In the age of artificial intelligence, a host of new “AI psychologists” are emerging. We still need to know what these tools can genuinely offer — and where their abilities end. With that in mind, Yachay created Yuna, a mental health assistant designed for patients.
Its role is not to treat you in place of a professional. It offers a first space in which to reflect, organise your thoughts and identify a suitable next step for your situation.
What is Yuna?
Yuna is a mental health assistant, but it is not an AI psychologist. You can write to it when you struggle to explain how you feel, when something is troubling you or when you do not know where to begin when seeking help.
The assistant asks simple questions and helps you describe your experience more precisely. You might start with a sentence such as: “I have felt tense for several days, but I do not know why.” The conversation may help you distinguish between an emotion, a thought, a physical sensation and a triggering event. The aim is to help you see things more clearly.
Yuna gradually improves based on the feedback you provide. By indicating whether a conversation helped you see things more clearly and what could be more useful, you contribute to the assistant’s development.
What this assistant can offer
Put your feelings into words
It is not always easy to say “I am sad”, “I feel overwhelmed” or “I am afraid”. Sometimes everything feels tangled together. Yuna can help you slow down, describe what is happening and express what you need more clearly.
This clarification can also help you prepare for a conversation with someone you trust, a doctor or a psychologist. Arriving at an appointment with a few points of reference — what you feel, when it began, when it happens and how it affects you — can make it easier to start talking.
Discover simple exercises
Depending on what you share, Yuna may suggest accessible ideas: taking a moment to notice physical sensations, structuring thoughts in writing, reconnecting with your immediate surroundings or trying a brief guided breathing exercise. These exercises are not treatment and may not suit everyone. You are free to try them, adapt them or stop if they increase your discomfort.
Suggest psychologists suited to your needs
When speaking to a professional seems like the right next step, Yuna can guide you towards psychologist profiles that may fit your needs. Yuna can identify a professional on the platform who may be able to address your needs and suggest their profile to you. You can then decide whether you would like to consult them.
A practical example
Imagine you have been sleeping badly before a presentation at work. You could write: “I cannot stop thinking about everything that might go wrong.” Yuna may invite you to describe these thoughts, their effects on your body and what you do to reassure yourself. It could then suggest a short exercise to organise your worries or help you prepare the points you would like to discuss with a psychologist.
Take a first step with Yuna
Yuna can be a starting point: somewhere to begin when words are hard to find, try one simple action and consider human support. Its value does not come from replacing care, but from helping you take a first step. You can try Yuna and decide, at your own pace, what comes next.