The development of AI has opened completely new possibilities for mental health care. Currently, virtual therapists and self-help applications, such as chatbots, provide cost-effective and readily available support for everyone. For example, Woebot and Wysa use AI to offer cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) methods, mood monitoring, and emotional assistance at any time of the day or night. These services help users cope with anxiety, depression, and stress by using timely evidence-informed practices. Furthermore, AI improves existing therapy by tackling mental distress through behavioral and speech data analysis.
AI-powered mental health platforms assist practitioners by automating tedious tasks, thus enabling therapists’ complete concentration on the patients. Furthermore, predictive analytics, which is an aspect of AI, can detect vulnerable people through the analysis of social media, speech, and even physiological data. It is important to acknowledge that AI does not substitute human therapists. Rather, it supports mental healthcare through efficiency and accessibility. The ethical issues of data use, privacy, and accuracy pose major challenges. However, if used sensibly, AI can be beneficial to maintain mental health.