The Practice of Online Peer Counseling and the Potential for AI-Powered Support Tools

What challenges do volunteers providing peer support in online mental health platforms (OMHPs) face in operating and growing their communities? How could the HCI community develop human-AI systems to help? Recent work on online peer counseling has led to the development of novel AI tools for conversational interaction, but it remains unknown how such technology can fit into existing practices. In this research, we conducted interviews and design exercises with seventeen peer counselors from 7 Cups of Tea, a large online therapy and counseling platform, to design tools --- AI or not --- that resolve challenges that arise from day-to-day community practices. Participant responses suggest three classes of tools that could improve online peer counseling: real-time decision support, productivity, and management and training. Investigation of design motivations surfaced four practice-based challenges including chat interface limitations, difficulties in support seeker management, fragmented contexts of practice, and lack of visibility due to privacy concerns. Based on counselors' discussion of benefits and risks associated with AI features in the tools they designed, we offer suggestions for research on AI tools that build on peer counseling practices, and connect our findings with broader implications about online peer counseling as a form of volunteer-based mental health practice.