Picture this:

Life is stressing you out, and you’ve been irritable with your family. Even walking the dog, an activity that you typically enjoy, is frustrating you – how many flowers do you have to smell? You know it would be smart to see a therapist, but who has the time to even find one – let alone schedule an appointment and show up? You must comb through the therapists covered by your insurance, see who has availability, and determine if your schedule is compatible with theirs. Plus you’ve been down this road before – it’s not necessarily easy to find a therapist you resonate with. Doing nothing is easier, cheaper, and requires less effort…

And now picture this:

Life is stressing you out, and you’ve been irritable with your family. Even walking the dog, an activity that you typically enjoy, is frustrating you – how many flowers do you have to smell? You know it would be smart to see a therapist. You recall an ad for these super inexpensive and research-backed AI counselors. Apparently, lots of people rated them highly. Why not give one a try – you can always seek out the help of a real therapist if it doesn’t work out. And furthermore, you’ve talked to real therapists before, and it’s not always comfortable or even helpful. So, you download the app and within five minutes you’ve been asked a series of questions designed to create your perfect counselor – your choice of gender, age, and appearance. You select their “specialty” based on what you plan to talk about. You even decide their personality – chatty, maternal? Whatever floats your boat.........

© Psychology Today