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<\/p>\nA growing number of Australians are turning to AI chatbots for mental health advice, raising serious concerns among professionals about misinformation, privacy and the future of human therapists.<\/p>\n
Adam Szmerling, an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker and Clinical Psychotherapist in Bayside, said he had witnessed worrying cases where patients relied on AI for mental health guidance.<\/p>\n
He said in a video on social media, AI can create \u201cecho chambers,\u201d reinforcing negative beliefs rather than challenging them, and in some extreme cases has been linked to dangerous behaviour.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis can be very dangerous, as we\u2019ve seen, AI allegedly coached someone into committing murder,\u201d Mr Szmerling said.<\/p>\n
He warned users to never share personal details with public AI tools, adding: \u201cAssume that anything entered into AI systems can become public\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Szmerling said while AI can worsen anxiety if misused, it can also support mental health when used carefully and with professional oversight.<\/p>\n
He observed a paradox: \u201cThe people most anxious about AI are often the ones using it the most\u201d.<\/p>\n
A 2024 study by the American Psychological Association supported this, showing that while 41 per cent of workers fear being replaced by AI – that figure jumps to 50 per cent among Millennials and Gen Z.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, ServiceNow found six in ten workers fear losing their jobs to automation, with up to 670,000 roles at risk by 2030.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis fear comes from uncertainty, it\u2019s human nature to imagine the worst about something we don\u2019t yet understand,\u201d Mr Szmerling said.<\/p>\n
However, Jobs and Skills Australia suggests these fears may be exaggerated, noting there\u2019s been little evidence of AI replacing entry-level roles so far.<\/p>\n
Mr Szmerling advised people anxious about AI to treat it like any other fear.<\/p>\n
\u201cLearn about it, use it safely, and you\u2019ll start to see its limits, which reminds you how valuable human empathy and intuition really are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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He added that AI can serve as a \u201cconversational partner\u201d between therapy sessions, offering simple exercises for reflection, gratitude and thought reframing.<\/p>\n
The psychotherapist shared an example of a client, Emma, who used ChatGPT to get sleep advice between therapy sessions. Her therapist reviewed and tailored the responses for her shift work, turning it into a productive, safe use of AI.<\/p>\n