AI-Generated empathy: Chatbots and the future of mental health

AI-Generated empathy: Chatbots and the future of mental health

Author: Charts & Leisure March 12, 2025 Duration: 47:19

In this episode of Unravelling, host Mary Wilson is joined by Betsy Stade, research scientist and clinical psychologist at the Stanford Institute for Human Centered AI, to explore the profound ways AI is reshaping therapy, mental health support, and human connection itself.

From AI-powered chatbots offering round-the-clock emotional support to cutting-edge research on how large language models like ChatGPT are used in therapy, Betsy unpacks the opportunities, risks, and ethical dilemmas of integrating AI into mental health care. The conversation dives into AI’s surprising ability to mimic empathy—sometimes even outperforming human professionals in perceived compassion. But what does this mean for real human connection?

Betsy also shares groundbreaking research from her lab on AI-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and AI training tools for therapists.

Links:

Betsy Stade's personal website:  https://betsystade.github.io/

Stanford Institute for Human Centered AI

National Center for PTSD Mobile Apps:  https://www.ptsd.va.gov/appvid/mobile/


There’s a thread that connects our inner lives to the culture we live in, and Unravelling pulls on it to see what emerges. This isn’t a lecture series, but a conversation guided by therapist Kurt White and journalist Mary Wilson, who bring their distinct perspectives to every discussion. They explore how mental health is woven into everything from our daily fitness routines and societal pressures to the art we consume and the relationships we keep. In each episode, you’ll hear from experts who study the mind alongside individuals sharing their personal, lived experiences, creating a dialogue that feels both intellectually rigorous and deeply human. The aim is to move beyond simple definitions, examining how anxiety, resilience, joy, and struggle shape our collective reality. Produced by Charts & Leisure, this podcast provides a space for nuance, challenging the idea that our psychological worlds exist in a vacuum. It’s for anyone who has ever felt the tension between their private thoughts and the public world, offering not easy answers but a more textured understanding. By listening, you become part of a broader exploration into how compassion, for ourselves and our society, can actually be built from a place of genuine curiosity.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Unravelling
Podcast Episodes
What the circus can teach us about mental health [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:34
In this episode of Unravelling, we’re talking about circus arts and mental health with two people behind A Little Unwell, a circus variety show coming to Brattleboro, VT, this October through a partnership between the Br…
Releasing with joy: Inside hoarding recovery [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:04
In this episode of Unravelling explores hoarding disorder through the lived experience of Marnie Cooper, an acting teacher, coach, wife, and mother who has openly shared her journey through her online project, A Hoarder…
It’s not about clutter: Why we misunderstand hoarding [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:07
In this episode of Unravelling, Kurt interviews renowned psychologist Dr. Randy O. Frost, a pioneering researcher in hoarding disorder, who explains what clinically significant hoarding looks like and why it’s about far…
Extension of your mind: Navigating complexity beyond the individual [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:21
In this episode of Unravelling, Kurt White sits down with psychiatrist and bioethicist Dr. Anthony Peter Weiss, Chief Medical Officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Ha…
Who deserves to exist?: The dark history of eugenics [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:44
In this episode of Unravelling, Kurt White interviews Mercedes de Guardiola, historian and author of "Vermont for the Vermonters": The History of Eugenics in the Green Mountain State, to examine the history of eugenics a…
The ethics of ought (not) to: Conversion practices [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:21
Special day early episode drop for this, our third episode of our Pride Month series on conversion practices, we welcome Dr. Gerald (Jerry) Davison, a pioneering psychologist whose work helped change the mental health fi…
The burden compounds: Conversion practices [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:41
The second episode of Unravelling’s Pride Month series examines the hidden human and economic costs of so-called conversion therapy. Kurt speaks with health economist and professor Ben Harrell, Ph.D., of Trinity Universi…
Made to Want to Change: Conversion Practices [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:42
In the first episode of Unravelling’s three-part Pride Month series, Mary and Kurt examine the realities of so-called conversion "therapy," which many survivors, advocates, and researchers more accurately describe as con…
Unravelling Adventure!: Conclusion/Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:08
Herein we present the exciting conclusion of our three episode series all about the world of Table Top Role Playing Group Therapy (Collaborative Role-playing Integrative Therapy) using the world of Dungeons & Dragons.Wil…
Unravelling Adventure!: Real Play D&D/CRIT Demo (Pt 1) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:11
In this very special episode of Unravellling, hosts Kurt and Mary step into the world of Table Top Role Playing Group Therapy (Collaborative Role-playing Integrative Therapy) using the world of Dungeons & Dragons, they e…