- Therapy
- Technology
- 5 mins
Developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have been a cause for both excitement and trepidation since the launch of Generative AI tools like ChatGPT brought the technology onto the general public’s radar, and into widespread use. AI innovations are proving capable of improving how people live and work in some astounding ways, with much more in the offing, but concerns about the proper use, and potential misuse, of AI, remain, as individuals and businesses aim to find a comfortable, productive balance for how to use the technology. For therapists in particular, an avalanche of new apps, tools, and services have come on fast. Some of these are being promoted within the profession, and some are even being used independently by clients. This is giving therapists a lot to consider.
Mental health counseling is, after all, about people; about building, cultivating, and maintaining human connections. So how can a clinician take advantage of the improvements that AI promises, without compromising the human touch? To start answering this question, let’s first explore what kind of AI innovation is going on in therapy today.
AI Innovation: Bots And Far Beyond
The type of therapy AI solution that has likely gotten the most press is the therapy chatbot or, more accurately, multiple kinds of chatbots.
Some, like the one created by self-help superstar Deepak Chopra, provide a virtual version of himself available via smart device, trained on his huge backlog of written work and speeches, so that users can avail themselves of his advice, provided in a way consistent with his speech patterns and even delivered out loud in his voice.
Other apps still in development, based on Large Language Models (LLMs), hope to someday provide effective text-based talk therapy for those who are unable to access mental health counseling. These technologies are still in clinical trials and must prove themselves safe and reliable enough to get regulatory approval.
Then there is the third kind, LLM-based bots which purport to provide therapy services, but operate entirely without guardrails, and have the potential to dispense dangerous information to vulnerable clients. The American Psychology Association (APA) has warned the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about the dangers they pose.
There is also a great deal of fascinating mental-health focused AI development and research going on that could change how some serious conditions are treated. For instance, a study reported in Nature finds that people hearing distressing voices during psychotic episodes have experienced relief through carrying on dialogues with AI avatars that are the digital embodiment of the voices they hear. Such research points toward AI’s unique ability to help people cope with mental health symptoms and conditions heretofore difficult to control with therapy or medication.
And there are office tools coming into vogue that utilize AI and are applicable in therapy contexts, such as automatic dictation for both telehealth and in-person medical visits. Some of the therapy-specific iterations of these tools are beginning to promise AI-based conversation analysis to provide insights from sessions to help counselors treat clients.
Now knowing some of the promise, and some of the potential concerns, we can think about a guiding principle that lets mental health counselors balance innovation with the human touch.
A Guiding Principle For Therapy AI
With AI so new on the scene, therapy is only getting started adopting it and, as in almost any area, it is not certain which AI-based innovations will prove useful enough to become industry-standard tools in the long-term.
Perhaps, one day, we will see a world where AI-driven, data-based solutions assess, in real-time, if a client is verging on a mental health crisis, provide automated reassurance, and automatically connect an individual with a clinician when the concern is deemed too complex for simple reminders. Maybe AI-based transcript analysis will prove so effective, that it will be the standard for all counselors to glean insights into client needs that are difficult to spot in a session. Maybe for a certain set of severe, difficult to treat mental health conditions, mental health professionals will prescribe an advanced AI tool, rather than a pill, to help the condition improve. And maybe safe, effective therapy bots will act as a reliable adjunct, or even a type of assistant, to a live therapist, conversationally responding to clients and collecting data to inform the course of the next real-life session. In fact, yes, bots may even someday provide care autonomously.
But with so much still to be determined, we can be certain of one thing; people seeking counseling today are seeking a human connection. So the best uses of AI at the moment are those that accentuate the human touch.
The Human Touch, With a Touch of Technology
The human touch is the expertise of a mental health professional that a client seeks. It’s the wisdom accrued from hearing and helping clients throughout a career. It’s the knowledge that comes with dedicating one’s life to the study of human relationships, behavior, and the human mind. It’s the skill to assess which strategies to deploy, what suggestions to make, and how to define, gauge, validate, and promote a client’s progress in living a better life. The best AI solutions will support these abilities in ways never before possible, making for better sessions, more effective treatment, and happier, healthier clients.
And if indeed forming para-social relationships with, and accepting guidance from, chatbots alone proves safe and effective for clients in particular situations, mental health counseling as a whole, its trade groups and its practitioners, will have to think about what it means, and how to find the right balance for folding such a technology into the human-centric profession.
By keeping your mind open to the possibilities of AI, and understanding its potential and its limitations, you will be prepared for any technologically-enhanced future that comes our way. A touch of the right technology can make the human touch more powerful. Staying on top of the innovations is the key to maintaining the balance, meeting clients where they are in a technologically sophisticated world, and making the most out of AI solutions to help clients live better.
