This mental health chatbot aims to fill the counseling gap at understaffed schools

Since school districts have difficulty supporting their students’ mental health, a startup called Sonar mental health Has built a “well -being” called Sonny to help.

As described in the Wall Street JournalSonny is a chat bot that depends on a combination of human staff and AI. When the students write their questions to Sonny, the AI ​​suggests an answer, but they are people who are ultimately responsible for the message.

Sonar signed his first school partnership in January 2024 and says that she now provides more than 4,500 middle and upper level students in nine districts. The company says that the chats are currently monitored by a team of six people with backgrounds in the support of psychology, social work and crisis line.

CEO Drew Bavir informed the journal that he makes it clear to students and schools that Sonny is not a therapist and that the Sonar employees will work with schools and parents in order to find therapists for pupils if necessary.

A big reason why this approach could address the school districts is a current lack of consultants – the educational department says that 17% of high schools have no consultant at all.