How I used ChatGPT5 to build an app that makes emotions more visible and shareable

Using therapy-room techniques; no coding, just conversation

A screenshot from the app, all images created by the author

I integrate AI and therapy in many ways, always remembering that relationship is the key, and that requires human-to-human connection.

When I read about ChatGPT-5, the latest version of my favourite AI tool, I wondered if it could help me create a therapy app. Over the course of a Saturday, in between cycling out to my mum’s to make her lunch, reading the newspaper from cover to cover, and throwing together a quick supper from leftovers, I built it.

Here is an overview of the process and what I learnt along the way. There is a link to the app at the end of this article.

I am not a developer, and I cannot afford to pay one, but now I can create things that web developers have traditionally done as long as I know the questions to ask.

First question:

The original idea changed and developed along the way. The starting point for the app came from activities I use with young people, using images, drawing and…