While listening to the news or spending time online and on social media we could be become convinced that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taking over the world. It seems that every part of our lives can be improved with the use of AI... right? Whether this is cooking, doing the food shop, budgeting, planning a route, planning an outfit, creating artwork, studying for a test, the list is endless! But what about caring for our mental health? Could AI once again be the answer?
I saw a TikTok by a content creator explaining how she uses Chat GPT (a chatbot powered by AI technology) for ‘therapy’. I was fascinated by this hook and watched all the way to the end to find out how she was doing this and what I thought of this idea. Inevitably I can see some pros and cons. But I gave it a go myself to see what I thought.
My Experience
So here is what I did. I copied the way that the creator used Chat GPT which was by word-vomiting onto a word doc. She explained that she would type away about what is on her mind. She advised that she would write about "anything you would normally tell a therapist". She then puts this into Chat CPT asking it to analyse it. It then feeds back an analysis of the meaning of the text you input. When I tried this for myself i was initially impressed with how it organised the output into subheadings meaning i could easily digest what it had analysed and on the surface of things it seemed comprehensive.
When reading through the analysis it seemed similar to how a therapist shows they are listening by reflecting back what you are telling them. It answered by telling me what the author (me) was concerned about and what the text i had input was about. One of my initial thoughts was that it sounded similar to how we were taught to interpret text in English Literature in school, picking out the main themes and what message is being communicated. However, beyond this summarising and theme finding Chat GPT was limited. Therapy is far far more that hearing your words summarised. So here is what therapy can offer that AI can't.
Genuine empathy
Only another human can offer authentic empathy and understanding for what you are feeling. They can see, hear and feel what you are going through. Therapists are skilled in using this innately human characteristic of empathy to read body language and tone to interpret the emotions that may be subconscious to the individual. AI obviously doesn't have this visual and audial information and so it will not be able to use it to provide empathy. This is important because bringing subconscious emotions into the conscious is a large part of why therapy is effective. Further to this, empathy is something that is felt in more than just the words. Your therapist can show their empathy in their own facial expressions, body language and tone. It is the human trait of empathy that is missing in AI that disallows its therapeutic use.
Connections and understanding
When you meet with your therapist each week, they are able to hold the themes of what you bring and offer suggestions and interpretations. It may be the case that they offer how something that was discussed in a previous week may be related to what you are experiencing now. Making these links can lead to further and deeper understanding into how you are feeling and why you may be feeling it. Chat GPT can’t do this and although it may be that case that another AI format could hold the information from several entries, it would still be limited in knowing what the most salient content is that it needs to make sense.
A trusting relationship
The therapeutic relationship that is formed between a therapist and the client is the number-one most important aspect of counselling. A strong and trusting relationship with your therapist has the most influence over your growth and finding positive outcomes from therapy. Other the course of therapy you and your therapist get to know each other. they will come to learn your habits and thought processes and you might come to anticipate their questions or responses to what you tell them. It is not possible to replicate the therapeutic relationship that you gain in therapy. Your therapist is a witness to your experience, they get to know you and a deep level and support you emotionally within a trusting relationship.
Boundaries and autonomy
Meeting with a counsellor on a regular, usually weekly, basis, allows you time and space between sessions to reflect and process what was discussed or learnt. It is often said that between sessions is when the most therapeutic work happens. This is when the client has the opportunity to observe themselves within the context of their lives given: what they discussed in therapy. Clients are also able to put into practice suggestions that may have been discussed in session. This is something that doesn’t happen with Chat GPT as this platform is available 24 hours a day. therefore, at any moment an individual may choose to turn to Chat GPT for support. And yes, this may serve as an effective and reliable coping strategy, although I wonder if it could also lead to a degree of dependancy. Therapy is about learning to manage emotions and behaviours independently and the majority of the time a client will come to therapy with the aim of finishing therapy with the insight an understanding they need to live the way they want to live.
In conclusion, my answer to the question: Can Chat GPT be your therapist? is 'No'. AI is not comparable to therapy as the key and fundamental aspects of empathy, therapeutic relationship and boundaries are not present. Although AI may be able to support in some ways, perhaps listing generalised coping techniques sourced from the web, it is not able to provide the environment, that is so conducive to growth, that is created between a client and their therapist.
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