Comment on AI chatbots are becoming popular alternatives to therapy. But they may worsen mental health crises, experts warn

Crazyslinkz@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

• sk1nnym1ke@piefed.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Therapy in Germany.

  • with insurance: zero bucks but (!) the waiting list is usually 1 year or longer. Even if you are severe depressed or have another urgent problem.

  • no insurance: 75-150 bucks per hour. Waiting list is few weeks.

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  • ordnance_qf_17_pounder@reddthat.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I’m in the UK and I got referred to a therapist on the NHS. It was a 4 month waiting list for a 15 minute phonecall lmao

    I just turned it down because that’s completely useless to me and the therapist’s time could be much better spent with someone who’s in urgent need of help.

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    • thesohoriots@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I used to think of it that way; however, one day, you may be the person who is in urgent need of help. It’s better to be in the system with an established history for if that day comes.

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      • FauxLiving@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Exactly.

        Yes, there are wait time… Because they are helping people based on a priority system.

        In the US, for example, there is no/short wait times. This is because a lot of people that need help are just suffering in silence due to lack of funds for treatment. (Or they turn to chatbots and suffer worse outcomes)

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• andros_rex@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Also - a lot of US therapists have fundamentally useless and unhelpful approaches. CBT is treated as the hammer for all nails, even when it is completely ineffective for many people. It’s easy to train therapists on though, and sending someone home with a worksheet and a Program is an easy “fix.”

  There’s also the undeniable influence of fuckers like Dr. Phil. A lot of therapists view their job as forcing you to be “normal” rather than understanding you as a human being.

  We need more Maslow and Rogers, and a lot less Skinner.

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  • 3abas@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Thank you. There’s the cost, I can’t find a therapist for $40 a session, but even that would be prohibitively expensive. But people never talk about how Therapy in capitalist society is just a cash cow business, and the easiest most profitable methods are widespread. Most therapists, or presumably the experts being quoted on the dangers of talking to a language model, are ineffective for most people.

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  • Tracaine@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    CBT? Cock and Ball Torture? I think you’re going to the wrong therapist. Sounds like my kind of party though. Got an address or…?

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    • nickwitha_k@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      It is an unfortunately shared initialism. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

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  • interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Any reasonnably competent LLM is way WAY better at self-therapy than the Dr Phil McDonalds comformity therapy
    And that’s arguably better than doing nothing about it

    But yes, I can easily make an LLM tell my to KYS
    Then report to the press about it while downplaying the context to get there.
    and then get the AI company to further lobotomized the model so it can’t be used to undermine this professional class

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