AI therapy apps pose serious risks to users, which is why the American Psychological Association recently called for a federal investigation. Recent cases include teen suicides linked to chatbot guidance. With 987 million chatbot users worldwide, understanding these dangers is critical before trusting AI with your mental health.

Why AI Therapy Is Dangerous:

Artificial intelligence has crept into nearly every corner of our lives, from the algorithm that curates your morning playlist to the chatbot that handles your customer service complaints. Now, it’s knocking on the door of one of our most intimate spaces: the therapist’s office. And the conversation around AI therapy has gotten complicated quickly.

While tech companies promise revolutionary mental health solutions at your fingertips, mental health professionals and advocates are raising red flags that are impossible to ignore. The question isn’t whether AI can mimic therapeutic conversation: it’s whether it should, and what happens when it inevitably gets things wrong.

The Rise of AI Therapy and Why It’s Under Scrutiny

Let’s be real: AI’s takeover of healthcare was probably inevitable. The technology has proven useful for everything from diagnosing medical images to streamlining administrative tasks. But can AI be your therapist? That’s where things get complicated.

The explosion of AI chatbots and therapy apps between 2023 and 2025 has been nothing short of dramatic. We’re talking about 987 million people who have used chatbots, with 88% having interacted with one in the past year alone. These aren’t just casual users: many are turning to AI for mental health support, often without fully understanding what they’re getting into.

The regulatory landscape is scrambling to catch up. It’s a small step, but it signals that lawmakers are finally paying attention to what’s happening in this largely unregulated space.

Meanwhile, GoodTherapy professionals remain committed to what AI simply cannot replicate: accredited, expert care that’s genuinely personalized and grounded in ethical practice. Therapy isn’t just about having someone (or something) to talk to: It’s about the nuanced, deeply human work of healing.

Read More: Why AI Can’t Be Your Therapist

The Human Cost: When AI Gets Mental Health Wrong

The consequences of AI therapy-gone-wrong can be devastating, which is why the conversation about AI’s ethics is so meaningful. When we’re talking about mental health, the stakes aren’t abstract: they’re life and death.

There have been alarming reports of kids using AI chatbots to plan self-harm or suicide. Even more devastating was the recent case of a teen suicide that was reportedly linked to AI guidance. These aren’t isolated incidents or statistical outliers: they’re real people whose lives were affected by technology that simply wasn’t equipped to handle the complexity of human crisis.

But perhaps most troubling is how AI therapy might actually reinforce the very isolation that drives people to seek help in the first place. When someone is struggling with feelings of disconnection and loneliness, does it really make sense to offer them a relationship with a machine? AI therapy can feel like a polite mirror that reflects back what you say without the genuine human connection that makes therapy transformative.

AI therapy’s fundamental limitations are glaring: no crisis intervention capabilities when someone is in immediate danger, no ability to pick up on emotional nuance that might signal deeper issues, and zero accountability when things go wrong. These aren’t bugs that better programming can fix. They’re features of what it means to be human that simply can’t be replicated.

Watchdogs Step In: APA and Advocates Push for Oversight

The concerns have reached such a fever pitch that federal officials are finally taking notice. The American Psychological Association (APA) recently made an unprecedented move, requesting a federal investigation into AI therapy platforms. This move puts AI therapy’s risks of misrepresentation, failure to protect minors, and the absence of ethical guardrails on full display.

The APA’s concerns center on platforms that may be misleading users about the nature of the service they’re receiving, inadequate protections for vulnerable populations (especially children and teenagers), and the lack of professional oversight that would exist in traditional therapeutic relationships.

This regulatory push represents something crucial: recognition that the mental health space requires different standards than other AI applications. When a restaurant recommendation algorithm gets it wrong, you might have a mediocre meal. When a mental health AI gets it wrong, the consequences can be irreversible.

This is exactly why GoodTherapy remains committed to connecting people with real, qualified professionals who can provide the quality care and ethical oversight that human mental health requires. The role of ethics in therapy isn’t just about following rules: it’s about protecting people when they’re at their most vulnerable.

Read More: Explore the Importance of Ethical Therapy

What Stories Like This Reveal About Human Connection

When done right, your therapist should be a healing, safe, and encouraging part of your life that helps you navigate how to be human, which is something AI platforms can’t offer. Recently, a young woman, Savannah Dutton, got engaged and reported being so excited to quickly tell her longtime therapist. As one of the first people she told, her therapist of almost four years was crucial to helping Dutton feel safe, not judged, supported, and confident in her future.

Therapy works because it’s human. It’s about the subtle dance of empathy, the ability to sit with someone in their pain, the intuitive responses that come from years of training and human experience. When we replace that with algorithmic responses, we lose something essential: not just the warmth of human connection but also the clinical expertise that comes from understanding how complex trauma, relationships, and healing actually work.

GoodTherapy knows that the therapeutic relationship is the foundation of effective treatment. Our network includes professionals who do what AI can’t:

• provide the human connection
• set appropriate boundaries
• apply clinical intuition that make real healing possible 
• take accountability for their role

Whether you’re looking for culturally responsive care or simply want to find a therapist you can trust, the human element isn’t optional: it’s everything.

The Future of Ethical AI Therapy: What Needs to Change

AI isn’t going anywhere. The technology will continue to evolve, and mental health professionals need to figure out how to work with it rather than against it. But the key to a future of AI and effective therapy is clear guardrails and safety measures that keep patients safe. 

The future of ethical AI in mental health will likely involve hybrid models with robust human oversight, transparent regulation that protects consumers, and clear boundaries about what AI can and cannot do. Maybe AI can help with scheduling, treatment tracking, or providing psychoeducational resources between sessions. But replacing the human relationship entirely is not innovation: it’s a fundamental misunderstanding of how care works.

For consumers, the message is clear: research your providers, look for licensed oversight, and use major caution when considering AI-only mental health services. There are eight key ways that AI is not therapy, and understanding these differences could prevent serious harm.

If you are thinking about or actively looking for a mental health therapist, start by seeking safe, evidence-based care from qualified professionals. Real therapy, with real humans, is still the gold standard for mental health treatment. At GoodTherapy, that’s exactly what we’re here to help you find: genuine care, clinical expertise, and the irreplaceable power of human connection with no algorithm required.

Read More: Ready to Find a Therapist? 

Resources:

American Psychological Association: APA Calls for Guardrails, Education, to Protect Adolescent AI Users

Futurism: American Psychological Association Urges FTC to Investigate AI Chatbots Claiming to Offer Therapy

National Library of Medicine: AI as the Therapist: Student Insights on the Challenges of Using Generative AI for School Mental Health Frameworks

The New York Times: A Teen Was Suicidal. ChatGPT Was the First Friend He Confided In

Exploding Topics: 40+ Chatbot Statistics (2025)

CNN: Your AI Therapist Might Be Illegal Soon. Here’s Why

People: Woman Shocks Therapist When She Calls to Tell Her Big News (Exclusive)

It may be fair to wonder whether technology supports mental health, but there is little doubt some technology has the potential to support treatment efforts. HIPAA-compliant video chat and screen-sharing software enables people to receive mental health services they might otherwise not receive. Several software programs help professionals maintain more efficient and secure notes and billing. Even some apps offer benefit to those working on improving their mental health. A few such apps are reviewed here to give an idea of what is available in the marketplace.

Anxiety Release Based on EMDR

This app costs $4.99. It offers a brain training session, an introduction in which users are encouraged to become aware of their body sensations and familiar with alternating tones in each ear intended to mimic bilateral stimulation used in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). It is best to use headphones with this app. Guided meditative sessions to relieve anxiety follow. Before and after each, users are prompted to identify their level of anxiety on a zero-to-10 scale. The app contains three anxiety-release sessions. The first two are narrated while tones alternate in each ear and correlating light spots alternate left and right on the screen. The third session is not narrated. It also walks users through the “safe place” resource often used in EMDR. If the Logbook feature is enabled, the app will record the user’s anxiety level before and after each session to track progress over time.

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The app is not a substitute for EMDR sessions with a licensed mental health professional who has received adequate training. EMDR is far more complex than the app, which does not include elements critical to EMDR. The alternating lights on the app are not far enough apart to generate the same eye movements as would be used in an EMDR session. However, users may find the app useful for relieving some anxiety symptoms.

Brain Waves – Binaural Beats

This free app is meant to help people with sleep, relaxation, focus, and other brain functions. It is based on the 1839 discovery of binaural beats, whereby two different waveforms are presented in stereophonic earphones to each ear, with the perception of a third “beat” frequency occurring as the difference between the two auditory inputs (Atwater, 1995). Research indicates particular brain states generate particular brain waves, but there is much debate over whether these waves can generate brain states.

Specific brain waves correlate with the following activity levels:

• Delta (up to 4 hz): Sleeping, healing
• Theta (5-7 hz): Meditation
• Alpha (8-13 hz): Relaxation
• Beta (14-30 hz): Concentration, creativity
• Gamma (over 30 hz): Higher forms of stimulation

Presets can be selected that generate sine-wave sounds from a mobile phone, or users can set their own frequencies in each ear using “Set L” and “Set R” buttons. The waves are to be played at a moderate volume and generate in real time with no loops. Headphones are required for this app.

Several presets were tried. The “Relax” and “Meditation” frequencies seemed to be particularly true to their names. While the effect may be placebo, it was a pleasant experience.

PTSD Coach

Created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, this free app is directed toward veterans but may be useful for anyone experiencing posttraumatic stress. It includes information general to posttraumatic stress and an assessment to take as many times as a user wants to track progress of symptom reduction. The assessment can be scheduled so the user remembers to check in.

This app can be a useful resource for people struggling with posttraumatic stress and in need of quick coping resources.

A favorite feature is a list of coping tools to use when feeling triggered. Users can select from a list of symptoms, such as “Angry” or “Disconnected from People,” and be provided with applicable tools. Users can also select from a list of tools for coping with symptoms—and they’re good tools. Users can even create their own tool, such as music paired with pictures of loved ones, pets, or peaceful scenes.

This app can be a useful resource for people struggling with posttraumatic stress and in need of quick coping resources. Of those reviewed, this app was my favorite.

SOAR

The app intends to assist those who fear flying. While the app download is free, the content is not. As of writing, the complete SOAR video course is priced at $480 for 20 days. Add two counseling sessions and the price is $595 for one month. The “Take Me Along” mp3 download, which talks a person through the various stages of a flight, is $29.95 for two days. Other downloads start at $19.95, some including DVDs, and all downloads have time-limited access. The app includes a tool to schedule individual counseling.

Some things are included with the app at no additional cost: a turbulence forecast and weekly group phone counseling. Information to dial in can be found on the app.

Budget-conscious users may start with the group phone counseling and some individual downloads, determine for themselves if helpful, and purchase more if desired.

Conclusion

The apps reviewed here are only a small sample of what is available online. They provide a taste of technology and what may be on the horizon in support of mental health. Since each person’s therapeutic experience is unique, it is encouraging to see mental health apps increase in number and quality, as they add to the variety of tools for therapists and the people they help.

Still, apps are best looked at as supplemental to in-person therapy, particularly between sessions. Apps are limited in scope and cannot accurately diagnose or assess conditions. For the most effective support and personalized tools, reach out to a licensed therapist in your area.

Reference:

Atwater, F. H. (1995). The hemi-sync process. Retrieved from https://www.monroeinstitute.org/node/954