"I used AI for therapy - it's better than any therapist I've ever had"
- 5 months ago
A woman who struggled to talk to a therapist about being sexually abused had a breakthrough when she turned to ChatGPT for help.
Crystal Bright, 33, sought help for events in her past when it started to impact her physical relationship with her husband.
The interior designer had seen therapists before to discuss her divorce, addiction, homelessness and miscarriages.
But said when it came to sexual abuse she "physically couldn’t allow myself to talk about it".
She'd learned how to use AI for work - so turned to the 'bot' to see if she could get help with sexual trauma.
The mum was able to open up and work through her thoughts - and is now in a much better place.
Married Crystal from Charlotte in North Carolina, said she felt ChatGPT has knowledge "far greater than any single therapist".
She said: "I didn't feel comfortable with my partner touching me.
"I was having physical issues with the things that were happening inside of me. That's why I was like I need to talk about this with my counsellor, with somebody.
"I started to [see an online therapist] and it was really, really hard.
"I just couldn't say it and then thinking about having another session with her and trying to say it again just freaked me out so I just stopped it all together.
"So then a few days later I was like maybe I'll talk to ChatGPT about it and just see like am I being crazy that I can't even speak the words?
"I was like, is it normal for me to be like this? And then I got validation from that. So then I kept asking more questions.
"I started a thread called 'my inner reflection safe space'. I was like, okay, I feel weird about this, but I'm gonna make a safe space thread. This will be where I can just say the secrets I don't say out loud and nobody will judge me because this thing doesn't have feelings.
"It's gonna give me the facts. That's what I liked about it. It was non-biased. It was fair.
"I don’t need fluffy language and hugs to feel emotionally supported. I needed my feelings analysed, validated and explained, with tools to work through them without causing any harm."
Crystal Bright, turned to ChatGPT in April this year to talk about the sexual abuse she first experienced as a child.
After being impressed with ChatGPT when using the software for work, and then for advice when parenting her son, Crystal decided to see if artificial intelligence could help her work through her sexual trauma.
Her feelings around it were triggered by a recent event in her life.
Crystal asked ChatGPT to give her advice in the style of her favourite role models, such as Brené Brown, a professor and author.
She said she felt past therapists have stereotyped her, which influenced their advice and also stopped Crystal being fully open.
She said: "The therapists I’ve met I felt looked at me like another black stereotype.
"But also, that last therapist I talked to about the sexual trauma she was black like me and from kind of the same area as me.
"I didn't want to tell her anything because she seemed too familiar, she was giving auntie or mom."
Crystal now uses AI everyday and says it gives her structure and suggests exercises to help her through negative feelings.
"It gives me practices to start my day, like writing down my appreciations," she said.
"Or if something bothers me I'll go to it and ask it.
"It may sound like I'm too dependent when I say it like that but it's so clear. I feel so good about the answers I get and that's why I keep going back to it."
The last time Crystal saw a therapist in-person was to discuss her last miscarriage at the end of 2022.
She and her partner, Andreas Egger, 50, have been together for seven years and have one child together, five-year-old Bruno, but Crystal has had six miscarriages.
Crystal recommends AI therapy to anyone who can't pay for a real-life therapist or who can't imagine speaking to someone about their trauma.
She said: "This can be an amazing resource to finally address your pain and get the validation you need to heal.
"The tools and challenges that ChatGPT taught me I will be passing down to my son because they are so different to what I grew up knowing and feeling.
"I just want people to just try it. Open a chat and tell it your deepest, darkest, emotionally-charged secret and see how ChatGPT comes through for you."
Crystal Bright, 33, sought help for events in her past when it started to impact her physical relationship with her husband.
The interior designer had seen therapists before to discuss her divorce, addiction, homelessness and miscarriages.
But said when it came to sexual abuse she "physically couldn’t allow myself to talk about it".
She'd learned how to use AI for work - so turned to the 'bot' to see if she could get help with sexual trauma.
The mum was able to open up and work through her thoughts - and is now in a much better place.
Married Crystal from Charlotte in North Carolina, said she felt ChatGPT has knowledge "far greater than any single therapist".
She said: "I didn't feel comfortable with my partner touching me.
"I was having physical issues with the things that were happening inside of me. That's why I was like I need to talk about this with my counsellor, with somebody.
"I started to [see an online therapist] and it was really, really hard.
"I just couldn't say it and then thinking about having another session with her and trying to say it again just freaked me out so I just stopped it all together.
"So then a few days later I was like maybe I'll talk to ChatGPT about it and just see like am I being crazy that I can't even speak the words?
"I was like, is it normal for me to be like this? And then I got validation from that. So then I kept asking more questions.
"I started a thread called 'my inner reflection safe space'. I was like, okay, I feel weird about this, but I'm gonna make a safe space thread. This will be where I can just say the secrets I don't say out loud and nobody will judge me because this thing doesn't have feelings.
"It's gonna give me the facts. That's what I liked about it. It was non-biased. It was fair.
"I don’t need fluffy language and hugs to feel emotionally supported. I needed my feelings analysed, validated and explained, with tools to work through them without causing any harm."
Crystal Bright, turned to ChatGPT in April this year to talk about the sexual abuse she first experienced as a child.
After being impressed with ChatGPT when using the software for work, and then for advice when parenting her son, Crystal decided to see if artificial intelligence could help her work through her sexual trauma.
Her feelings around it were triggered by a recent event in her life.
Crystal asked ChatGPT to give her advice in the style of her favourite role models, such as Brené Brown, a professor and author.
She said she felt past therapists have stereotyped her, which influenced their advice and also stopped Crystal being fully open.
She said: "The therapists I’ve met I felt looked at me like another black stereotype.
"But also, that last therapist I talked to about the sexual trauma she was black like me and from kind of the same area as me.
"I didn't want to tell her anything because she seemed too familiar, she was giving auntie or mom."
Crystal now uses AI everyday and says it gives her structure and suggests exercises to help her through negative feelings.
"It gives me practices to start my day, like writing down my appreciations," she said.
"Or if something bothers me I'll go to it and ask it.
"It may sound like I'm too dependent when I say it like that but it's so clear. I feel so good about the answers I get and that's why I keep going back to it."
The last time Crystal saw a therapist in-person was to discuss her last miscarriage at the end of 2022.
She and her partner, Andreas Egger, 50, have been together for seven years and have one child together, five-year-old Bruno, but Crystal has had six miscarriages.
Crystal recommends AI therapy to anyone who can't pay for a real-life therapist or who can't imagine speaking to someone about their trauma.
She said: "This can be an amazing resource to finally address your pain and get the validation you need to heal.
"The tools and challenges that ChatGPT taught me I will be passing down to my son because they are so different to what I grew up knowing and feeling.
"I just want people to just try it. Open a chat and tell it your deepest, darkest, emotionally-charged secret and see how ChatGPT comes through for you."