Can't I Just Use an AI Chatbot?
Sometimes what we want is a "yes man". Someone who just agrees with you even when you are wrong. I get it, there are times when you are not ready to hear the hard truth and you just want to vent. Or you want somebody to agree with you and tell you that you're pretty. Friends are great for that. They can listen, they know the best and worst versions of you, and they accept you for who you are. Connection, understanding and social support in general are so important for living a fulfilling life. Friends are not your therapists, and neither is Chat.
Increasingly we are seeing that people are creating AI agents that they set up like therapists with the qualities they want and using the tool as a replacement for therapy. This is uncharted territory but what we are seeing is a lot of risks associated with this practice. Particularly when those using it assume that the two create the same results. Using AI for therapy is simply not the same. I know what you might be thinking. Something along the lines of "Well of course you think that, you're a therapist and you want clients." It is true, I am a therapist and I do want to continue to see clients. There is more nuance to the situation than it appears.
Reasons AI Should Not Be Used For Therapy
AI loves to agree with you
As I said before, we all have times when we just want to be listened to and told that we are right. However, it is important that when we are seeking feedback, the answers are actually correct. Therapy is not about having someone who always agrees with you. Therapy is meant to challenge you and help push you toward your goals. If you are always told that you are right, you will remain stuck. The tricky thing is you will feel like you have no improvements to make, and that isn't true for anyone. We are all works in progress.
Privacy Concerns
Therapists are bound by their licensing boards and ethical codes, which include privacy and confidentiality. Your AI therapist has no such rules. In fact, there have already been data breaches of AI chat history. This is concerning on multiple levels, but the fact of the matter is, there was no real guarantee of privacy; it just seemed like it. Imagine all of your most vulnerable secrets strewn out across the internet for everyone to read. I bet you are grateful for increased confidentiality and privacy in actual therapy now.
Lack of Nuance
AI can be a great optimization tool, but it has been known and documented to hallucinate information. Further, the answers given are so confident, even when they're incorrect. Therapists are differently trained, depending on their level of schooling, to help with nuanced situations. We spent a lot of time in school learning theory, practical skills, and what works for us as individuals. That schooling is important, and it allows us to pick up on nuance and context that chatbots are just not capable of.
AI Doesn't Really Know You
The system is very clever; AI can reference past information and data, which makes it feel like it knows you. This type of interaction is very addictive and mimics real human interaction, but the machine does not know you. It knows the information that you fed it. The information it spits back at you is not based on a relationship or insight; it is simply an output based on data.
No Reliable Crisis Support
One of the most important components of therapy is the ability to respond to a crisis in real time. There are instances where clinical judgment for crisis support is necessary, and an actual human is needed to call the appropriate services and keep their clients safe.
24/7 "Therapist" Availability
Controversial opinion, but your therapist should not be available 24/7. Part of therapy is learning to use the tools from sessions on your own and being independent. If you are constantly asking what to do for every situation, you are creating a behavior and thought process where you do not trust your own ability and everything is second-guessed. With the ability to ask anything or get reassurance from your personal sycophant, you lose the ability to trust yourself and be independent.
The Real Problem
The real problem is that AI mirrors human interaction, and this can trick you. It is designed to keep you engaged and feels very similar to human interaction, but without many of the unpleasant experiences, such as someone challenging or disagreeing with you. It is also incredibly confident in the way it communicates, as if there is no other answer that could be correct. It's almost like talking to a narcissistic cheerleader. Let me explain, it is so confident and full of itself (narcissistic trait), but it's also your biggest cheerleader, telling you that you are also always correct.
I understand that it may be cheaper and at times more enjoyable to seek the advice of someone or something that will always agree with you, and do so confidently. However, do not mistake that for anything similar to therapy. Real therapy is supportive, but do not get that confused with the experience of AI. Therapy is meant to challenge you, because if doing the same thing over and over again was going to work, you likely wouldn't be looking for therapy anyway.
One More Thing
Don't even get me started on the use of AI to record and listen to therapy sessions. You read that right, many of the larger platforms that take insurance are using features like this to help write notes and train AI models. For your peace of mind, I do not, and do not ever intend to use these features. I believe it violates patient privacy, which I work hard to protect.
If you are ready for the real thing, I would love to work with you. You know what to do.