What can I do while waiting for therapy to start?

While waiting for therapy, you can use tools like Holding Space AI to capture what's coming up, process your thoughts with guided therapy questions, and spot patterns. This helps you arrive at your first session prepared and ready to make the most of your time with your therapist.

How do I prepare for my first therapy session?

Prepare for your first therapy session by capturing what's been weighing on you, noticing patterns in your thoughts and behaviors, and noting what you’re curious to explore. Tools like Holding Space AI can help you arrive with clarity about what you want to work on.

Is Holding Space AI a replacement for therapy?

No. AI tools like Holding Space AI are not replacements for therapy. They're designed to support you during the waiting period by helping you organize thoughts and notice patterns. Real therapy provides human connection, clinical expertise, and the capacity to hold space in ways AI never can.

Who is Holding Space AI for?

Holding Space AI is built for people on therapy waitlists who want to process thoughts, notice patterns, and arrive at therapy with more clarity.

What can I do with Holding Space AI while waiting for therapy?

You can unload what’s been building up, reflect with guided therapy questions, and review summaries that highlight recurring themes so you feel prepared when therapy begins.

Is it safe to use AI for mental health support while waiting for therapy?

AI tools designed specifically for therapy preparation, like Holding Space AI, can be helpful for reflection and pattern recognition while waiting. However, these tools should use encryption, never train on your data, and have clear boundaries that they're not for crisis intervention. If you're in crisis, contact 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) immediately. They have professionals who can offer support and guidance in ways that AI cannot.

How long do therapy waitlists usually take?

Therapy waitlists can range from a few weeks to several months depending on your location, insurance, and the type of therapist you're seeking. During this time, tools like Holding Space AI can help you process thoughts and prepare for your first session.

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Waiting for therapy? Don’t lose what matters while you wait

Capture what's coming up and turn them into patterns you can bring to therapy

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What Makes Holding Space AI Unique

Holding Space AI sits at the sweet spot of three powerful areas:

Therapy time is precious. That’s why there’s a waitlist and why most of us only get one session a week.
Journaling is helpful, but it's one-way, it doesn’t ask context-aware follow-up questions that help you uncover what’s really going on.
Generic AI is great for a lot of things, but it jumps to solutions.

With Holding Space AI, you get all three: Therapy’s lens, journaling's honest reflection, and AI that surfaces patterns, so you arrive at therapy ready to make the most of your time.

How It Works

1. Start Messy

Start however you want: vent, process, find a solution, or free flow. Type or speak, whatever gets it out fastest.

No login required.

2. Go A Little Deeper

You get follow-up questions that respond to your actual words, not generic prompts. Switch between therapeutic styles (CBT, mindfulness, adaptive) to see your moment from a different angle.

The guidance adapts as you go.

3. Find Your Patterns

Choose a time range: a day, a week, a month or more. Get a brief or in-depth summary with optional deeper analysis and therapy-ready talking points.

Share it with your therapist via secure link, or just use it yourself.

Start messy, start now. It only takes 5 sec.

Therapy feels different when you arrive prepared

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Designed With Privacy And Safety

Privacy

Your messages are encrypted and stored securely. They’re processed only to generate responses and are never used to train AI models. We don’t share your information without your consent.

Safety

Our AI is designed to support reflection, not diagnose, prescribe, or replace therapy. It’s informed by therapy frameworks like CBT and mindfulness, and tested against established AI risk and safety frameworks, including guidance from US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and UK AI Safety Institute (AISI), to reduce the risk of harmful responses, and enforce clear boundaries.

If you're in crisis: This tool isn't built for emergencies.

If you're experiencing thoughts of self-harm or a mental health crisis, please contact 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or go to your nearest emergency room. They have professionals who can offer support and guidance in ways that this app cannot.

Founder's Story

I needed this while I was waiting to get matched with a therapist.

Before building this, I tried using generic AI, feeding ChatGPT specific prompts (seasoned therapist + somatic + holistic approach) to help me uncover my feelings. But the action got repetitive fast, and it still kept trying to solve things when I just needed it to ask the right questions to get me to be curious about my feelings first.

It helped up to a certain point until I realized there was only so much work I could do on my own. I had made progress, but I knew I needed professional help. Yet, I was still stuck waiting for weeks. It was too painful to wait idly.

So, I built this for myself.

Limited Time: Free Early Access

Access to the app is completely FREE from now until Spring of 2026 as we learn what helps people wait for therapy.

Give it a try. Notice what works. Let us know how it can help you better.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Understanding What This Is

How Is This Different From...

Privacy & Safety

Understanding What This Is Not

Getting Started

Account & Growth

See your patterns before your first session

Turn the wait into clarity and make the most of your therapy time

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