Can AI chatbots be good therapists?
· 45 min
Episode Can AI chatbots be good therapists?
We know many people are turning to generative AI for health advice, including tips on how to manage stress, anxiety and low mood.
When is it safe to turn to a chatbot, and when do you need to see a real human being? And what if you can't afford it?
Also, a home review program that aims to get people off drugs they don't need to be on that might be negatively impacting their lives.
And good news when it comes to Australia's goal to eliminate cervical cancer by 2035.
References:
• Uptake and performance of self-collection offered through primary care to all eligible participants in a national cervical screening programme in Australia: a retrospective cohort study • Extended follow-up of invasive cervical cancer risk after quadrivalent HPV vaccination: nationwide, register based study • Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Cancer Mortality Among Cancer Survivors • Informed use of AI technologies for mental health • AI and mental health in Australia: what needs to happen next - Black Dog Institute • Pharmacists call for medicine review program to be expanded - ABC News • The effect of deprescribing interventions on mortality and health outcomes in older people: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis
Links in the notes 7
- https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(25)00304-4/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_feature_lanpub
- https://www.bmj.com/content/392/bmj-2025-087326
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2845149?widget=personalizedcontent&previousarticle=0
- https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CRE-Explainer-series-3-Informed-use-of-AI-technologies-for-mental-health.pdf__;!!FvZmfVE!AErslRtwUDeHJ_7ik1PV2EIgea4V6Sx_U2S227LxBiH5x-mLVkod4wjtJVXa0TZ1_E1GFWNlOrDyCkOZ6QZsB9idmQ$
- https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/news/ai-and-mental-health-in-australia-what-next/__;!!FvZmfVE!AErslRtwUDeHJ_7ik1PV2EIgea4V6Sx_U2S227LxBiH5x-mLVkod4wjtJVXa0TZ1_E1GFWNlOrDyCkOZ6QamT3SE7Q$
- https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2026-02-25/home-medicine-review-pharmacy-patient/106380108
- https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bcp.16200
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