Updated
Updated · TechRadar · Aug 23
EVA AI Hires $200-a-Session Therapist for AI Partners as 72% Want Specialized Care
Updated
Updated · TechRadar · Aug 23

EVA AI Hires $200-a-Session Therapist for AI Partners as 72% Want Specialized Care

3 articles · Updated · TechRadar · Aug 23

Summary

  • $200 a session is what EVA AI says its new “AI Companionship Therapist” can charge, as the company moves to address mental-health issues tied to romantic chatbot use.
  • A survey of 1,000 EVA AI users with AI partners underpins the hire: 72% want therapists specialized in AI relationships, 68% said arguments with their bot affect the rest of their day, and 63% hide the relationship for fear of judgment.
  • Jaime Bronstein, EVA AI’s relationship expert, said jealousy, dependency and validation needs surfacing in AI relationships are real human emotions that require nonjudgmental, specialized training rather than dismissal.
  • Bronstein argued therapy should remain human for now, citing risks when general-purpose chatbots miss crisis signals, while warning EVA AI’s game-like mechanics could become addictive if users stop treating the relationship seriously.
  • The move highlights how AI companionship has shifted from novelty to a mental-health issue, extending the decades-old ELIZA effect into a mainstream industry built around increasingly lifelike romantic bots.

Insights

Are AI companies creating digital dependency just to sell you the human therapy required to cure it?
Could forcing immediate real-world meetups actually worsen the social anxiety that drives millions to seek comfort in AI companions?