The use of AI for mental health support is surging.
Our analysis of Reddit posts from November 2023 to November 2024 shows a 400%+ increase in people sharing their experiences of using AI for emotional support and therapy - and most of these experiences are positive.
To analyze this trend, we used AI to extract structured data from unstructured Reddit posts, allowing us to quantify patterns and insights. We started with 3,500 posts from 65+ mental health subreddits, using AI to identify and analyze first-hand experiences. We filtered out general discussions about AI potential or promotional posts, focusing only on real users describing their actual experiences with AI tools for mental health support.
We wanted to understand: What mental health issues are people turning to AI for? How are they using it? For which conditions? What benefits or limitations do they report? Is AI being used as a replacement or as a supplement to traditional therapy?
Here are our key findings.
We started by collecting posts from across Reddit through two methods:
We used AI (gpt-4o mini) to filter and analyze the content. After an initial filtering with a smaller model to identify potentially relevant posts, we used a more powerful model (GPT-4o) for detailed analysis, filtering out general discussions about AI potential, general questions about using AI for therapy, promotional content, and any other posts lacking first-hand experience. This ensured we captured only genuine experiences of people actually using AI for mental health support - resulting in a final set of 516 high-quality posts meeting our criteria for analysis.
For each relevant post, we then used GPT-4o to:
First-hand accounts of using AI for mental health support have increased 400%+ from November 2023 to November 2024.
These aren't just discussions about AI's potential—we filtered those out. These are real people describing real experiences of using AI to support their mental health.
The conversations are most active in general mental health and condition-specific communities, but extend well beyond these spaces - across 81 different subreddits in all. We see significant discussion in groups focused on trauma, depression, or specific conditions. One interesting example was the HealthyGamerGG community - a mental health community that grew from Dr. K's Twitch streams, combining gaming culture with mental health discussions. There's also notable activity in self-improvement and relationship forums, suggesting AI mental health support is reaching beyond traditional mental health spaces.
While traditional therapy is a cornerstone of mental health care, many individuals face significant obstacles when trying to access these services. Our analysis reveals that these challenges are prompting people to turn to AI-based mental health tools as alternatives or supplements to conventional therapy.
Some posts explicitly discussed challenges involved with using human providers. The most common challenges we found were expense, fear of judgment, unavailability of providers, and inaccessibility. Subjects often commented how they felt comfortable saying things to an AI that they wouldn’t feel comfortable saying to their therapist. Many posts highlighted the difficulty of getting enough time with their providers (and having something available when they need it most), as well as the difficulty and expense involved in finding a good therapist.
AI today is not capable of safely replacing trained providers to treat diagnosed mental health disorders. However, it already seems promising for a number of use cases:
People are already turning to AI to bridge these gaps. AI platforms offer on-demand, low-cost, and judgment-free spaces that address many limitations of traditional therapy. At Pensive, we’ve heard from both users and providers who recommend our AI to supplement their live sessions and provide on-demand support throughout the week. This combination can offer the best of both worlds: expertise and human touch, coupled with the accessibility and immediacy of AI support.
Dr. Samuel J. Nayman (postdoctoral fellowship at Mayo Clinic, internship at Yale School of Medicine, PhD in Clinical Psychology from Rutgers) notes: “Although Pensive is not a replacement for diagnosing and treating mental health disorders, it has tremendous potential as a convenient and inexpensive adjunct to therapy. Pensive can also serve as an invaluable virtual coach, helping people problem solve and access evidence-based wellbeing exercises.”
Our analysis confirms that a substantial number of subjects also use or have used traditional care. Specifically, over 13% of posts directly mention that the user is currently seeing a provider, while over 17% have seen a provider at some point. The actual figures are likely much higher, as many subjects might be seeing a provider but just didn’t mention it in their post.
Our analysis reveals that individuals are turning to AI mental health tools for a variety of reasons, with emotional support being the most prevalent. Specifically, 73% of users engage with AI for emotional support. Venting - where users use AI platforms to express their feelings freely without fear of judgment - is represented in 28% of samples. Reflection and self-talk were also common, with subjects utilizing AI to gain insights into their thoughts and behaviors.
Beyond traditional mental health support, a notable number of users employ AI tools for productivity purposes, like planning, motivation, and goal setting.
Top Conditions Addressed
Reports included users who mentioned a wide variety of conditions, the most common being depression (19%) and anxiety (18%). Trauma is mentioned by 9% of users, with some commenting on the ease of opening up to an AI relative to human providers. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) accounts for 6%, with many using AI for focus and organization.
Benefits of AI
Users highlight several key benefits of using AI for mental health support. Accessibility was the most common, at 45% of users, quickly followed by supportive at 44%. The non-judgmental nature of AI interactions was mentioned by over 30% of users, allowing them to openly share things they might not feel comfortable saying to a real person, and over 21% appreciated the benefit of on-demand support.
Limitations of AI
Users also acknowledge limitations of AI for mental health, with the most common complaints being that AI is limited or even avoidant - sometimes refusing to engage in discussions about mental health due to programmed constraints. A number of reports described AI as shallow or robotic. Finally, fear of addiction was a surprisingly common concern, particularly when users develop attachments to AI companions or partners.
While users report many benefits of AI support, it's important to acknowledge potential risks - particularly with general AI tools not designed for mental health. Most tools mentioned in these posts aren't tested for efficacy or safety in mental health contexts. They might give incorrect guidance or fail to recognize when professional intervention is needed.
This is why Pensive takes a fundamentally different approach. Rather than attempting to diagnose or treat conditions, we focus on evidence-based exercises and techniques for mental wellness. Our AI is specifically designed to recognize when professional care is needed and direct users to qualified providers when needed. Unlike general AI tools or companion apps, we stay within well-defined boundaries, sticking to established practices and exercises.
Overall Sentiment
Overall, we found most users reported a positive experience, with an average sentiment analysis score (assigned by AI) of 6.5/10 and 8/10 being the most common.
Our analysis reveals both the benefits and limitations of AI mental health support. Users highlight AI's accessibility, consistent availability, and judgment-free nature - aspects that can be challenging with traditional therapy due to cost, availability, and personal comfort. At the same time, many users who mention current or previous therapy experience seem to value both, suggesting these approaches might work best in combination rather than as replacements.
At Pensive, we're building AI-powered mental wellness coaching that delivers high-quality support in just minutes a day. Our approach isn't about simulating friendship or companionship - we use evidence-based techniques from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to help users improve their mental wellbeing and overcome real challenges.
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Want to do this kind of analysis for something else? If you want to do this kind of analysis on your own dataset/industry, reach out!
