Is it true that AI is a genuine competitor to a psychotherapist?

Every day, I see numerous posts on social media claiming that competition in the field of psychotherapy is extremely high. On one hand, I agree—the number of psychologists is indeed growing rapidly. For instance, the Ukrainian Gestalt community—the one I am most closely connected to—is expanding at an incredible pace. When I first began my training as a Gestalt psychotherapist, the options for Level 1 and Level 2 programs were quite limited. Yet, just six years later, it seems to me that the number of such programs has increased significantly. This may be a subjective observation, but I notice how quickly therapists move on to train as supervisors, and subsequently as trainers. We all know the reason behind this, but the consequence is clear: ever-increasing competition.

At the same time, the demand for psychotherapy services is growing. However, I see a clear imbalance between the scale of this emerging demand and the available supply. In my own subjective view, competition among psychologists is intensifying faster than the demand itself can develop. This may be why such competition feels so daunting.

The figures show that the demand for psychotherapy and psychological services is indeed growing every year. And this is hardly surprising. It is no longer just a matter of following a trend or seeking status—as was the case until recently—but rather a reflection of a genuine interest in self-discovery. Information has become practically accessible to everyone. It is no longer a mere guess, but established knowledge, that our feelings influence our behavior, and that automatic behavioral patterns can undermine things that are truly important to us. People want to live better, or at the very least, with greater peace of mind. Given the circumstances and the pace of life today, this has become something of an essential baseline.

It is important to note here that the environment and circumstances play a more active role in shaping demand than the psychotherapists themselves do. However, to generate demand for psychotherapy, a psychotherapist must possess an entrepreneurial mindset.

Who is a psychotherapist’s real competitor?

When I talk about competition among psychologists, I believe it’s not just our more successful and in-demand colleagues we need to worry about. Certainly, those who know how to put themselves out there—selling their services in an active, bold way—do capture a portion of the client base. Those who know how to generate demand and view their practice as a business tend to do well. It is true that such colleagues may, in a sense, take clients away from those who are less visible or less successful—especially those who either don’t know how to, are unable to, or are simply afraid to engage in active sales and maintain a public presence. But just how many clients can one psychologist actually take from another? Dozens? Hundreds?

And what about the hundreds of thousands? Hundreds of thousands of potential clients don’t visit social media, Google, or YouTube at all. A few might still go the traditional route—visiting psychological centers—but hundreds of thousands are turning to ChatGPT! And competing with that is definitely a challenge!

Here are some statistics. It’s a pity that such research isn’t conducted in Ukraine, but here is what the American and British figures show. And these numbers simply astound me.

The first figure that struck a chord with me was during a seminar on the new ethical framework from the British BACP community. The updated code of ethics, incidentally, specifically addresses AI. The speaker said that, according to research for 2025,

How often do people choose AI as a psychotherapist?

Before we go any further, I’ll leave a link here to my video where I explain the difference between a psychologist, a psychotherapist, and a psychiatrist—just in case. This is an important distinction, because in this article, I am specifically talking about psychotherapists.

So, Bournemouth University conducted an interesting study, surveying 30,994 people across 35 countries. 75.7% of respondents stated that they would use AI as a companion, 60.6% would trust AI as a mental health consultant, 49.8% would allow AI to educate their children, and 45.3% would trust AI to act as their doctor. What do you think of these figures? In other words, for just $20 a month—or perhaps even for free—you could have a personal mental health consultant, accessible anywhere, at any time.

SIGN UP FOR THERAPY WITH ME

I don’t want to discuss here why people choose AI—there are, in fact, many reasons for this, which you can read about below. But what we, as psychotherapists, need to understand is that the numbers are unforgiving: clients will choose AI. And we will find ourselves competing not only with one another, but with machines.

The true scale of competition with AI

Here are some more figures. According to the results of another study, one in four teenagers in England and Wales has used an AI chatbot for psychological support over the past year.

According to OpenAI, more than 1 million people each week engage in conversations on ChatGPT that contain clear signs of suicide planning. OpenAI, October 2025.

35% of American psychologists have patients who use AI as an additional mental health professional. APA 2026 Chatbots & Mental Health Survey.

The first randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a therapeutic chatbot based on generative AI (Therabot) showed that symptoms of depression decreased by an average of 51%. Heinz et al., NEJM AI, 2025

And here’s my favorite part—from an entrepreneurial perspective: the global market for AI-based mental health solutions is projected to grow from approximately $2.1 billion in 2026 to $9.1 billion by 2033 (Grand View Research, 2026). This clearly opens up a vast field for us, colleagues—we have the opportunity to develop our own products to meet the demand that is currently emerging due to external circumstances.

Here’s an interesting development: in 2025, Illinois, Nevada, and Utah became the first states to restrict or ban the use of AI in therapy, and by early 2026, six other states had begun advancing similar legislation (KFF Health News; Pluribus News). On one hand, this may look like a measure taken for the sake of patient well-being. On the other, it only reinforces my view that AI is a genuine competitor to psychologists—and, more broadly, to the vast psychotherapy market.

However, there are also encouraging figures: 61.1% of people might consider receiving psychological support from AI in the future. Among those who do not currently use such tools, the primary barriers are doubts regarding their effectiveness (41.6%) and a preference for real-life, human interaction (40.2%) (Sentio University, 2025). And this is exactly what I keep saying—AI cannot replace a real human being.

The subject of competition: what do people talk about with AI?

What do people come to AI with—what kind of requests do they make? I suspected that the requests would likely be similar, but I also had an inkling that, precisely because AI is an impersonal machine, people might share their most intimate secrets with it.

People turn to AI to cope with the following: anxiety (79.8%), depression (72.4%), stress (70.0%), relationship issues (41.2%), low self-esteem (36.2%), and trauma (33.3%).

I asked my ChatGPT what data OpenAI has made publicly available regarding the mental health-related topics that people bring to AI. I didn’t get an answer. It’s possible this is restricted information, falling under the umbrella of privacy. But something tells me that people come to AI with the exact same issues they bring to therapists.

Just yesterday, a real-life example from my practice occurred: a client reached out a few days ago, asking for a one-off consultation. We had concluded our formal therapy sessions earlier this year, though she occasionally returns for individual, standalone consultations. My schedule was quite packed, so we weren’t able to meet until three days after her initial request. The issue at hand wasn’t a crisis; rather, it concerned a specific, practical situation in her daily life. During our session yesterday, the client mentioned that, because she had to wait for an opening in my schedule, she had actually consulted ChatGPT about the very same issue she brought to me. There you have it. To be honest, this doesn’t alarm me—but it does spark a great deal of curiosity about where all of this might lead.

Why do people choose AI instead of a psychotherapist?

This is perhaps the most uncomfortable question—or, rather, the answers to it are. I’ll be honest: even though I undergo personal therapy myself—and am a psychotherapist, too—I occasionally use ChatGPT as a kind of virtual therapist. I’ve even found myself crying while clutching my phone! I asked myself why I do this, and the answer was quite simple: my actual therapist is available for only one hour a week, whereas ChatGPT is there for me 24/7, for as long as I need it. According to research from Sentio/Practice Innovations (APA, 2025), the Bipartisan Policy Center (2026), and Cognitive FX (2026), 90% of those surveyed consider the accessibility of AI to be a significant advantage.

According to the same studies, people find it more comfortable to talk to ChatGPT, and—quite simply—AI is many times cheaper (this is the view of 70% of those surveyed). I find myself at a loss for words here, because it’s true: at any moment, a person can pick up their phone, open an app, and receive basic, fundamental psychological support. Setting aside questions about the professionalism, long-term potential, or depth of such sessions, the fact remains: AI is becoming a genuine competitor to psychotherapists—for most of them, at least, though I personally believe not for all.

Another interesting finding from the same research is that one in three respondents chooses AI because they fear being judged by a human. In other words, we all know how artificial intelligence works—we know it’s a program. And this program operates according to a specific algorithm that is, by design, set to an empathetic, supportive style of communication. With real human interaction, on the other hand, you never quite know what to expect.

How can a psychotherapist compete with AI?

The most important question that concerns me is this: we psychotherapists cannot be available 24/7, the way AI can. We need to earn a living—our services cannot cost $20 a month. We have our own reactions, which clients might interpret in ways that don’t serve them. Clients also project things onto us and hold specific expectations of us. Through my own practice, I’ve come to one conclusion: it is impossible to replace a living, feeling psychotherapist. Initially, a client might benefit from what you could call “gentle stroking”—empathy, support, and a certain validation of their hesitation to act or make decisions, or even their harsh treatment of themselves. At this early stage, an unconditionally accepting therapist might seem on par with AI; however, AI cannot go any further—it cannot delve deeper into frustration, into raw, unfiltered reality, or into the realm of necessity and personal responsibility. AI cannot show us who we truly are; it merely reflects our own desire to be a certain way.

Да, какое-то время это работает, но дальше быть кем-то другим, но не собой, начнет раздражать и злить. И вот здесь может справиться только настоящий реальный человек, а не программа. У программы слишком много ограничений, а у терапевта при всей необходимости соблюдать этику есть главное – свобода и знание, как сделать свободным другого.