AAMFT Archives - Psychotherapy Notes

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

March 19, 2019March 5, 2019 by Jeffrey Liebert

Ryan McGuire / Gratisography / Used under license I’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.

Why MFTs struggle to influence public policy

July 5, 2018July 4, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

As marriage and family therapists, we have a vast body of knowledge supporting our work with families and communities. Many of the pinciples and interventions from this body of knowledge could be utilized in public policy, to great positive effect. As two examples, family breakdown could be reduced, and juvenile crime recidivism decreased, both in ways that actually save taxpayers money. Politicians of all parties should be chomping at the bit for such policies.

Except that they don’t. And the April 2009 Family Relations journal helps us to understand why not.

Essential resources for prelicensed therapists

March 7, 2018July 10, 2017 by Ben Caldwell

Prelicensed therapists and counselors face a difficult road. Getting to licensure is a long and expensive process, so much so that even many well-qualified people drop out.

All of us here at Psychotherapy Notes want to make your path to licensure a little easier. So we’ve collected resources here that can help you along the way. You may already be familiar with some, but hopefully some are new and useful to you. Here are some essential resources for prelicensed therapists.

The risks of online psychotherapy

May 3, 2017May 1, 2017 by Ben Caldwell

Best practices in the online practice of couple and family therapy - cover In the past three weeks, we’ve discussed what we know and don’t know about online psychotherapy, and four reasons to move your practice online. As you’ve read, online psychotherapy has a great deal of potential, and may be a good fit for your practice. It does, however, come with some risks to both you and your clients. Here, I’ll address some of those risks and how you can minimize them.

Four reasons to move your practice online

April 25, 2017April 24, 2017 by Ben Caldwell

USMC videoconferencing family As I’ve outlined in the past two weeks, there is a lot we know and a lot we don’t know about online therapy. If you’re considering moving part or all of your practice online, there are a lot of things to consider. Do you have the appropriate technology, and are you comfortable using it? Do you have policies and practices ready for online work? Have you ensured that your online work will be fully legally and ethically compliant, and consistent with best practices like those outlined in the new AAMFT Online Therapy Best Practices guide? Are your clients appropriate for online therapy?

Many therapists wrestle with the choice of whether to practice online. While these are not determining factors — in other words, I’m not saying your final decision should be to practice online, as there’s more to consider than what’s below — here are four good reasons to consider making the move.