A recent MedCity News piece highlights a growing pattern: teenagers are using AI chatbots as a substitute for therapy. The article argues that while these tools may seem accessible and nonjudgmental, they are not designed to provide mental health treatment, and teens may not grasp that distinction.
The piece stresses that AI chatbots cannot offer the clinical reasoning, therapeutic relationship, or crisis intervention that a human clinician provides. Yet adolescents may disclose serious emotional distress to a bot, expecting a level of care it cannot deliver. This mismatch creates real risks, especially if a teen avoids seeking human help.
Clinicians, the article says, have a duty to understand these risks and to discuss them openly with teen patients and their families. By educating young people about the limits of AI, clinicians can help prevent over-reliance and encourage use of appropriate mental health services when needed.