suicide or self harm you can always reach out to the Suicide Hotline which all you have to do is text or dial 988 for that.”
