Mental health chatbots: RAND survey finds nearly one in five young people use them
A June RAND survey found that almost one in five US 12–21-year-olds use chatbots for mental health advice, and the APA says 77% of psychologists talk with their clients about AI. Analyses say chatbots can help but can also reinforce harmful thinking.
Who is affected and how
- doctor
- Psychiatrists and psychologists should ask patients about chatbot use and build it into therapeutic discussions.
- health policy
- Widespread chatbot use among young people calls for protective rules.
Sources
- AI chatbots could help mental health but also reinforce harmful thinkingtech xplore · Oct 19, 2026
- AI Mental Health Chatbots Can Help or Harmdistilinfo.com · Oct 19, 2026
- AI chatbots could help mental health but also reinforce harmful thinking | Curtin Universitycurtin.edu.au · Oct 19, 2026
- Chatbots still falling short in mental health conversations with kids | Calgary Suncalgarysun.com · Oct 21, 2026
- Chatbots and Mental Health: A Solihull Counsellor's Viewflowdown.co.uk · Oct 23, 2026
- Mental health chatbots for university students | Med4Careenglish.med4.care · Oct 25, 2026
- Why Patients Are Bringing Chatbots Into Therapyintelligentliving.co · Oct 19, 2026
- Why Using AI for Mental Health Advice is Risky (According to a Psychiatrist) (2026)zjphoto.org · Oct 23, 2026
Machine-generated summary based on the titles and excerpts of the source articles. The source article is the authority for the facts. News monitoring, not medical advice: consult a doctor for health decisions.