Nigerians Turn to AI Chatbots for Mental Health Support Amid Access Gaps

In Nigeria, where access to qualified therapists is limited and costly, many individuals are turning to AI chatbots for advice and therapy. This trend highlights AI's role in filling mental healthcare gaps, while also prompting calls for tighter regulation.

12 Feb, 06:00 — 12 Feb, 06:00

Coverage (1 source)

The Guardian12 Feb, 06:00

‘At 2am, it feels like someone’s there’: why Nigerians are choosing chatbots to give them advice and therapy

With many unable to access or afford qualified therapists, AI is filling the mental healthcare vacuum, amid calls for tighter regulation On a quiet evening in her Abuja hotel, Joy Adeboye, 23, sits on her bed clutching her phone, her mind racing and chest tightening. On her screen is yet another abusive message from her stalker – a man she had met nine months earlier at her church. He had asked Adeboye out; when she declined, he began sending her intimidating, insulting and blackmailing messages on social media, as well as spreading false information about her online. There were even death threats. Continue reading...

By Valentine Benjamin

Read at source →