I’ve worked in mental health for decades and I think AI could save some young people

October 11, 2026 — 4:30pm

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I’ve worked clinically in mental health and suicide prevention for the better part of four decades. And I now believe the emergence of generative AI could be the most positive opportunity to ever emerge in the field.

I know that sounds jarring. The potential for chatbots to harm those experiencing mental health issues has been widely canvassed. Chatbots can promote engagement with sycophantic interactions that support harmful behaviour. They can also state falsehoods or dismiss warning signs clinicians would catch.

Given this, some are keen to stuff the AI genie back in the bottle. But young people who don’t want to consult a human or can’t make contact for practical reasons are turning to chatbots in droves. They function 24/7 in any location. When someone is desperate at 3am in a remote community, empathic and evidence-informed help is now available in a variety of commercial and other forms.

Now, I’m not suggesting that turning to a generic LLM like ChatGPT or Claude for mental health care is always a good option. But I’m also not suggesting that we should accept the outcomes our current youth mental health system is delivering.

Previous Brain and Mind Centre research showed youth care services........

© The Sydney Morning Herald