Table of Contents

• AI Therapy: Helpful or Harmful

• The Role of Real Human Connection

• Friction, Growth, and Healing

• Isolation vs. Thriving in Relationships

We don’t really know what life will look like as AI continues its massive transformational growth. Already, there are apps that will text you and act as your therapist. Maybe you’ve tried this already.

If you are someone who gains a lot from studying alone, taking advice, and challenging yourself to make changes on your own, these tools might be very helpful. And let’s face it — they are also cheap.

And! There are studies coming out showing the risks of using a chatbot as a stand in therapist.  

The Relationship is Key

My experience in therapy—both as a client and as a therapist—is that the key ingredient for healing is the relationship itself. Now, my ChatGPT friend can feel very relational! In fact, it’s probably much better at giving me exactly what I want in a frictionless environment than any human relationship could. But isn’t it the friction that we need to work through?

We are humans who come from human parents, and most of us have issues related to other people and relationships in our lives that we are working with and through.

In-person therapy is more challenging because we are real, and we often don’t give each other exactly what we want. We project onto each other, and we push each other’s buttons. But nothing compares to someone witnessing and sharing your pain. This won't feel the same with a chatbot.

In my lifetime, I won't be isolated with a chatbot. I’ll be with people I love, people who challenge me, and people I don’t know at all. I want to be okay, I want to thrive!  in all of these scenarios.