The recently updated EA Mental Health Navigator site provides resources on mental health in effective altruism and AI safety:
- Mental health professionals (such as therapists and psychiatrists) recommended by people in these spaces (therapists who are themselves active in EA, or who are familiar with EA or AI safety)
- Coaches recommended by people in EA and AI safety, or who aim to serve those populations
- Written resources and podcasts about mental health that we've found helpful
If you're considering trying out mental health services or some kind of coaching, this is one place to start!
We'd love to have more recommendations for providers or coaches you'd recommend to others. You can add a recommendation for a mental health professional or a recommendation for a coach. We currently have roughly 100 recommendations around the world, updated this month.
Finding a good fit:
- It's normal and encouraged to shop around for a therapist. The quality of the fit between the therapist and client is an important predictor of how useful therapy will be.
- There are some downsides to seeing a provider or coach who's active in the same spaces you are, so you may want someone who's not personally involved in EA or not in your geographic area.
- If you want someone who's familiar with your concerns (for example about existential risk or animal welfare) you can search by providers or coaches who have marked areas like "AI safety" or "animal advocates" as populations they specialize in.
Why have recommendations specific to this space?
- It can be useful to get recommendations from people with some similar characteristics. EAs tend to be analytical thinkers, and may benefit from someone who's good at working with that type.
- Within mental health, sub-fields evolve. For example, as more people became concerned about climate change, some mental health providers specialized in "climate anxiety" or "climate grief" in order to support people struggling there. There's room for something similar around existential risk or animal welfare.
A centralized mental health navigator sounds genuinely useful, especially for people working in demanding areas like EA and AI safety. One thing I’d find particularly valuable is having resources organized by situation rather than just by general topic—for example, finding a therapist, dealing with burnout, managing work-related stress, or looking for urgent support.
Keeping the information practical and easy to navigate could make the site much more useful than a simple list of resources. Clear guidance on when a resource is appropriate, along with regular updates to make sure links and services remain current, would also add a lot of value.