Shame and stigma as reasons people turn to Ash for emotional support
A 2026 study (n=395) found people facing shame/stigma and access barriers to therapy rated Ash more helpful — especially those with prior therapy experience.
arXiv
Mixed-methods survey study
New York University, University of Virginia
Shame, stigma, and the appeal of AI mental health support
Key Finding
People facing shame/stigma and access barriers to therapy rated Ash as more helpful — especially those who had been in therapy before — while access and cost barriers most predicted how intensively people used it.
Summary
A 2026 arXiv preprint (n=395) examined which barriers to therapy predict finding Ash helpful. Shame/stigma and access barriers — but not cost/coverage — predicted higher perceived helpfulness, and the shame effect was concentrated among people with prior therapy experience. Access and cost barriers, meanwhile, most predicted heavier usage, suggesting unmet need. The authors conclude AI support is seen as most helpful by those facing evaluation-sensitive and structural barriers to human care.
The Full Picture
Among therapy-experienced participants (n=258), shame/stigma and access barriers both predicted rating Ash more favorably; access barriers predicted higher engagement and cost/coverage barriers predicted about 70% more sessions, while shame/stigma was not associated with total sessions. As a cross-sectional, self-report study, it speaks to perceived helpfulness and stated barriers rather than clinical outcomes.
Researchers
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Stamatis, C. A., Wolfe, E. C., Malgaroli, M., & Hull, T. D. (2026). Talking to a Human as an Attitudinal Barrier: A Mixed Methods Evaluation of Stigma, Access, and the Appeal of AI Mental Health Support [Preprint]. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.09575
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Ash is not designed to be used in crisis. If you are in crisis, please seek out professional help, or a crisis line. You can find resources at www.findahelpline.com.
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