Every time I speak to therapists about artificial intelligence, someone tells me the profession will be fine, that people will always want a human being in the room. I hope that is true. But hope is not a plan, and the clients who are already talking to a chatbot at two in the morning are not waiting for us to finish debating it.
The honest starting point is that our clients have found something that never sleeps, never judges, never runs late, and never charges for a missed session. Naming that clearly is not defeatism. It is the only position from which we can see what we actually offer that a model cannot: accountability over time, a relationship with real stakes, the discomfort that produces growth, and a witness who remembers you across years of your life.
There is real work available to us right now. We can ask clients what they are already using and how it is going, instead of waiting to be told. We can build our practices around the depth that machines cannot reach. We can insist on a seat at the table where these tools are designed and regulated. None of it is possible while the profession keeps reassuring itself that nothing is changing.
Three takeaways
- Reassurance is not a strategy; the profession needs to look honestly at what is already happening in our clients' lives.
- Ask clients directly about the AI tools they are using, and treat those answers as clinical information rather than a threat.
- What therapists offer that machines cannot is accountability, continuity, and a relationship with real stakes, so build the practice around it.
From the Psychology Today article
Therapy in the Age of AI: What We Can Actually Do
Therapists have options. But none of them are available if we aren't looking honestly at the problem.
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