The use of artificial intelligence has grown considerably in recent years and has raised many pressing questions. ChatGPT is one of the tools of conversational artificial intelligence based on deep learning and capable of understanding and generating text in a similar way to humans, and its usefulness is being demonstrated in various fields, including mental health and psychological counselling. Therefore, using the qualitative method of thematic analysis, I wanted to assess how ChatGPT-4 performs as an online counsellor on the Slovenian online counselling website To sem jaz, which is primarily aimed at adolescents aged 14 to17. I examined what content it focuses on and how it follows the guidelines of online counselling compared to real counsellors. By analysing 42 mental health questions, I found that the responses from ChatGPT and counsellors are similar, mostly consisting of the same broad themes, with a numerical distribution of the themes being different. ChatGPT placed most emphasis on empathy and understanding and psychoeducation and expressing belonging and acceptance, while the consultants placed most emphasis on psychoeducation and encouraging motivation and hope. The lack of asking questions and the higher tendency to encourage immediate action, seeking professional help and giving more concrete advice suggest poorer artificial intelligence's relationship building skills, but show more emphasis on expressing empathy and emotional support. ChatGPT generally followed online counselling guidelines less well than the counsellors, both in terms of over-fixation on some and under-use of others, but it followed those relating to empathy well. The results suggest the usefulness of artificial intelligence in counselling and counsellor support, but not in a stand-alone form. There is still a need for supervision by professionals, but more research is needed to provide further insights into the appropriate and safe use of artificial intelligence in mental health.
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