AI Chatbot Therapy

AI Chatbot Therapy

From Bad Therapist by Ash Compton & Rachel Monroe

April 15, 2026 · 58 min · Season 2 · Episode 1

About this episode

Ash and Rachel explore the complexities and implications of chatbot therapy.

Ash and Rachel delve into the world of chatbot therapy -- sit back and listen as the machines glitch out and reveal their true selves. SOURCES: Hillman, James, and Michael Ventura. We've Had a Hundred Years of Psychotherapy – And the World's Getting Worse. New York: HarperCollins, 1992 (e-book version 2007) Balan, Raluca, and Thomas P. Gumpel. "ChatGPT Clinical Use in Mental Health Care: Scoping Review of Empirical Evidence." JMIR Mental Health (via PMC), December 24, 2025 Lewis-Kraus, Gideon. (2026). What is Claude? Anthropic Doesn't Know, Either. Retrieved from: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/16/what-is-claude-anthropic-doesnt-know-either Luo, Xiaochen, et al. ""Shaping ChatGPT into my Digital Therapist": A thematic analysis of social media discourse on using generative artificial intelligence for mental health." Digital Health, vol. 11, June 3, 2025 Raile, Paolo. "The usefulness of ChatGPT for psychotherapists and patients." Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, January 4, 2024 Solms, M. (2013). The Conscious Id. Neuropsychoanalysis, 15(1), 5–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/15294145.2013.10773711 https://www.thehumanlineproject.org/ ** in-episode correction: Pat…

People in this episode

Hosts: Ash Compton, Rachel Monroe

Topics covered

  • chatbot therapy
  • mental health
  • AI in therapy
  • psychotherapy
  • technology and mental health

Keywords

  • AI therapy
  • chatbots
  • mental health care
  • psychotherapy
  • digital therapist

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Anthropic, HarperCollins, JMIR Mental Health, Digital Health, Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, The Human Line Project

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