Why first-generation mental health apps cannot ignore next-gen AI chatbots – statnews.com

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By O. Rose Broderick
Dec. 1, 2025
Disability in Health Care Reporting Fellow
O. Rose Broderick
O. Rose Broderick reports on the health policies and technologies that govern people with disabilities’ lives. Before coming to STAT, she worked at WNYC’s Radiolab and Scientific American, and her story debunking a bogus theory about transgender kids was nominated for a 2024 GLAAD Media Award. You can reach Rose on Signal at rosebroderick.11.
Digital mental health companies raised record-breaking capital during the coronavirus pandemic, offering therapy and medication to people desperate for help during lockdown. Now, some of the largest providers in that space, including  Talkspace and Lyra Health, face a new challenge: integrating generative AI chatbots into their clinical portfolios.
The companies say the technology has become too popular and offers too many advantages for them to ignore. Demand for therapists and psychologists has outstripped the available professionals in recent years, leaving people to fill the void with on-demand chatbots that are cheaper and available via a few clicks on a phone. OpenAI’s ChatGPT has already reached an eye-popping 800 million weekly users, with many leaning on the device for emotional support. 
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“It’s fast, it’s private, and it’s there at 3 a.m,” said Mark Frank, CEO of virtual and in-person therapy services provider SonderMind, about the rising popularity of chatbots.
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O. Rose Broderick
Disability in Health Care Reporting Fellow
O. Rose Broderick reports on the health policies and technologies that govern people with disabilities’ lives. Before coming to STAT, she worked at WNYC’s Radiolab and Scientific American, and her story debunking a bogus theory about transgender kids was nominated for a 2024 GLAAD Media Award. You can reach Rose on Signal at rosebroderick.11.
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