Should ChatGPT be your therapist? Why women are turning to AI for emotional support

When Charly’s grandmother entered hospice care, the emotional weight was overwhelming. Though she had access to a and support from hospice staff, she found herself seeking something else somewhere to put the raw, unfiltered questions she didn’t feel comfortable voicing aloud. That “somewhere” ended up being ChatGPT.

“It’s been so helpful to be able to ask the crass, the gruesome, the almost cruel questions about death – the things I feel twisted for wanting to understand,” Charly, 29, from London, explains. “And then, to ask if it has any advice on how to deal with it.”

Her experience is becoming more common. As traditional mental health services struggle under mounting demand data shows patients are eight times more likely to wait over 18 months for treatment than for physical health and the costs starting at at least £60 for traditional therapy, many are seeking stopgap solutions. For a growing number of women, that stopgap is AI, the reports.

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For Ellie, 27, from South Wales, it offered relief in moments of isolation. “It was helpful to have my feelings validated,” she says. “It didn’t have full context to my life like my therapist does, but it was accessible and non-judgmental in times of crisis.”

Similarly, Julia, 30, in Munich, turned to ChatGPT when her therapist couldn’t fit her in. While waiting, she fed the chatbot a summary of her situation and asked it to respond as a therapist might. “I was surprised at how good the answers were,” she says. “It felt like chatting to a therapist on like BetterHelp.”

But Julia quickly ran into limitations. “It was too practical. My therapist constantly challenges me with questions that make me think differently, ChatGPT didn’t do that."

Mental health professionals caution that this shift, while understandable, comes with risks. Psychotherapist Charlotte Fox Weber says: “It doesn’t care about you or feel for you. Even if the engagement feels deep and personal, the connection isn’t comparable to human rapport.”

She warns that AI lacks the empathy that therapy depends on. “It won’t challenge you when you need to reconsider your views or pick up on subtle signs of distress. It’s an echo chamber unless you specifically ask for feedback."

Integrative psychotherapist Tasha Bailey agrees. “The biggest misconception about therapy is that it’s just about getting advice,” she says. “In reality, it’s about sitting with a compassionate, emotionally engaged therapist who helps you feel and process what’s standing in the way of your healing. Without a real human in the room (or on Zoom), there’s no therapeutic process to help us move forward.”

AI can’t provide what a trained mental health professional can because it's not simply about knowledge. AI can’t observe body language or tone of voice. It can’t build a therapeutic relationship. And it certainly can’t replace cultural context.

Still, not all users see AI as a replacement. Chanti, 31, from London, used ChatGPT as a tool to support mindfulness and journaling. “It helped me notice patterns in my thinking almost therapy-level breakthroughs,” she says. In fact, her use of the chatbot nudged her back to in-person therapy.

But even in these more cautious cases, experts highlight the need for transparency. AI platforms aren’t bound by the confidentiality that governs real therapists. Dr Kate Balestrieri, founder of Modern Intimacy, says: “Conversations with AI are not legally protected like therapist-client confidentiality. People might unknowingly disclose sensitive information that is stored, shared, or used unethically by the platform.”

At its best, AI might offer space to vent or reflect but is this really healing for those who are living their most vulnerable moments? Fox Webber cautions, “vulnerability deserves more than an algorithm."

The rise of AI assisted therapy may be fascinating, but it also reflects the deep cracks and reality of the mental health care system in the UK which is on its knees. Whether used as a bridge to therapy or a temporary crutch, the need for accessible, affordable human support remains.