New AI apps promise mental health support at a student’s fingertips. But can you trust a chatbot? [Video]

University of Waterloo student Rastin Rassoli’s own struggles with his mental health inspired him to combine two of his passions — computer science and psychology — to help more young people access care and support. At an early co-op placement, for instance, he helped develop an app called Joyi, which delivers bite-sized psychology lessons to help teens manage stress and anxiety.

A new idea emerged, however, as he heard first-hand accounts about difficulties fellow students had accessing care on campus and began learning about the subclinical stage of mental health disorders in his classes. At the same time, he saw stunning leaps being made with large language model artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT.

Those elements coalesced in Rassoli’s latest creation: Doro, an app that aims to coach students in tackling their mental health concerns early on, before symptoms escalate.

“LLMs can make things very accessible. And in the mental health …