Using ChatGPT or Another AI Chat to Find a Therapist: How to Check What It Says

In short: An AI chat can help you work out what to look for and what to ask, but it can be out of date or wrong, and it can’t check a register for you. If it names a therapist or a directory, ask for the person’s register and registration number, then search that register’s own website yourself before you book.

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Please read. This is general information from us, not medical, clinical or professional advice. We’re a directory: we don’t provide therapy, we don’t recommend or guarantee any practitioner, and we’re not a crisis service. If you need urgent help, please use the crisis box at the bottom of this page. Services and rules change, so check the official websites linked here.

What an AI chat can help with

  • Explaining the different kinds of therapist in plain words, such as arts therapists, CBT therapists, counsellors, occupational therapists, psychologists, speech and language therapists and others.
  • Helping you write down what you would like help with.
  • Suggesting questions to ask before you book.
  • Pointing you to places to look, which you can then open and read for yourself.

What it can get wrong

  • Out-of-date information. Registers, prices and services change, and an AI chat may not know.
  • Made-up details. It can state a name, a number or a service that does not exist.
  • No live check. It can’t look someone up on a register for you at the moment you ask, so being named by an AI chat is not a sign that someone is registered.
  • No knowledge of you. It can’t know your situation, and it is not a substitute for talking to a health professional.

How to check what it tells you

  1. Ask which register the therapist is on and for their registration number.
  2. Open that register’s own website and search by name or number. Our guide to how to check a therapist is registered has a link for every profession.
  3. Check the name, number and profession match what you were told.
  4. Open any website it mentions yourself and read it. Check who runs it and how it describes its checks. See is a therapist directory trustworthy?
  5. Ask the therapist the questions on our before you book list.

AI chat is not a therapist

An AI chat is not a registered practitioner and is not a crisis service. If you are in danger or need urgent help, please use the crisis box at the bottom of this page. For more on apps and chatbots that claim to offer therapy, see AI mental health apps and chatbots: what they can and can’t do.

Where Therapist Circle fits in

Therapist Circle is a free directory, not a therapy provider, and we don’t recommend or guarantee anyone. On Therapist Circle, every practitioner on Find shows their register and registration number so you can check them yourself. Before a profile appears on Find, we look up the person’s name and number on their public register by hand, and we re-check listed practitioners at least once a year. A check is only correct on the day it was made, so please also check the register yourself. Therapist Circle is new and still growing, so there may be few or none listed near you yet. If so, please use the professional body’s own finder. It is often the quickest route.

Common Questions

Can ChatGPT find me a therapist?

An AI chat can suggest what to look for and where to search, but it can’t check a register for you and can be wrong or out of date. Check any therapist it names on the official register before you book.

Is a therapist recommended by an AI chat registered?

Not necessarily. Being named by an AI chat does not mean someone is registered. Ask for their register and number and search that register yourself.

How do I check a therapist an AI chat gave me?

Ask which register they are on and their registration number, open that register’s own website, search by name or number, and check the name, number and profession match.

Is an AI chat a replacement for a therapist?

No. An AI chat is not a registered practitioner. If you need support, a registered practitioner or your GP can help, and if you need urgent help please use the crisis box at the bottom of the page.

Last reviewed 27 October 2026. General information only. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the NHS, the HCPC or any professional body.

Related: How to check a therapist is registered · Types of therapist in the UK · AI mental health apps and chatbots

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