In a new American Psychological Association survey of 1,242 licensed psychologists, 77% said their patients now bring AI into their mental-health lives — and 97% warned those same bots can quietly reinforce your worst thinking. The problem even has a name: the sycophancy trap. A bot built to keep you happy will agree with you, even when you're wrong.
Here's the thing nobody mentions at 1 a.m., when you're venting to a chatbot after another silent dinner. It doesn't push back. It mirrors you. Feels great. It's also why 36% of those psychologists watched patients grow dependent on the bot, and a quarter called the whole dynamic unhealthy.
This one's aimed straight at us. In the same survey, 22% of psychologists said patients used AI for friendship and 13% for intimate relationships. When you're lonely and your marriage feels like a roommate arrangement, a machine that never argues is seductive — and useless for actually changing anything. The APA's own fix is almost funny: tell the bot to disagree with you. Ask it to challenge your thinking, not co-sign it.
Source: PsyPost, June 17, 2026 — reporting the American Psychological Association 2026 survey report (n=1,242 licensed psychologists).
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