If you’ve been using AI as a therapist, opening up to ChatGPT or another chatbot late at night when you had nowhere else to put your feelings, you’re not doing anything wrong, and you are far from alone. At DBT Path, the original online DBT skills class taught since 2013, we hear this from thoughtful, self-aware people all the time. You reached for the tool that was there at 2 a.m. when a real person was not. That is not a character flaw. That is a human being trying to cope.

This post is here to meet you where you are. No shame, no lecture. Just an honest look at what using AI as a therapist can and cannot do for your mental health, what the experts are actually saying, and a warm, human-led path forward if you want one.

Why so many people are using AI as a therapist

Using AI as a therapist makes a lot of sense when you look at the reasons. Therapy is expensive and hard to get. Research has found that nearly half of people who could benefit from therapy are unable to reach it, often because of cost, waitlists, or distance. A chatbot, by contrast, is free or low cost, available instantly, never books out, and never makes you feel judged for what you say. It also feels safe. You can be messy, repetitive, and raw with AI in a way that can feel risky with another person. None of that is foolish. It is a reasonable response to a real gap in care.

What the research and experts actually say about using AI as a therapist

In November 2025, the American Psychological Association issued a formal health advisory on using generative AI chatbots and wellness apps for mental health. Its core message: these tools currently lack the scientific evidence and the regulation needed to keep users safe, and they should not be used as a substitute for care from a qualified mental health professional. APA CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr. noted that while chatbots are quick to offer support and validation, their ability to safely guide someone experiencing crisis is limited and unpredictable.

A 2025 Stanford University study, presented at the ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency, tested popular therapy chatbots against the standards we hold human therapists to. The researchers found the chatbots showed stigma toward certain mental health conditions and, in some cases, failed to recognize signs of crisis and responded in ways a trained therapist never would.

Concern has grown enough that in September 2025 the U.S. Federal Trade Commission opened an inquiry into AI companion chatbots from several major tech companies, looking specifically at their effects on children and teens. The throughline is not that AI is evil. It is that these tools were not built to carry your safety, and they can quietly get the most important moments wrong.

Where AI helps and where it falls short

Used for narrow, well-defined tasks, AI can genuinely support your mental health. The APA notes that chatbots are safest for things like learning about mental health, practicing a specific coping skill, journaling, reflecting, or tracking your mood between sessions. Where AI falls short is the part that actually heals: a real relationship. A chatbot does not truly know you, cannot be accountable to you, and is built to keep you engaged and agreeable rather than to lovingly challenge you when you need it. However warm it feels, there is no one actually on the other side.

A gentle but important safety note

AI is not crisis care. If you are thinking about harming yourself or are in a crisis right now, please reach out to a real person who is trained to help. In the U.S. you can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 24 hours a day, free and confidential. If you are outside the U.S., you can find a free, confidential helpline for your country through Find a Helpline. This page is education, not medical advice or therapy.

Something is shifting and it is not just the experts

Here is what has surprised even us. The pushback against AI in mental health is not only coming from psychologists and regulators. It is coming from everyday people, including the younger generation everyone assumed would adopt AI without a second thought. Instead, many are pulling in the opposite direction, trading smartphones for flip phones, choosing analog over algorithmic, and feeling nostalgic for the 1990s and the early internet, back when going online actually meant talking to other people. Reporting in 2026 describes this analog revival as a multibillion-dollar shift, driven by people who say they are simply tired of being always on.

We think they are reaching for something real: human pace, human presence, and the feeling of being known rather than processed. To be honest, that is a big part of why people tell us they love our classes. DBT Path has more of a 90s feel, a steady weekly gathering of real people learning together, with two human teachers who show up every week and remember your name. No endless feed, no bot, no rush.

How DBT Path does it differently

At DBT Path, a real human is always at the center of your learning. Every week, a trained DBT Path team member personally reads your skills practice and writes you back. The same two instructors teach every class: Debbie DeMarco Bennett, MA, who built DBT Path out of her own recovery from BPD and cPTSD, and Dr. Kathryn Holt, PhD, LCSW. There are no rotating coaches and no bot standing in for a person.

We do use AI, and we will not pretend otherwise. We use it quietly behind the scenes to help us stay organized and responsive, never as something you talk to instead of us, and never to automate or outsource the care itself. The teaching, the feedback, and the relationship always come from us.

Take a gentle next step

If you are ready for human-led support, DBT Path runs live, online DBT skills classes where you learn the full evidence-based DBT skill set (Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness) at a steady weekly pace, with personalized written feedback every week. Tuition averages about $167 a month across the nine-month program, and scholarships are available.

If you are not ready to enroll yet, that is completely okay. You can start smaller with our free DBT skills newsletter, and come to a class whenever the time is right for you.

Frequently asked questions

Is it bad to use AI as a therapist?

No, it is not bad. You aren’t doing anything wrong by reaching for the support that feels available to you. What matters is understanding what AI can and cannot do. The APA has advised that AI chatbots lack the evidence and regulation to be a safe substitute for professional care. At DBT Path, we believe the healing part of learning DBT skills comes through real human relationship: a teacher who remembers your name, reads your practice, and writes back to you every week.

Can AI replace a real therapist or a DBT class?

Not in the ways that matter most. A 2025 Stanford study found that therapy chatbots sometimes showed stigma toward certain conditions and failed to recognize signs of crisis. The APA has also cautioned that these tools are not a replacement for qualified care. AI can help with light tasks like journaling or mood tracking, but it cannot offer the accountability, consistency, and real relationship that a human-led DBT class provides.

What can AI safely be used for in mental health?

The APA notes that AI chatbots are safest for narrow tasks: learning about mental health, practicing a specific coping skill, journaling, reflecting, or tracking your mood between sessions. At DBT Path, we use AI quietly behind the scenes to stay organized and responsive, but the teaching and the relationship always come from a real person.

I have been leaning on a chatbot a lot. What should I do?

First, be kind to yourself. You did what you needed to do to cope, and that takes strength. If you are in crisis, please call or text 988 (the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) to reach a trained human who can help right now. If you are looking for steady, human-led support for learning DBT skills, DBT Path live online classes offer a warm, private space where real people teach you and real people write back to you every week. You can also start with our free newsletter to get DBT skills delivered gently to your inbox.