I Told the Bot, Not My Therapist

"People have always sought private spaces for their thoughts: journals, prayers, late-night conversations with themselves. What feels different now is interactivity. A conversational AI system is not a silent page or an imagined listener. It responds. It validates. It adapts to tone and content. For many users-especially those who feel misunderstood or overwhelmed-that responsiveness can feel like relief."

"What is new is reciprocity. A chatbot does not simply receive thoughts; it replies. It mirrors language. It reassures. It appears to remember. Over time, it can begin to feel less like a tool and more like a companion, a confidant, or even a therapist."

"Therapy is not merely about listening. It involves judgment, limits, and the willingness to intervene when someone is at risk-even when doing so disrupts rapport or makes the therapist temporarily unpopular. A chatbot, by contrast, is designed to remain present. It does not tire. It does not become alarmed. It does not feel the weight of what happens after the conversation ends."

Conversational AI systems are increasingly becoming emotional confidants for adolescents and adults seeking comfort and validation. Unlike traditional private spaces like journals or prayers, these systems offer interactive responsiveness—they listen, validate, adapt to tone, and appear to remember conversations. This reciprocal interaction creates emotional attachment that can feel like companionship or therapy. However, AI systems lack the clinical judgment, boundaries, and intervention capacity that define actual therapy. They do not experience alarm, fatigue, or responsibility for outcomes. This distinction becomes critical during moments of deep vulnerability, where AI's non-judgmental availability may provide temporary relief but cannot offer the protective oversight and clinical decision-making that human therapists provide.

Read at Psychology Today