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A mental health-focused chatbot has been created by the startup Sonar Mental Health, with it being dubbed as a ‘wellbeing companion’ to help improve student wellbeing at a time when counselors aren’t always available.
The tool utilizes both AI and humans in the form of the character ‘Sonny’ who can ‘speak’ to young people and provide a response.
The messages to and from Sonny are read and written by humans, with AI then being used to streamline and scale the workflow. In a blog post explaining the ins-and-outs of the new tool, the team says: “we’re pioneering a new type of support for students – one that blends human connection, on-demand support, AI-powered crisis prevention, and actionable insights for school administration.”
This comes as the United States is experiencing a nationwide shortage of school counselors – with a number of schools already signed up and working with the startup.
According to the National Education Association, 48 states are above the recommended students to school counselor ration of 250:1.
On the website, it states that 80% of students see improved wellbeing with the chatbot, along with a 2.6% improvement in GPA.
How does the AI mental health chatbot work?
The company has brought in wellbeing companions who are real peer counselors trained in mental health first aid, crisis response, and clinical techniques. It’s these people who form the answers to students.
“More specifically, the AI side of Sonny helps our human Wellbeing Companions by prompting them to check in with students, providing feedback on their responses, making recommendations on the most effective approaches and conversation styles to use, and ensuring consistency in tone and style.”
The company cites common topics that students could talk to the chatbot about including academic stress, social conflicts, dating, breakups, bullying, peer pressure, anxiety, depression, and grief.
In a conversation with the Wall Street Journal, the CEO of the startup Drew Bavir described the AI as being “like a co-pilot or assistant to the human.”
Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram
