AI, therapy and the people in your life
What's the difference between a mental health app and AI therapy?
By Siri Bandagiriye · Therapy is a regulated relationship with a trained, accountable professional. A mental health app is a tool: a mood tracker, meditation, guided exercises or an AI companion. "AI therapy" is mostly a marketing phrase, because software can't be licensed or take responsibility for your care.
"AI therapy" is mostly a marketing phrase. Therapy is a regulated, professional relationship with someone trained and accountable for your care. Software isn't licensed and can't hold that responsibility.
Mental health apps range widely: mood trackers, meditation libraries, guided exercises, and AI companions you can talk to.
Saati is a companion. It offers conversation, guided practices and a private journal, built on a care model from my years of contemplative practice and crisis chaplaincy. We don't call it therapy, and you shouldn't trust an app that does.
What the research says
The APA notes that general AI chatbots were not created to deliver mental health care, and wellness apps were not designed to treat psychological disorders, though both are often used that way.1
Even for AI tools built for mental health, the APA says there is a lack of high-quality, large-scale clinical trials showing they are effective and safe.1
In Ontario, for example, psychotherapy is a regulated controlled act, and only people registered with a regulating college may call themselves a psychotherapist.2
Written by Siri Bandagiriye
I've been a Buddhist monk and mindfulness teacher for 30 years, and for six years a chaplain with Correctional Service Canada, sitting with people in crisis. I built Saati in Halifax as a companion for the ordinary hard days. If you'd like to see what it's like, it's free to try.