Executive summary:
Mental health plays a key role in our overall health and wellbeing. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of millions of people worldwide who regularly struggle with their mental health, often without receiving any treatment that may help alleviate their symptoms. Another common issue is that traditional therapeutic approaches often fall short of meeting the unique needs of every individual patient and their specific condition, forcing them to seek alternative options.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there were approximately 970 million people worldwide living with a mental disorder in 2019.
- Only 33% of people in high-income countries and 8% in low- and middle-income countries who are suffering from a major depressive disorder receive treatment.
- 59% of respondents in an EY survey said they were open to using digital technologies to identify mental health risks.
- Israeli company XRHealth has developed a platform that enables people to confront their mental health issues in a virtual environment.
- PeacePal AI is a mental health app that enables people to engage in authentic conversations with AI-powered companions.
- “Artificial intelligence offers many benefits to society, but it should not replace the human support that is essential to mental health care,” says Dr Roman Raczka, President of the British Psychological Society.
While digital tools are unlikely to replace human therapists any time soon, we can expect to see their role grow in the coming years. The truth is that our current healthcare systems simply don’t have the capacity to satisfy the growing demand for mental health services, and if we want to ensure that everyone gets the support they need, we have to embrace alternative options. In the end, if it works, does it really matter whether the support comes from a human or a machine?
Have you ever stopped to appreciate just how crucial mental health is to living a fulfilling life? It’s pretty straightforward: when our minds are healthy, everything else in life seems more manageable, enjoyable and meaningful. Unfortunately, mental health challenges are staggeringly common nowadays. Across the globe, hundreds of millions of people struggle with conditions like anxiety and depression every day, constantly fighting invisible battles that can make even something as simple as getting out of bed feel like climbing Mount Everest. A large portion of these individuals never actually receive the help they urgently need, whether due to a lack of qualified medical professionals, financial constraints, or the stigma surrounding mental illness.
Even for those fortunate enough to access treatment, there’s no guarantee that it will make a difference. One of the biggest issues with traditional therapeutic approaches like psychotherapy or antidepressants is that they don’t always work equally well for every person. Mental healthcare is deeply subjective, so what helps one individual might do little for another, leaving many without effective relief despite having access to care. But there is hope on the horizon. In recent years, digital technologies like AI and VR have emerged as promising solutions to these longstanding issues, enabling healthcare providers to expand access to mental health services and provide their patients with more effective, more personalised treatment options.
The global mental health crisis
Despite the growing prevalence of mental health conditions worldwide, millions of people struggling with this issue fail to receive proper support and treatment.
Before we explore how digital technology is revolutionising mental health treatment, let’s examine the numbers so that we can better understand the true scale of the problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there were approximately 970 million people worldwide living with a mental disorder in 2019. Anxiety was the most common condition, affecting an estimated 301 million individuals, followed by depression at 280 million, bipolar disorder at 40 million, and schizophrenia with 24 million. According to the WHO, people with mental health issues are more likely to develop dangerous cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and have a 10 to 20 years shorter lifespan compared to the general population.
In addition to having a detrimental impact on overall health and wellbeing, mental health issues also have serious financial repercussions. According to some estimates, depression and anxiety alone are costing the global economy about US$1 trillion per year by preventing people from participating fully in the labour force. And although public awareness about the importance of mental health has grown in recent years, there is still a shocking number of people who lack access to proper treatment and support. Even in ultra-rich countries like the US, only 33% of people suffering from a major depressive disorder receive treatment. The situation is even worse in low- and middle-income countries, where an average of only 8% actually receive treatment for their condition.
Barriers to access
Part of the reason why this is so is that there simply aren’t enough trained medical professionals to satisfy the growing demand for mental health services. But perhaps an even bigger barrier to proper care is the social stigma that continues to surround mental illness. Put simply, people don’t seek the help they need for fear of being ostracised by their community. According to a 2024 survey by West Health and Gallup, as many as 70% of Americans believe that there is a mental health stigma, while 27% admit they may be discouraged from seeking treatment due to shame or embarrassment. This fear is particularly pronounced among individuals in vulnerable groups, including ethnic, sexual or gender-based minorities.
One rather stark observation that can be made is that people don’t even seem that convinced about the efficacy of existing mental health services. EY’s 2025 Global Consumer Health Survey found that while 90% of respondents were open to using mental health services, 49% of them consider their country’s offerings to be either fair or poor at best. Roughly a third of respondents said they believed they could take care of their mental health issues on their own, while 17% said they didn’t believe they would benefit from professional support. Furthermore, 20% of respondents said they were unsure of how or where to access mental health support, while 18% had difficulties understanding available information.
The future of mental health care
Digital technology offers a potential solution to some of the issues associated with the delivery of mental health care, and patients seem to be open to the idea.
So, what can AI do to boost our struggling mental health care systems? Well, it can analyse vast amounts of data, including patient histories, behavioural patterns, and even speech or text inputs, to identify mental health risks with high accuracy. This capability extends surprisingly far: it can even predict life-threatening crises such as suicide attempts, meaningfully improving early intervention efforts. AI-powered systems are also being used to recommend tailored treatment plans by analysing individual needs and conditions, ensuring that care is more personalised and effective. That’s not all – it can enhance the efficiency of mental health professionals by automating routine tasks like documentation and data analysis, allowing clinicians to focus on patient interaction.
In terms of accessibility, AI has the potential to bridge the gap for those unable to access traditional therapy, be that due to geographical, financial, or social and psychological barriers. AI-powered chatbots and virtual companions, unlike ‘real’ therapists, provide 24/7 support, engaging users in conversations that feel somewhat natural, and offering coping strategies that can provide both immediate relief and long-term benefits. These tools can help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety while increasing access to mental health resources. Last but not least, AI systems can analyse real-time data from therapy sessions to provide clinicians with deeper insights into patient progress, helping them to make more meaningful and relevant adjustments to their treatment regimen.
Trust in the AI doctor
With so many potential advantages, one would hope people are open to AI in mental health care. The good news is, by and large, they are. About 59% of respondents in the EY survey said they’d use digital technologies that collect their health data to identify mental health risks, 42% said they were comfortable with using AI to identify risks and suggest treatments. While technologies like AI have already proven quite effective at executing a wide range of tasks in healthcare settings, their use in the area of mental health is still in a relatively nascent stage.
Understandably, there is still a certain degree of apprehension. However, early studies suggest that potential benefits may very well outweigh the perceived risks. For example, one team of researchers developed an algorithm that can predict whether someone will attempt suicide with an accuracy of 85%. This figure represents a marked improvement over human psychiatrists, who are only slightly better at predicting suicide than a coin flip. Another study found that interaction with AI therapy chatbots can help reduce depression symptoms by up to 64%. Chatbots can also help increase access to mental health services by 15%, as revealed by a study conducted in England in 2023.
Mental health treatment goes digital
From immersive virtual environments to AI-powered chatbots, digital technology is giving rise to innovative mental health treatments that could potentially improve patient outcomes.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the most impressive use cases we’ve seen for AI and other technologies in mental health care. In fact, let’s skip AI for a moment and talk about another technology entirely: VR. Israeli company XRHealth has developed a platform that enables people to deal with their mental health issues in a virtual environment. The platform offers more than 150 different immersive spaces, which enable patients to access a wide range of treatments related to physiotherapy, cognitive therapy, and mental wellbeing. “I personally think that it’s just a matter of time until this will become one of the most important tools in healthcare,” says Eran Orr, the company founder and chief executive.
One of the platform’s most interesting features is the recently introduced AI generator space, which enables clinicians to create interactive therapeutic environments that are tailored specifically to each patient’s unique needs, resulting in enhanced patient engagement and improved patient outcomes. The platform also includes several other AI-powered features, such as the AI Treatment Search, which helps clinicians identify the most suitable environments for treating specific conditions. There is also the AI Reports Analysis, which analyses data from therapy sessions and patient history to produce detailed insights, and the AI Treatment Plan, which helps clinicians devise personalised treatments for their patients.
Deeper into AI care
Several companies have also launched AI-powered chatbots that aim to allow instant access to mental health support. One such tool is PeacePal AI, a mental health app that enables users to interact with AI companions designed to provide them with natural-sounding and meaningful conversations tailored specifically to their unique emotional needs. Trained on mental health-specific data and models, the companions can ‘understand’ human emotions and adapt their approach in real time, ensuring that their responses always match the user’s current emotional state. The app also features a gamified rewards system designed to maintain user engagement and keep them coming back for more. Whether that addictive element sounds conducive to good mental health or not – we’ll leave that up to you.
Probably the most innovative approach to mental health treatment was recently unveiled by EBRAINS AISBL, an international non-profit association focused on brain-related research. The Virtual Brain Twin project, as this groundbreaking initiative is called, aims to use AI, mathematical analysis, and neuronal microcircuit simulation to build virtual brain twins of psychiatric patients, which will enable clinicians to explore how different medication types and dosages affect the functioning of the patient’s brain and experiment with alternative treatment options that may lead to better patient outcomes. Initially, the project will focus on schizophrenia patients, but the researchers hope that whole-brain network models could eventually be used to treat a wide range of clinical diseases, including epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, and various psychiatric disorders.
“AI cannot replicate genuine human empathy, and there is a risk that it creates an illusion of connection rather than meaningful interaction.”
Dr Roman Raczka, President of the British Psychological Society
No replacing the human touch
Despite digital tools demonstrating effectiveness in treating certain mental health conditions, not everyone is convinced we should trust machines with our mental wellbeing.
While there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that digital technologies can indeed be beneficial for some people, there are still a lot of experts firm in their opposition to digital therapy. This reluctance stems in large part from the fact digital tools lack humanity. While it’s true that AI can be programmed to simulate empathy, it doesn’t truly understand complex emotions, which also means it cannot provide emotional nuance, intuition, and the personal connection that a human therapist brings. “AI offers many benefits to society, but it should not replace the human support that is essential to mental health care,” argues Dr Roman Raczka, President of the British Psychological Society. “AI cannot replicate genuine human empathy, and there is a risk that it creates an illusion of connection rather than meaningful interaction.”
Others are concerned about generative AI’s persistent tendency to produce false or misleading information, which could prove seriously problematic in situations involving complex mental health issues. “I think AI is not at the level where it can provide nuance, and it might actually suggest courses of action that are totally inappropriate,” says Prof Dame Til Wykes, the head of mental health and psychological sciences at King’s College London. There is also the risk that some people may become overly reliant on AI chatbots, which could cause them to prioritise artificial relationships over genuine human connections. “One of the reasons you have friends is that you share personal things with each other and you talk them through,” adds Wykes. “It’s part of an alliance, a connection. And if you use AI for those sorts of purposes, will it not interfere with that relationship?”
Learnings
So, what’s the big takeaway here? Is digital technology the future of mental health treatment or just another well-intentioned experiment that will ultimately fall short of addressing our deepest struggles? Perhaps the answer isn’t as simple as yes or no. The truth is that, for too long, the battle for our mental wellbeing has taken place behind closed doors – within the therapist’s office, the psychiatric ward, and in whispered conversations between trusted friends. Now, through the power of digital technology, it’s spilling out into the world, enabling people to confront their demons on their own terms.
And yes, the sceptics may be right to question whether machines can truly understand our pain and suffering. They can’t – at least not in the way other humans do. But perhaps that’s not the question we should be asking. These digital tools aren’t really meant to replace genuine human connection. Instead, they’re helping us create spaces where people feel safe enough to begin their healing journey, often for the first time. And that may just be enough.
