My therapist is a bot: The rise of AI in mental health treatment

Sonar Mental Health, the developer of the AI-powered “wellbeing companion” named Sonny, is offering its services to schools that struggle to meet students’ demand for mental health services. Sonny’s algorithm also has trained humans working behind the scenes to ensure students receive proper care. The hybrid bot is available in more than 4,500 public middle and high schools across the country, many of which are in rural and low-income areas.

In rural parts of Wyoming, many people have trouble accessing mental health care resources, but telemedicine is changing that. Employing graduate students as counselors, people can access a telehealth clinic in order to obtain support in the form of specialized trauma care.

Some youth are using mental health apps to supplement therapy or help them manage their emotions, making mental health care more accessible. While there are limitations regarding the apps’ regulations and validity, some research has found that mental health apps have moderately reduced anxiety, depression and suicide risk among the youth who use them.

After the pandemic, many teens are still opting for telehealth therapy rather than in-office care. Telehealth makes therapy more accessible for those who need it, particularly through collaboration with mental health platforms like Daybreak that partner with school districts across the U.S. to provide access to virtual therapy in schools. Daybreak’s data shows that 92% of families see behavioral improvements and 80% of school staff see attendance and grade improvements in students who participate in therapy.

Teletherapy has seen a rapid increase since the COVID-19 pandemic and is helping meet the increased need for mental healthcare services by allowing people to easily access care from the comfort of their homes, with significantly fewer barriers to entry than traditional therapy offers. Practices that have begun offering teletherapy have seen a decrease in their no-show and cancellation rates and both private insurance and Medicaid have expanded coverage to improve access to care.

In the early 2000s, Minnesota implemented a systematic approach to address inadequate mental health access for students by contracting with outside agencies to place licensed mental health providers directly in public schools. The state expanded funding from $4.7 million in 2008 to over $20 million today, growing from therapists in just five schools to now serving 82% of the state's public school districts.

The Cleveland Clinic’s pediatric emergency room uses iPads loaded with peer-to-peer educational mental health videos from youth who have gone through the emergency room visit and inpatient admission process to help support other young people as they sit in the waiting room. The videos help reduce fear and anxiety, and research shows that peer support for people in crisis can also reduce re-hospitalization rates and promote recovery.

A partnership between Hazel Health and the local school district is bridging the gap between students and mental and physical healthcare by providing therapy and telehealth resources before, during and after the school day. Care is provided without any necessary out-of-pocket costs and from November 2023 to June 2024, Hazel Health provided 630 therapy sessions to students across 25 schools.

ACCESS Open Minds connects youth and young adults to mental health support, including therapists, caseworkers and peer navigators to help them get the care they need. One of ACCESS’s main goals is to bridge the gap between the complexities of the mental health care system and the community. By creating these youth wellness hubs and connecting people with the appropriate services, ACCESS has decreased the number of hospitalizations and emergency room visits and increased the number of people getting mental health care.

The Kalamazoo Collaborative Care Program provides social workers and other mental-health expertise to help primary-care physicians treat patients with behavioral health issues. The program is currently working to expand by creating a psychiatric clinic to help further address the shortage of psychiatrists and mental health professionals.