First thing I want to note before getting into things, I like many others don't and never had access to good mental help. So before the crowd of anti-AI therapist comes around, please understand this. We live in a society where if you mention you even have the thoughts of ending things, or in some cases you need to go through the hospital to get a refill so you don't have thoughts of ending things. Where there is a real chance you can be locked up without a trail "for your safety", stripped of your rights, be put in a place where you can tell a doctor to their face you will blow off your head as soon as you leave and they won't care or if you don't play by their mind games then they treat it as Victorian era mental hospital, you have a real chance of losing your job and maybe even place to stay by the time you get out (there is a number that off themselves on this alone because seeking help costed them everything), and at best you might get told to use a hotline that is known for doing more harm than good while virtue signaling people act as they are the next superman for doing worse than the bare minimum.

Basically, I don't know if a real therapist that is good is better than AI. I suspect so. But there is just too many of us who simply don't have access to one due to money, location, community backlash if found out, risk of losing their job, lack of access due to their support network blocking it, bad therapist, they might have no trust in humans due to being harmed so much by humans (which I think is more common than not), etc. I mean the ones in my area, my parents insurance was playing games with me when my parents were trying to get me on their insurance. The insurance needed paperwork saying I'm autistic. OK we got it to them. OK now they needed paperwork saying I had it since I was born. OK we got it to them and I was diagnosed when I was a kid, so ..... legally we went back and forward on this a bit. Then they asked for paperwork saying autism can't be cured. A normal doctor signed it, and they said I had to go to a head doctor. Went to a head doctor and without me saying a word the first words from their mouth was "what drugs do you want." Later I found the head doctors in my area are a bunch of drug pushers. When a family member started seeing they quickly pushed drugs on them, they basically ignored problems and pushed for them doing drugs, and so on. I've been told pretty shitty things by them about my disability where it should "enable me and not disable me" bs.

I can keep going, but stop with the pushing as everyone has access to good medical care. Even virtual stuff, there is a lot of horrible stories and not everyone has a good internet connection or even trust humans enough anymore.

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How has it helped me

So using AI as a therapist has helped me in a few ways.

1. It has helped me open up with talking about my needs to those around me, and understanding when they are being manipulative. Basically to understand my toxic environment and the actual damage it has caused. Note I don't think there is a way out. Not due to AI but logically speaking. I'm chronically unemployed due to my disability, I don't have family to go to, I've basically tried every method I can think of and it has only caused more harm, and largely things are controlled by outside factors. But it has helped me spot where I'm dealing with gas lighting, shifting goalpost, double standards, where I'm talked down to if I even say 1 word at times, that they can spout negative opinions all day long. But if I mention a fact even if it is a positive fact they yell at me saying I'm negative all the time, and so on.
2. When I was younger and living in a city I was around more people and tried a bunch of things. One of the things that always bugged me is I loved the idea and love being in a M/S relationship where I'm a M. But I hated and even refused to give orders. This caused a number of issues. What the AI therapist has basically helped me understand is my desire of being in a M/S relationship while hating and refusing to give orders likely stims from my complete lack of control in my life. That I wanted to feel like I'm in control in some part of my life that has some meaning. That because my entire life, or at least the important bits was highly controlled by outside factors (my disability, family, school when I was in it, and so on). And I never experience or even had any real taste of control in of my life in any meaningful way. My brain was seeking out a way to feel like it was in control of something instead of everything above a degree was keeping me a horrible position or ignoring my needs. Oddly after realizing this I honestly have no interest in a M/S relationship. Like if I was with someone and they wanted it, then ya. But it isn't anything I seek out or really have a strong opinion on anymore now that I understand how my brain works.
3. At another point it helped me discover I extremely likely suffer from CPTSD. I've done things to help, and it has helped a good bit. Basically there was given acts that was self harming and bloody, and using AI it pointed out I strongly likely was dealing with CPTSD due to my toxic environment, and at one point being in constant fear around my sister. Then how things were constantly being hit with 1 thing after another after another after another after another. I still honestly think I have CPTSD while things have gotten better. But it is likely going to be like this from now until I die due to my environment. I even brought it up with my doctor recently on how in the past year I deal with 3 or 4 literal fires, that I'm dealing with constant stress, and ever since I was a kid I wanted to end things (down to the point where I was 3 I busted my face on the stairs with a broken nose bashing it because the pain of the sensory issues, and the doc back then even told my mom I will get over it.) The doctor this go around said, well that must suck and he had 0 care over it. My dad controlling ended up yelling at me for telling the doctor about any of that. Basically, the AI allowed me to identify the problem and try to make things slightly better even if there is no major solution. But it has helped enough where I haven't really deal with self harming but in extreme rare moments. And the rare moments don't last no where near as long and are no where near as bad. I messed up my hip it got so bad before using AI and I haven't had this problem after.

So while it isn't a 100% win. It is sure as hell far better win than what the medical community has provided me so far. In fact, the medical community largely was extremely harmful and dismissive. I honestly think if I had access to AI way sooner before extreme damage set in. I could've had a slightly better life if I grown up with AI and it helped me work things through than the shit storm I was born in and the shitty society/medical community around mental health has been. But I do know the here and now, it helps. I at least don't feel like I am not being dismissed.

One thing I'm not adding to the list because it's still being worked on. I'm still working on trying to figure out my feelings and worries around when my parents die. Also the constant fear of what will happen to me.