If it wasn't already apparent, we need support now more than ever. I felt this way when navigating big life changes, when seemingly dangerous things occurred in my life, and I realized I couldn't do life alone.
I've tried therapy many times, but there comes a point where you need care faster than a call to a therapist takes. (And that's before understanding boundaries and enmeshment.) I found the AI app Youper while looking for a solution to this specific problem.
Support is more than help. Sometimes, it's a necessity to keep going.
Youper is an AI-powered mental health app designed to provide accessible, personalized support for individuals managing conditions like anxiety and depression. It was co-founded in 2016 by psychiatrist Dr. Jose Hamilton Vargas, Diego Dotta and Thiago Marafon.
Youper's key features are its cognitive behavioral therapy tools that help you understand your thoughts, emotions and actions, and how they all connect.
If you've seen Youper before and wonder what's new about it, the biggest change is its AI features and paywall. Originally free, it now features a $70 per year subscription model that positions it in line with its competitors.
"Therapists created Youper to make mental healthcare accessible to everyone," Youper's page says.
As for AI, Youper has a 1:1 chatbot trained by psychological research and evidence-based therapeutic interventions.
The chatbot can talk to you in real time, garner details about you, reflect patterns in your thinking and emoting, and help process what's going on in your life -- with the help of a prompted algorithm.
A study stated that Youper includes "cognitive behavioral therapy skills" in its app.
There's also a page on its website dedicated to the individuals and organizations that built and backed Youper, alongside the therapists who created the platform. For resources, Youper also created a safety page with more information for support in life-threatening situations.
This is how to navigate Youper's app to set up its AI mental health features. Give yourself about 5 minutes.
Let's start with the price: $70 per year is a great deal when a 60-minute session with a therapist without insurance can cost three times that amount. But I also don't think spending a week on its free trial is long enough to determine whether this application is the right fit for you. (That comes down to your specific needs, goals and past approaches.)
As a reminder, you shouldn't take health advice, including mental health advice, from AI without consulting a medical physician or therapist, though.
Youper brands itself by offering AI-driven, conversational therapy rooted in CBT principles. In alignment with other consumer tech brands that have launched mental health companions at the same price, Youper may seem like a nice-to-have alternative for those who face barriers to traditional therapy.
Additionally, while Youper was created by a psychiatrist, I can't determine how much research went into its creation, particularly around ethical AI frameworks and data safety. It does assure that your data is "private, encrypted and secure," but it doesn't go into detail. (Youper did not respond to a request for comment.)
Still, if you need free, immediate access, I'm a proponent of Youper. Any form of support can be a valuable starting point for people. Ultimately, Youper is tailored for individuals seeking convenient, cost-effective mental health support.
But there's really nothing like speaking to another, clinically trained human.
