Exploring The Two Faces of A Coin: Ai-Assisted Therapy

Abstract

With the adoption of AI hitting its stride, its influence can be heavily felt in every possible field, be it economy, politics, healthcare, education, and even culinary arts! Concurrently, the mental health arena cannot be overlooked or left untouched by this drastic technological shift. This is facilitated by various chat bots, virtual therapists etc for the mental health wellbeing of people. However, researchers see this particular matter becoming a topic of debate when it comes to the intersection of clinical efficacy and human ethics.This paper is an attempt to explore the advantages and drawbacks of Ai-assisted therapy, highlighting its support through unmatched elasticity and convenience, along with providing inclusivity in the underserved spaces like the rural areas of India where mental healthcare reachability is scarce. Various AI- enabled coach Woebot and Wysa, allow 24/7 therapy support that cater to the needs of people by letting them vent and talk about their feelings and thoughts, anytime, anywhere. However the paper also states the absence of nonverbal cues and empathy, fundamental to therapeutic counseling. Furthermore, this paper also brings in privacy concerns for data breaches revealing sensitive information from vulnerable users, who may be unaware of the extent to which their information is being stored and processed. In conclusion, the paper would attempt to explore the usefulness of AI towards people with accessible and judgment free therapy, but also place the arguments regarding the lack of human empathy.