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These days, it’s more common to hear “I’ll ask ChatGPT” instead of “I’ll Google it” when it comes to something we want to find out more about. AI has been growing in adoption across all age groups; and the ubiquity of AI has become so entrenched that more and more are using ChatGPT to play therapist in their lives.
You may even have seen screenshots on your friends’ Instagram Stories sharing insightful snippets from their conversation with the AI chatbot, along with an effusive caption saying how helpful AI has been to their mental health so far.
While there’s no denying that AI can be helpful in certain scenarios, it’s important to remember that AI is just a piece of technology; and that despite how it presents itself, it does not know everything. We check in with a few of our A Space Between therapists on whether ChatGPT can be a good therapist; and what you need to know if you decide to do so, to ensure you avoid the dangers of AI therapy.
What do therapists think about ChatGPT and AI?
To test out our AI therapist, we asked it a simple question about burnout, and how to manage these feelings.
Burnout’s a common mental health issue that many Singaporeans struggle with, and we thought it would be a good topic to chat with our ChatGPT therapist about. Here is what our ChatGPT therapist had to say:
On first glance, our ChatGPT therapist does seem to give very sound advice – and our A Space Between therapists agree with this. “I think this example highlights ChatGPT’s strengths,” says Sharmishtha, a licensed mental health counsellor. “It can generate relevant information and some of it may be useful to the person seeking help.”
Dr Kelly, who is a Developmental and Clinical Psychologist, echoes this sentiment, “ChatGPT’s response comprises great tips but they are quite generic and not personalised – and content like this is very readily available these days. “
However Dr Kelly points out, our ChatGPT therapist’s response was quite generic, which may work if someone is just looking for some basic suggestions for what they can do… but may not be the best fit if a person is truly struggling and looking for help..
About this, Clinical Psychologist Dr Roy adds, “While the AI solution suggests activities that a person can do to alleviate burnout, they are basically just a list of activities. Giving a person another list of things to do when they are burnt out may not be the most helpful.“
There is a distinct lack of emotional connection with ChatGPT, particularly when one is first starting out talking to the platform. This is something that Dr Kelly acknowledges as well, saying, “To be honest if this person explored a bit deeper with ChatGPT they might be able to get better, less superficial responses that are more tailored to the person. ChatGPT is decent at “AI therapy” to some degree.”
However, the issue with this is that it places the responsibility of prompting onto the individual instead of the ‘therapist’. With ChatGPT, you’re in charge of leading the initial conversation, which can be quite overwhelming and difficult if you’re not even sure what you’re struggling with or need help with.
A quick search online shows tips and advice on how you can optimise your use of ChatGPT or how to configure ChatGPT to suit your needs. These are prompts that you can feed ChatGPT at the start of your interaction, to instruct ChatGPT on the type of therapist or persona you want it to take during your ‘conversation’. For example, you can prompt ChatGPT to take on a persona of a ‘warm and empathetic therapist, who is supportive of your needs, communicating in an understanding way’ or ‘a straightforward therapist who does not mince their words’.
However, this places the onus of therapy onto you, the individual, instead. This may be all well and good if you’re in a good mental space to parse out what type of support you need; but it breaks down if you’re unable to determine what exactly you need.
Additionally, no matter what you feed ChatGPT, it’s important to remember that ultimately, it’s all a farce.
“While ChatGPT can use validating and reflective language to help you feel heard, it is not capable of attunement – something that is of vital importance in offering support and understanding to someone who is struggling. It can sound empathetic, but it doesn’t actually care about you,” says Sharmishtha.
How does a therapist approach issues differently?
We asked our therapists how they would approach a client, if they came to them with the same issue; and what their considerations are as they’re guiding their client.
Dr Roy shares, “I would focus on what makes it so taboo for this client to proclaim that they are tired and overworked; and also look at earlier experiences of what work means to them. Perhaps, was there ever an opportunity for them to say too much is too much?”
“In terms of my consideration, I’m thinking about their need for self-sacrifice and if self-sacrifice is taken as a sense of pride, or even competence. I’m also wondering about self blame, and if they feel incompetent for even being tired when others seem to be thriving fine, which further saps their motivation,” adds Dr Roy.
As for Dr Kelly, she shares, “I would explore the person’s difficulties and the symptoms they’re experiencing to be able to ascertain if we are just dealing with burn out, or if they may also be experiencing difficulties more suggestive of depression or anxiety.”
“I would also prompt the person a bit more to try to get closer to the heart of the issue. The person mentioned they don’t think they can stop working and such. I would try to better understand what that looks like in their lives, what are the obstacles preventing the possibility of taking a break, how their feelings of burnout may be affecting their lives, when else have they felt similarly.”
In both answers, it’s clear that the therapists’ priority is having a good understanding of their client’s emotional and mental state; and from that, build their approach around this, to ensure the effectiveness of their intervention. Such consideration is missing from an AI therapist, simply because they’re not trained to do it… they’re only algorithms that are learning how to mimic such human experts.
For individuals who are struggling, this emotional connection and understanding can be key to their recovery and treatment. That is what professionals call the ‘therapeutic alliance’, which is the positive, collaborative relationship built between therapist and their client. The strength of this alliance is typically a strong factor in how effective therapy is; and linked to positive outcomes for the client.
When should you use AI for help?
However, it’s understandable that we may still want to use AI for our problems, particularly if it’s challenging to get help from a human therapist – be it because of costs, accessibility, or fit. Should you want to use AI for therapy, just keep the following tips in mind to ensure you’re protecting yourself:
- Choose a platform that is reliable, preferably one that is backed by psychology research if you want to use it for therapy. This ensures that the information the AI platform is trained on is at least medically sound, and may be more reliable than other more generic and non-specialised platforms.
- If anything sounds amiss with what the AI platform is saying, do fact check any advice it gives; or check in with your friends and family about the conversations you’re having.
- Make sure you understand how the AI platform may be collecting your data before you start using it. This may mean you need to trawl through wordy Terms & Conditions; alternatively, consider just sharing very basic details about your situation, that don’t touch too much on the personal.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide how best to look after your mental health; and what you’re most comfortable with!
It could be easier to first start talking to an AI chatbot about how you’re feeling and the challenges you’re going through; before you decide you want to work with a human therapist. Some may also choose to have face to face therapy with a trained mental health professional, while also relying on ChatGPT for more basic informational searches about what they’re going through.
No matter what you opt for, know that we’re here for you at A Space Between. Anytime you feel ready, just reach out to our therapists for an appointment.
References
- https://www.channelnewsasia.com/today/ground-up/i-was-simply-too-tired-singaporeans-burnt-out-long-hours-working-days-and-unreasonable-bosses-4983986
- https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatGPTPromptGenius/comments/1bz9300/free_therapy/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2025/08/15/3-ai-prompts-that-turn-chatgpt-into-your-friend-and-therapist/
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/sg/blog/urban-survival/202505/ai-vs-therapist-mental-health-support-in-a-war-zone
- https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/news-releases/new-research-human-vs-chatgpt-therapists
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6493237/
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/using-an-ai-chatbot-for-therapy-or-health-advice-experts-want-you-to-know-these-4-things
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/experimentations/202506/making-ai-safe-for-mental-health-use
- https://www.calm.com/blog/ai-mental-health
