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‘I don’t care if Chat GPT isn’t a therapist, it’s helping!’.

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Title: ‘I don’t care if Chat GPT isn’t a therapist, it’s helping!’.
Authors: van’t Land, Hedda, Busato, Vittorio
Source: Psychologist. Jun2026, p36-39. 4p. 2 Color Photographs.
Subjects: Chatbots, Cognitive development, Social support, Teenagers, Cognitive processing speed, Mental health, Mental illness risk factors, Cognitive therapy
Abstract: This article examines why adolescents increasingly turn to AI chatbots like ChatGPT for emotional support and the potential psychological risks involved. It explains that adolescents’ developing cognitive capacities, particularly the slower maturation of reflective, analytical System 2 thinking, make them more reliant on fast, intuitive System 1 responses, which AI chatbots readily provide through immediate, affirming interactions. While chatbots offer validation and emotional mirroring that feel comforting, they lack the critical, challenging engagement central to evidence-based therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which aims to foster reflective thinking and tolerance of uncertainty. The authors highlight concerns that AI chatbots, designed to maximize user engagement rather than psychological recovery, may reinforce cognitive biases and co-rumination, potentially exacerbating mental health issues among vulnerable youth. They call for psychological, ethical, and regulatory oversight to ensure AI systems used by adolescents meet standards aligned with developmental science and responsible mental health care. [Extracted from the article]
Copyright of Psychologist is the property of British Psychological Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: ‘I don’t care if Chat GPT isn’t a therapist, it’s helping!’.
– Name: Author
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22van’t+Land%2C+Hedda%22">van’t Land, Hedda</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Busato%2C+Vittorio%22">Busato, Vittorio</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Psychologist%22">Psychologist</searchLink>. Jun2026, p36-39. 4p. 2 Color Photographs.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Chatbots%22">Chatbots</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+development%22">Cognitive development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+support%22">Social support</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teenagers%22">Teenagers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+processing+speed%22">Cognitive processing speed</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+health%22">Mental health</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+illness+risk+factors%22">Mental illness risk factors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+therapy%22">Cognitive therapy</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: This article examines why adolescents increasingly turn to AI chatbots like ChatGPT for emotional support and the potential psychological risks involved. It explains that adolescents’ developing cognitive capacities, particularly the slower maturation of reflective, analytical System 2 thinking, make them more reliant on fast, intuitive System 1 responses, which AI chatbots readily provide through immediate, affirming interactions. While chatbots offer validation and emotional mirroring that feel comforting, they lack the critical, challenging engagement central to evidence-based therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which aims to foster reflective thinking and tolerance of uncertainty. The authors highlight concerns that AI chatbots, designed to maximize user engagement rather than psychological recovery, may reinforce cognitive biases and co-rumination, potentially exacerbating mental health issues among vulnerable youth. They call for psychological, ethical, and regulatory oversight to ensure AI systems used by adolescents meet standards aligned with developmental science and responsible mental health care. [Extracted from the article]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Psychologist is the property of British Psychological Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 4
        StartPage: 36
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Chatbots
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cognitive development
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social support
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teenagers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cognitive processing speed
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mental health
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      – SubjectFull: Mental illness risk factors
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      – SubjectFull: Cognitive therapy
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      – TitleFull: ‘I don’t care if Chat GPT isn’t a therapist, it’s helping!’.
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            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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            – Type: issn-print
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