AI Mental Health Chatbot

The premise was simple: what if someone who couldn't access therapy — due to cost, availability, or stigma — could still get real psychoeducation and evidence-based coping tools through a conversation?

This wasn't about replacing therapists. It was about filling the gap for the majority of people who will never see one.

Built using the Gemini API, the chatbot is designed around psychoeducation rather than diagnosis or treatment. It can walk users through grounding techniques, explain cognitive distortions in plain language, help someone identify stress triggers through guided conversation, and point toward appropriate resources when the situation warrants it.

The hardest design challenge was safety. Any AI operating in a mental health context has to be extremely careful about what it says and what it doesn't say. I spent significant time building guardrails and thinking through edge cases — particularly around crisis scenarios — before the core functionality.

The project deepened my interest in the intersection of AI and healthcare, and directly informed the MindSet app design work that followed.