Chatbot Safety: When Machines Supplant Therapists, What Can go Wrong?
This may be the year when more people turn to chatbots than to human therapists for psychological support and guidance.
Guest Essays
Latest in Guest Essays
Can ChatGPT Be Your Therapist? This Therapist Found Out for Herself
Can ChatGPT offer a viable alternative to traditional therapy? In this first-person essay, a licensed therapist explores that question.
What Was I Made For? Identity, Meaning, and the Emotional Cost of AI
Machines can now write, analyze, diagnose, and simulate emotional presence, triggering not just a technological disruption but one that strikes at who we think we are.
Brown University Shooting Again Reveals Why Trauma Care Must Begin Before People Seek It
A former Brown student and longtime mental health journalist says that how institutions respond after traumatic events can shape mental health outcomes for years to come.
In Our Future, We Are Free: The Movement to Dismantle Youth Prisons in America
Over the past 20 years, one state after another has shuttered its youth prisons and stopped prosecuting kids as adults, slashing the number of children locked in cages by a stunning 75%. This new book tells the story of how a coalition of parents, activists, and prison officials brought a destructive institution to its knees.
I Shared 266 Pages of My Life with ChatGPT. Here’s What It Got Wrong.
Therapy, the author notes, "isn’t about telling you what you want to hear; it’s about helping you face what you need to hear." Using ChatGPT for therapy, however, is "both engaging and manipulative."
‘They Just Took You Away’
My daughter’s nightmares offer a window into how children are processing Trump’s immigration raids. Such expressions of fear are normal, mental health professionals say.
California Must Learn from History. Forced Mental Health Care Harms More than Heals
Keris Myrick, who has lived with schizophrenia, contends that California's mental health system fails people by prioritizing forced treatment over humane care.
What California Still Doesn’t Understand About Young Men’s Mental Health
In California, youth and young adults make up 21% of the population but account for 57% of all emergency room visits due to self-harm. When we offer real space to feel, boys start to breathe when they realize emotions are not liabilities but signals.
Fighting in War Still Didn’t Prepare Me for the Prison Mental Health Crisis
Nine years ago, I began serving as a volunteer peer counselor at the prison I'd transferred out of, providing support to people in the mental health unit. I’ve learned that trauma affects us all, and I’ve felt a growing sense of purpose.
The Weight of the World on Young Shoulders
Teens and young adults are coming of age amid a culture of fear, intensified by the rhetoric and policies of President Trump. Columnist Lisa Doggett and her 17-year-old daughter, Clara Williams, a rising high school senior, share their perspectives on what this means for Gen Z. Clara interviewed three other high school students in Austin.
Emiliano, Two Languages and a System That Doesn’t Understand Him
Emiliano, a boy diagnosed with ADHD, faces a system that doesn't know how to see him. While he deals with labels and barriers, his mother — a Guatemalan journalist and refugee in the United States — fights to pave the way for him, convinced that her son is not a problem to be fixed, but a beautiful mind that the world has not yet learned to understand.
Happier Anniversary: What I Learned about Grief from the Suicides of My Parents
A doctor who lost both parents to suicide on how he has learned to cope with the anniversaries of their deaths.
Surviving Solitary: People Who Endured Prolonged Isolation Push for Mental Health Care
Part 2 of this series looks at the forms of mental health care and support that can help people who have been subjected to solitary confinement cope with their trauma and adjust to new lives.
When Freedom Still Feels Like Prison: Life After Solitary Confinement
Solitary confinement can cause severe psychological impacts and the U.N. considers it torture. Yet prolonged isolation remains widespread in U.S. prisons and jails, where more than 122,000 people are held in solitary.
Alexei Navalny Died a Year Ago. His Writings Hold Lessons on Resisting Authoritarian Rule
“We must do what they fear – tell the truth, spread the truth. This is the most powerful weapon against this regime of liars, thieves, and hypocrites. Everyone has this weapon. So make use of it.”
A New Sense of Urgency for Mental Health in the Workplace
The divisive times we live in can impact our ability to work as cohesive teams. Finding ways to work well together, with respect and inclusivity is an important step forward.
Losing My Vision Has Been a Blow to My Mental Health. I Cope by Seeking Help and Having a Sense of Humor
Twenty-seven years ago I went to my eye doctor for what I thought was a routine post-cataract-surgery visit. After some additional tests, I learned I had macular degeneration and that my vision was going to progressively deteriorate. Here are my suggestions for coping.
Confronting Immoral Actions, We Can Aim to Stand Up, Not Look On
My dilemma: Imagine that I am walking down the street heading to the mailbox and I see an ICE officer approaching a young woman emerging from a house she has just spent the morning cleaning. In this scenario, I am a bystander, about to be a witness. What I do or don’t do matters.
Fury mounts over insurance claim denials – including mental health – after killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO
Public response to the murder of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson reveals depth of rage toward insurance industry
Thousands of People in Prison Have ADHD. Why Aren’t They Receiving Treatment?
As many as half of all prisoners have ADHD, but they rarely get treatment, even though research suggests treatment can help reduce recidivism and ease reentry.
‘The Toughest, Most Rewarding Job I’ve Ever Had’ – Vivek Murthy on Parenting
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the father of two young children, turns the focus in his latest advisory to the stresses faced by parents. In previous reports, he has focused on the mental health crisis affecting children and the epidemic of loneliness in America.
The Burnout Crisis Isn’t Over. Here’s What We Can Do About It.
Healthcare and social services workers are experiencing enormous burnout. But a closely evaluated pilot program offering therapy, wellness sessions and coaching is helping lower depression and anxiety in three-quarters of participating healthcare workers.
When a Pet Dies
Friends and family may not understand the depth of the grief you feel over the loss of a beloved pet. Here are some ways to cope.
What Martin Luther King, Jr. Knew But Never Said
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was known for the soaring oratory he deployed as he led a movement for racial equity and social justice using the power of nonviolent protest. One thing he did not talk about was his mental health. In fact, King struggled with depression but rarely discussed it because of his fear it could be used against him and the movement.
Can ChatGPT Be Your Therapist? This Therapist Found Out for Herself
Can ChatGPT offer a viable alternative to traditional therapy? In this first-person essay, a licensed therapist explores that question.
What Was I Made For? Identity, Meaning, and the Emotional Cost of AI
Machines can now write, analyze, diagnose, and simulate emotional presence, triggering not just a technological disruption but one that strikes at who we think we are.
Brown University Shooting Again Reveals Why Trauma Care Must Begin Before People Seek It
A former Brown student and longtime mental health journalist says that how institutions respond after traumatic events can shape mental health outcomes for years to come.
In Our Future, We Are Free: The Movement to Dismantle Youth Prisons in America
Over the past 20 years, one state after another has shuttered its youth prisons and stopped prosecuting kids as adults, slashing the number of children locked in cages by a stunning 75%. This new book tells the story of how a coalition of parents, activists, and prison officials brought a destructive institution to its knees.
I Shared 266 Pages of My Life with ChatGPT. Here’s What It Got Wrong.
Therapy, the author notes, "isn’t about telling you what you want to hear; it’s about helping you face what you need to hear." Using ChatGPT for therapy, however, is "both engaging and manipulative."
‘They Just Took You Away’
My daughter’s nightmares offer a window into how children are processing Trump’s immigration raids. Such expressions of fear are normal, mental health professionals say.
California Must Learn from History. Forced Mental Health Care Harms More than Heals
Keris Myrick, who has lived with schizophrenia, contends that California's mental health system fails people by prioritizing forced treatment over humane care.
What California Still Doesn’t Understand About Young Men’s Mental Health
In California, youth and young adults make up 21% of the population but account for 57% of all emergency room visits due to self-harm. When we offer real space to feel, boys start to breathe when they realize emotions are not liabilities but signals.
Fighting in War Still Didn’t Prepare Me for the Prison Mental Health Crisis
Nine years ago, I began serving as a volunteer peer counselor at the prison I'd transferred out of, providing support to people in the mental health unit. I’ve learned that trauma affects us all, and I’ve felt a growing sense of purpose.
The Weight of the World on Young Shoulders
Teens and young adults are coming of age amid a culture of fear, intensified by the rhetoric and policies of President Trump. Columnist Lisa Doggett and her 17-year-old daughter, Clara Williams, a rising high school senior, share their perspectives on what this means for Gen Z. Clara interviewed three other high school students in Austin.
Emiliano, Two Languages and a System That Doesn’t Understand Him
Emiliano, a boy diagnosed with ADHD, faces a system that doesn't know how to see him. While he deals with labels and barriers, his mother — a Guatemalan journalist and refugee in the United States — fights to pave the way for him, convinced that her son is not a problem to be fixed, but a beautiful mind that the world has not yet learned to understand.
Happier Anniversary: What I Learned about Grief from the Suicides of My Parents
A doctor who lost both parents to suicide on how he has learned to cope with the anniversaries of their deaths.
Surviving Solitary: People Who Endured Prolonged Isolation Push for Mental Health Care
Part 2 of this series looks at the forms of mental health care and support that can help people who have been subjected to solitary confinement cope with their trauma and adjust to new lives.
When Freedom Still Feels Like Prison: Life After Solitary Confinement
Solitary confinement can cause severe psychological impacts and the U.N. considers it torture. Yet prolonged isolation remains widespread in U.S. prisons and jails, where more than 122,000 people are held in solitary.
Alexei Navalny Died a Year Ago. His Writings Hold Lessons on Resisting Authoritarian Rule
“We must do what they fear – tell the truth, spread the truth. This is the most powerful weapon against this regime of liars, thieves, and hypocrites. Everyone has this weapon. So make use of it.”
A New Sense of Urgency for Mental Health in the Workplace
The divisive times we live in can impact our ability to work as cohesive teams. Finding ways to work well together, with respect and inclusivity is an important step forward.
Losing My Vision Has Been a Blow to My Mental Health. I Cope by Seeking Help and Having a Sense of Humor
Twenty-seven years ago I went to my eye doctor for what I thought was a routine post-cataract-surgery visit. After some additional tests, I learned I had macular degeneration and that my vision was going to progressively deteriorate. Here are my suggestions for coping.
Confronting Immoral Actions, We Can Aim to Stand Up, Not Look On
My dilemma: Imagine that I am walking down the street heading to the mailbox and I see an ICE officer approaching a young woman emerging from a house she has just spent the morning cleaning. In this scenario, I am a bystander, about to be a witness. What I do or don’t do matters.
Fury mounts over insurance claim denials – including mental health – after killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO
Public response to the murder of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson reveals depth of rage toward insurance industry
Thousands of People in Prison Have ADHD. Why Aren’t They Receiving Treatment?
As many as half of all prisoners have ADHD, but they rarely get treatment, even though research suggests treatment can help reduce recidivism and ease reentry.
‘The Toughest, Most Rewarding Job I’ve Ever Had’ – Vivek Murthy on Parenting
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the father of two young children, turns the focus in his latest advisory to the stresses faced by parents. In previous reports, he has focused on the mental health crisis affecting children and the epidemic of loneliness in America.
The Burnout Crisis Isn’t Over. Here’s What We Can Do About It.
Healthcare and social services workers are experiencing enormous burnout. But a closely evaluated pilot program offering therapy, wellness sessions and coaching is helping lower depression and anxiety in three-quarters of participating healthcare workers.
When a Pet Dies
Friends and family may not understand the depth of the grief you feel over the loss of a beloved pet. Here are some ways to cope.
What Martin Luther King, Jr. Knew But Never Said
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was known for the soaring oratory he deployed as he led a movement for racial equity and social justice using the power of nonviolent protest. One thing he did not talk about was his mental health. In fact, King struggled with depression but rarely discussed it because of his fear it could be used against him and the movement.
