According to a Pollfish study by Cognitive FX, around one-third of Americans turn to AI chatbots for mental health support, fearing judgement from real people. Unfortunately, conversations with AI revolving around mental health concerns have been increasing dramatically, with suicide rates rising alongside them.
This worrisome trend sheds light on the harmful effects of the long-standing stigma around mental health. Data shows that chatbots are often unable to identify the mental state of users, failing to direct them to the appropriate resources. Upper Campus Counselor Stephanie Fugita finds this connection between AI and mental health dangerous.
“My biggest concern is AI giving advice that is not helpful,” Fugita said.
When users told AI they felt they were a burden, AI would either validate their beliefs or propose generalized solutions that did not help.
Fugita also said the lack of real human experience is the most significant limitation of AI for mental health support.
“The brain is naturally wired for connection,” Fugita said. “Human therapists have past experiences and can notice verbal and nonverbal cues like body language.”
In short, AI lacks necessary human qualities. It is unable to interpret questions and fails to provide adequate support that patients need.
The standout difference between human therapists and AI is the countless hours of training that therapists receive. They obtain multiple degrees and are trained extensively in these ethical issues.
“They have 3,000 supervised clinical hours, and two really challenging licensing exams,” Fugita said.
Despite hosting a yearly Mental Health Awareness Week, Fugita believes that students should be even more educated on mental health, beginning much earlier in school curriculum.
“Mental health really needs to be normalized,” Fugita said. “Actions like taking care of yourself and your mental health are not skills we are taught.”
To some people and their cultures, to seek help is seen as weak, especially getting help from a nearby counselor.
Fugita also believes AI can support the mental health industry in different ways by helping therapists with documentation, which is a troublesome yet crucial aspect of their workload.
“AI can help with writing notes, which is a huge part of our job, but there’s laws around us consulting AI and how much we’re allowed to use it to make clinical decisions,” Fugita said.
The role of AI in the mental health world is ultimately undetermined, but the rising number of ethical concerns regarding the use of AI should not be dismissed.
