APA advisory cautions against using AI chatbots and wellness apps as a substitute for care
The American Psychological Association (APA) issued a health advisory on the use of generative AI chatbots and wellness applications for mental health. It recommends that these tools not be used as a substitute for care from a qualified mental health professional, and calls for stronger safeguards, evidence and regulation.
What happened
The advisory responds to the growing use of general-purpose generative AI chatbots and wellness apps for mental health support. It covers general-purpose chatbots, wellness apps that use generative AI, and wellness apps that do not use AI. The APA notes that most of these tools were not designed to provide clinical care and that evidence on their safety and effectiveness remains limited.
It attributes their growing use to the wider mental health crisis, rising loneliness, a shortage of providers to meet demand, and the ease of access and low cost of the technology.
Its recommendations include not relying on chatbots and wellness apps in place of a qualified professional, preventing unhealthy dependence, building safeguards for children, teens and other vulnerable groups, modernising regulation and developing evidence-based standards, addressing gaps in oversight by the US Food and Drug Administration, prohibiting AI chatbots from presenting themselves as licensed professionals, enacting data privacy legislation with safe-by-default settings, and training clinicians in AI, bias, data privacy and responsible use.
APA chief executive Arthur C. Evans Jr. said the field is "in the midst of a major mental health crisis that requires systemic solutions, not just technological stopgaps", adding that "the development of AI technologies has outpaced our ability to fully understand their effects."
Why it matters
Many clients now arrive having already discussed their concerns with a chatbot. The advisory gives psychologists, counsellors and other practitioners a professional reference point for those conversations, and for decisions about any AI tools they use in their own practice.
The advisory is guidance from a US professional association. It is not law, and the regulatory recommendations it makes are addressed mainly to US policymakers.
Sources
- American Psychological AssociationHealth advisory: Use of generative AI chatbots and wellness applications for mental health
- American Psychological Association (via EurekAlert!)Artificial intelligence, wellness apps alone cannot solve mental health crisis