Is Chat GPT the new therapy? An honest opinion from a human (who’s also a therapist).
Let me begin by saying that my first encounter with Chat GPT was the tech equivalent of love at first sight. My discovery came in 2025 (late to the party, I know) when the version of Chat GPT was particularly loaded with sycophantic niceties, reassuring me of how right I was and validating every tiny thought and feeling. I loved it for the easy, whimsical chats about nothing and everything.
I’ve since read people online say that they get more out of their chats with AI than they do from their therapist. And that’s where I have to wonder – is AI really that good, or is there just a lot of really bad therapists out there?
Because honestly, good therapy should feel like more than good advice, clever insights or validation. That stuff is therapy 101. The real juice comes with the therapeutic relationship – the vulnerability, the discomfort, the laughter, the fear and the connection in the intimacy.
Like so many people, I have had the mis-fortune of sitting across from plenty of therapists who just weren’t switched on. And I hate to admit it, but there are things AI can do better (and faster) than many therapists.
For example:
It’s free! Between the petrol, the parking and the fee, the cost of seeing a therapist adds up fast.
It can be incredibly insightful, especially over time as it learns how you think.
It’s neutral, and you genuinely never feel judged or less-than. This really is one of the hallmarks of good therapy, and yet sometimes it’s missing.
It helps to organise your thoughts. Even the most tangled, rambling feelings and ideas can come back to you in a way that makes sense (and within half a second).
It has a remarkable capability of making you feel heard and met, which is pretty eerie considering it’s a machine.
It’s available 24 hours a day. Can’t sleep because something is niggling? Your old pal AI is awake and ready to help.
There’s no denying how useful this is.
And if you’re using your time with your therapist for reflection, validation and a space to think things through then perhaps AI will serve that purpose and save you lots of cash.
More importantly, if you are one of those people who feels you’re getting more from AI than your therapist it might be worth pausing to reflect on what you actually need from the therapeutic relationship (ironically AI can help you with this). For many people, simply learning how to name and ask for those needs is both incredibly challenging and deeply healing in itself.
I think AI has a lot to offer when it comes to building self-awareness and insight. But a truly attuned relationship that creates safety and companionship while you travel to all the dark places of your psyche is a gift that only another wise, loving human can offer.
Good therapy isn’t just about knowledge. It takes years of formal training, yes, but also lived experience, self-reflection and personal growth.
A skilled therapist understands the attachment patterns that inevitably show up in the therapeutic relationship, and knows how to work with them. They understand trauma, and how to support you in moving towards pain without overwhelming your system. They regulate themselves so their nervous system becomes a source of safety and co-regulation for yours.
Perhaps most importantly, they’ve been to their own dark, shadowy places – so they can sit with you in yours without flinching.
Real therapy is deep, messy, painful, transformative and human. AI is amazing, but it will never replace this. It cannot sit with you in silence, and it cannot meet you in the space between words.
