A new review published in Psychiatry and Behavioral Health examines the growing role of generative AI in emotional support, coping, attachment, and addiction recovery. The author notes that clients are already consulting conversational AI for reassurance, decision-making, communication preparation, companionship, and mental health information, and may bring AI-generated explanations and interpretations into therapy.
The review identifies both potential benefits and risks. AI can provide immediate access to support between appointments and may help with reflection, preparing for difficult conversations, goal-setting, and coping during periods of distress. At the same time, repeated use may contribute to emotional reliance, reassurance-seeking, avoidance, or displacement of human and professional support.
The paper emphasizes that current evidence remains early and does not support firm conclusions about the clinical benefits or harms of generative AI. It suggests clinicians increasingly need to consider not simply whether clients use AI, but how they use it, what role it serves, and whether that use supports engagement with treatment and human connection or delays them.
AI is already becoming part of what happens between therapy sessions, whether clinicians introduce it into care or not. The review highlights the importance of bringing that use into the therapeutic conversation rather than treating it as separate from treatment.
It also identifies a meaningful distinction between general-purpose AI and purpose-built systems operating within a defined structure of care. The paper describes human oversight, clear limits on an AI system's role, and pathways back to human support as important considerations when AI is used in vulnerable moments.
Therapy Ally™ was designed specifically for the space between appointments, providing structured support within an existing therapist-client relationship while keeping the treating clinician connected to the client's between-session work.