Should You Use AI for Therapy? – Happy Honeysuckle Healing Center

As AI tools like ChatGPT gain popularity, some therapists fear becoming obsolete. This article explores whether AI can truly replace therapy—or just support it.

In the past year, we’ve seen increased use of AI (artificial intelligence) programs such as ChatGPT. Many people are asking- “Will AI take our jobs?” That conversation has extended to even groups of therapists, many of whom are concerned about becoming obsolete. Some are concerned that therapist use of AI to help with mundane jobs like writing therapy notes or treatment plans may train the AI service to do our jobs more successfully, therefore working towards our profession’s demise. Other people are concerned about the potential disastrous impacts of AI providing bad advice or having poor insight into work with “clients.”

I can only speak to the use of technology now, as AI is constantly developing, but I’m intrigued about the potential of AI to help people work towards mental health.

But is it really a viable option?

Please make an appointment through the patient portal or call 443-300-6094 if you’re interested in pursuing therapy in Howard County, Maryland through Happy Honeysuckle Healing Center. If you have a psychiatric or medical emergency, please contact 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

This blog is for educational purposes only. This information is best case scenario, at least within the scope of my knowledge and experience at the time I write the post. Not only does everyone have different approaches to parenting and life- and my way may not be your cup of tea, but also- I am not perfect, nor do I want anyone to imagine that I am. Despite being a therapist and having a whole host of really cool techniques for all the mental health related things, I am constantly learning and trying to do better.

I’m hoping that this blog can help you. When we share what works for us, we can help others develop their own toolkit for improving their mental health. As an affiliate with Amazon and other affiliate networks, I may earn from qualifying purchases made with product links on this site. If you’re a current client of this practice, you have access to therapist-created resources free of charge.

What is Therapy Supposed to Be?

To even begin to answer the question, we really need to understand WHAT therapy is as a profession.

Many people have never seen a therapist, or if they have, they don’t understand the why or how of how it ‘works.’ While the answer varies by what type of modality the therapist practices, the general goals of a therapist include:

Educating clients about ways to improve their mental health.
Teaching clients new coping mechanisms and working with them to practice and routinely implement those skills.
Assessing clients to determine if they’re safe at their current level of care, or if they need an increased or decreased level of care (i.e. more frequent therapy/psychiatric medication or less).
Providing a safe and healthy relationship with unconditional positive regard. This gives clients a safe place to share concerns, feelings, and experiences.

The therapist’s role is NOT to give advice which seems to be a commonly held belief among non therapists. Technically, we may give some advice- i.e. Telling a client that they might benefit from a psychological evaluation, suggesting EMDR as the best treatment for the client’s trauma, helping a family get their child setup with an IEP and accommodations through their school for ADHD or Autism, etc.

But we should be avoiding suggestions like, “Wow your boyfriend is a jerk, break up with him.” We really aren’t in a great position to make that evaluation as we don’t live in that person’s shoes, nor do we know the full story of any problem. Therapy tends to lend itself to being biased towards receiving negative reports.

We MAY, however, identify patterns in that client’s life- i.e. “When you’re talking about them, your relationship with your boyfriend sometimes seems really similar to the one that you have with your father- am I getting that right?”

We tend to reflect and summarize client statements. We also may rephrase what is said, trying not to take too large of a leap. The goal is to help clients gain some insight into their situation so that they can make good judgement calls.

Good results from therapy would be:

A client identifying that routine exercise was a necessary part of good mental health for them and figuring out the best way to manage an exercise routine that they don’t hate.
A parent realizing that they’re struggling with how their own parents handled their neurodivergence while trying to parent their own children in the best way possible to support them.
Someone accepting that a relationship isn’t what they want or need, and figuring out what they do need… then either working with their partner to achieve a better relationship or finding a relationship that’s more compatible for them.

Realistically, the best therapy outcomes are correlated to there being a good relationship between the therapist and the client… and that seems to be more important than the therapy modality.

Some modalities are better researched so they have more substantial evidences backing them up, but the “therapist effect” seems to be of greater importance.

A few summaries from this research by NIH, as well as other research cited:

While therapist experience, training and strictly following their therapy modality’s protocol may have some impact on client success, it’s a weak predictor of success.
The strength of the therapeutic alliance is one of the greater impacts on client success.
More sessions may improve outcomes, but some therapists can help clients along more quickly or slowly than others.
Completing therapy results in better outcomes (I can guess there are a number of factors influencing this).

On that note, the lack of a relationship between a client and AI may be the #1 factor that may impact efficacy.

So CAN AI Be a Therapist?

AI cannot be a therapist… not in the true sense of the word.

AI doesn’t carry a therapy license and it’s restricted by its own learning methods… you could teach AI to give inappropriate responses. AI lacks the ability to read between the lines, assess body language, and understand the full picture.

For example, if I’m sitting with a client and they’re telling me that they’re doing well this week, I can notice things like their tear stained cheeks, their tense posture, and how they keep checking their phone for new messages. A lot of great information gathered by therapists is done from body language and I don’t believe AI technology is ready to do that yet. Maybe someday there will be a way to connect the AI to your smart watch and it will notice when your pulse speeds up and other factors- but for now… no.

It’s the same thing that may have AI give you good advice about being sad over losing your job… but then, when you ask them the tallest bridges in the city, they give you a list instead of being like “WOAH… hold up…”

I also am concerned about the long term plans for AI monetization.

AI use feels like social media back in the early days of many platforms… it was fun, there’s not a lot of ads, and there’s no big cost to it. At some point, there will be a cost involved- and if you’re not paying for the product, you are the product. To be honest, even when you’re paying for the product, you’re often also the product in today’s world (aka the streaming service that you pay for, but still shows ads).

Many AI platforms don’t guarantee confidentiality and privacy, and your information could easily be harvested to feed you ads for products that may or may not be healthy for you. If they send you an ad about a gym that would be a great way to kick start your new move towards mental health and well being? SWEET. If they send you ads about a gym while you’re struggling with an eating disorder, that’s horrific.

But my main concern is that we could train the AI to give us answers that might not be healthy for us, perhaps drawing AI into following our own patterns of behavior. I cannot say for certain that this would happen, but it’s a thought.

Can AI Be a Useful Therapy Tool?

All of those warnings aside, I do think that AI can potentially be a useful therapy tool….

But it’s only useful IF, and ONLY IF, you are relatively low risk and good at implementing skills on your own. In order to successfully be able to use AI for therapy, you MUST also be in a state of mind where you can assess if AI is giving good or bad advice.

If you’re in the depths of depression, if you’re thinking about harming yourself or others, or if you are having hallucinations, you NEED to be working with a licensed professional who is experienced in the areas you’re struggling with.

For the average person who is low risk and just needs to pick up some basic skills, AI could serve that function. It can offer some basic information about mindfulness, teach you some CBT skills, etc. and if you can apply the information, you should find the information helpful.

There are lots of good therapy workbooks or self help books that can also be helpful… that’s a similar way to approach this. You could pick out a workbook that helps you focus on positive aspects of your life, such as this Daily Gratitude Journal for Kids.You can also find workbooks for DBT and CBT skills. There are lots of options out there.

The reality? AI could be really useful if you’re the Type A person who likes to go out and get it done. The person whose doctor tells them they’re diabetic on Monday and by Tuesday evening, they’ve got an exercise plan and a new diet put in place. They’ve emptied their pantry and filled it with healthy foods. And they will never backtrack.

Me? I am not that person with most things. If it’s easy, sure. If it’s changing my entire lifestyle and diet? Yeah, I need a dietician to hold my hand.

The benefit of a therapist is that they can offer insight you may not have developed yet. It’s also a place to learn new skills without needing to do the bulk of the research yourself. It’s to help you identify when you need a higher level of care or when you should investigate medical causes, etc.

Hiring a therapist is like hiring an electrician to install a new light in your house. Sure, you could do a substantial amount of research and do it yourself after buying some tools.

But you may not think of that thing the electrician would and you may end up doing damage to your house. Or it might be fine.

I’ve swapped out lights before. But I’m competent enough with DIY to know when the job is outside of my scope. I hire out a lot of work. And sometimes I know I’m competent, but I’m just simply so, so tired of doing all of the research myself all the time and I need someone to help me through it or make the process easier for me. I hire a cleaner to clean my house and then body double and organize and deep clean areas while she’s here.

Another human is sometimes an invaluable support.

There’s a reason most therapists also will see a therapist themselves instead of using AI or workbooks.

The main thing to remember is that you need THE RIGHT therapist.

There are good therapists, bad therapists, burned out therapists, and just-the-wrong-match therapists.

Some people need a warm and fuzzy therapist, others need someone who is straight forwards and to the point.

I worry, based on some of the low quality responses I’ve seen from AI, that you may not get what you need from AI- and that what you get may be even dangerous. But realistically, human therapists can do bad or dangerous things too. That’s why it’s important to interview and pick a therapist who is competent and a good fit for you.

AI Therapists: Problematic Incidents

AI ‘therapy’ can go bad… here are some articles outlining ways it has caused damage or given problematic results.

At the end of the day, AI might be sufficient to learn some skills for mental health and self care. And so is a good workbook! It’s a starting place when you can’t afford therapy or can’t access the service for another reason.

Many people wait too long to see a therapist- if using AI means you access some type of treatment or use techniques to improve your mental health sooner- FANTASTIC.

And honestly? If AI eventually develops to be an amazing therapist, helping clients successfully implement changes that work them towards good mental health, good communication with others, and healthy relationships, I won’t even be mad if I lose my job because the world will be a super awesome place to be.

(I’m skeptical because capitalism seems to quickly ruin a good thing, and too many really wealthy people are investing in this… but a girl can dream.)