Article

It's Not a Bug, It's a Feature: Agentic and Relational Needs as Two Alliance Pathways for AI Mental Health Tools

2026-04-30

Abstract excerpt

<p>Can artificial intelligence be a therapist? The answer depends on what kind of help the person needs. AI mental health tools generate responses perceived as empathic, yet their value drops when users learn the source is artificial. This pattern has entrenched a default assumption: AI's non-human nature is a deficit to be corrected. We argue that this assumption rests on two errors: the belief that therapy is fu...

Topics

Open a Topic to create a Post that cites this publication.

Uncategorized literature

Identifiers and source

Literature Corpus work: dbfb09ce-e7b5-5e64-b448-2ff02d40f2f4
DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/m3dxb_v1

Open publication

Related research

Semantic proximity does not establish scientific evidence.

Click a neighbor to travelStep 1 · 12 closest

It's Not a Bug, It's a Feature: Agentic and Relational Needs as Two Alliance Pathways for AI Mental Health ToolsDOI 10.31234/osf.io/m3dxb_v1Read

Tool or Companion? Reframing Conversational AI to Prevent Psychological HarmSemantic proximity Read

The Paradox of Agency in Psychotherapy: How People with Mental Distress Experience Generative AI and Human TherapistsSemantic proximity Read

Tool or Companion? Reframing Conversational AI to Prevent Psychological HarmSemantic proximity Read

ΔAPT: Can we build an AI Therapist? Interdisciplinary critical review aimed at maximizing clinical outcomes using Large Language Models for AI Psychotherapy.Semantic proximity Read

Who wants to have an AI therapist? Acceptance of Using Artificial Intelligence for Mental Health Interventions Among Clinicians, Patients, and the General CommunitySemantic proximity Read

AI outperforms humans in establishing interpersonal closeness in emotionally engaging interactions – but only when labelled as humanSemantic proximity Read

Structured AI Dialogues Can Increase Happiness and Meaning in LifeSemantic proximity Read

Generative AI as digital therapy: What we know and how to make it better?Semantic proximity Read

chatPsych: An Artificial Intelligence Interface for Human-AI Interaction ResearchSemantic proximity Read

A quantitative comparison of AI and human therapists during simulated therapySemantic proximity Read

“It feels like a small God”: A Thematic Analysis of Cross-Cultural Imaginations of Generative AI Among Users Seeking Emotional and Mental Health SupportSemantic proximity Read

Artificial Intelligence and the Psychology of Human ConnectionSemantic proximity Read