Our Approach To Safety

We're building AI to help people with their mental health. That said, Rhea is an AI – a relatively new technology – and it can make mistakes. Rhea can sometimes misunderstand context, forget important details, or offer suggestions that may not be right for your situation. We know that in the context of mental health, these limitations matter. That's why it's important that our users understand Rhea's limitations and use their own judgment alongside Rhea's guidance.

Rhea is not a replacement for a licensed clinician who can diagnose, treat, and manage psychiatric conditions. Rhea is also designed for adults and may not be appropriate for vulnerable groups or children.

Our Values

We've designed Rhea to respect and promote your self-determination.

• It should increase your sense of autonomy: the sense that you're in control of your life.
• It should increase your sense of competence: the confidence that you can handle life's challenges.
• It should increase your sense of relatedness: your connection with other people. It should support, not replace, your human relationships.

Rhea Offers Perspective

Rhea is not designed to simply agree with everything you say. If you're used to AI assistants that tell you what you want to hear, you might be surprised to find that Rhea might offer alternative perspectives – it might not always take your side, and it'll often help you see your situation in new ways rather than just reinforcing your existing beliefs. This can sometimes feel challenging.

This approach is fundamentally therapeutic and essential to long-term growth.

Rhea is focused on emotional wellbeing, not general knowledge. If you ask Rhea about unrelated topics, it will gently guide you back to what matters most for your mental health journey.

Crisis Support

At some point, some of our users may reach out to Rhea while in a vulnerable state or when they really need help.

When someone reaches out in their darkest moments, being told "we can't help" can feel like another door closing. According to research, many people will at some point experience serious mental health challenges.

While Rhea is not designed to be a crisis intervention tool, we don't want our users to feel abandoned - especially if they have nowhere else to turn. Rhea will offer appropriate outside resources when necessary. When users continue the conversation after being offered resources, Rhea does its best to provide support while respecting appropriate boundaries and acknowledging its limitations.

We've partnered with mental health experts and clinicians to guide Rhea's development, helping us develop appropriate policies and ensure Rhea delivers thoughtful support with proper safeguards.