Artificial intelligence isn’t ready to do therapy (yet) [Updated]

Ryan McGuire / Gratisography / Used under licenseI’ve recently been hearing clinicians voice concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) taking over therapy. Admittedly, I’ve had those same concerns myself from time to time. It makes sense. We are constantly bombarded with technological advancements that often seem like science fiction. It is becoming increasingly difficult to deny the impact that technology is having on the mental health field. And the technology seems to be getting more human-like every day.

At the most recent national conference for the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, there were multiple presentations about the intersection of technology and therapy. At one particular presentation, a number of emerging artificial intelligence applications were discussed. Some of the applications were promoted as potential replacements for therapists.

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Challenging clients is OK, even if it means they don’t come back

Brodie Vissers / Burst / Used under licenseWe’ve all been dropped by clients at some point in our therapy careers. It may be due to scheduling, payment for services (or lack thereof), your specialty or theory of choice, your interventions, or just your own unique personality. That is all OK. It is OK to lose a client. In fact, there are a number of situations when losing a client may be beneficial. When a client drops you after you were challenging them in session, it may make more sense — at least sometimes — to consider it a success than a failure.

I’ll share a personal example here, from earlier in my career.

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Why technology professionals struggle with mental health

Matthew Henry / Burst / Used under licenseWhen a piece of technology works well and makes life easy, that doesn’t mean that the building of it went well or that the lives of the builders are easy. Many in the technology industry struggle with symptoms of anxiety and depression. In fact, they struggle with these symptoms much more often than the general population.

Working 50-hour weeks for months on end, having limited interactions with others, feeling multiple levels of oversight, and constantly being unsure whether your project will be used or scrapped — technology professionals experience all of this, typically with little or no recognition for their work. (Think about it: You probably use Gmail, but if you don’t know them personally, how many Google employees can you name?)

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10 years of blogging: Jeff’s favorite posts

Nicole de Khors / Burst / Used under licenseI can hardly believe that Psychotherapy Notes has been around now for a decade! For 10 years, we’ve challenged you (and ourselves) to think differently, reconsider professional boundaries, and actively work to improve the field of psychotherapy. Since long before I started here, Psychotherapy Notes has had a positive impact on my professional career and the way that I interact with both clients and colleagues.

I want to start my list of favorite Psychotherapy Notes posts by highlighting some of those that were also covered by Ben and Emma. First is “Why we’re launching #PostThePay,” which advocates for employers to post the salary or salary-range for perspective jobs. The #PostThePay campaign continues to have a significant positive impact on employment postings on social media. That launch post serves as a useful reminder of how easy it can be to create meaningful change in our field.

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