Artificial Intelligence Therapist: Safe Usage Guide & Tips
Author – Rithika Reddy, Consultant Psychologist
You don’t turn to AI only because it is accessible. If that were the case, Google has been accessible for a long time.But there’s a difference. While self-diagnosing, Google often leans towards a catastrophic prognosis. AI feels different. It is more hopeful. More responsive.
Before I introduce safe ways of using AI for your mental health, I would like to paint a realistic picture of why AI Therapy could pose as a replaceable option for human therapy but it isn’t. You feel like you are being understood, but what is happening is more technical. A report published by the National Library of Medicine, claims that AI utilises a technology called Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning which makes it possible for AI to analyze language patterns, detect emotional tone and offer tailored-to-your-taste responses. In short, you are not being understood, you are being observed.
AI at its core is designed to validate and hold up your current beliefs and thought process. In therapy, validation is offered with a nudge to challenge maladaptive patterns and adopt better thought processes and belief systems. AI is not sensitive enough to detect when it might be the right time to challenge one’s ideas and when to step back if there is resistance from the other end. Whereas your therapist is attuned to your non verbal cues and micro expressions.
Here is the catch, feeling supported and being supported might seem like the same thing but aren’t. Book Your Session
Having said that, I think AI can aid therapy-seekers and therapists alike. Today we will focus on how one could seek mental health support safely through AI platforms and Therapy chatbots:
Interactive Journaling
Journaling is a very traditional approach for recording thoughts and experiences to build a refuge for self reflection and personal growth eventually. Here are a few reasons why journaling as a habit has stood the test of time. Share Your Story
- Free Expression – It helps offload thoughts and assists emotional release.
- Insight – You are able to process events by revisiting them in writing
- Pattern Awareness – Revisiting entries over time helps you recognize recurring loops of thoughts and feelings
While these are strong reasons to keep recommending journaling, AI has upped the journaling game by adding to the magic of traditional journaling –
- Emotional Labelling support – while we use journaling for emotional release why not build your emotional vocabulary to identify and deal with emotions better.
Example – “That was awkward.I think I made a fool of myself.”
AI Response – “You might be feeling self-conscious, slightly embarrassed, and worried about how you were perceived.”
AI can be a thesaurus to your emotional lingo.
- Thought Clarification – Most of our thinking halts at the first or most frequently assumed explanation. Follow up questions for your statements could help you slow down and question these thoughts.
Example – “They don’t care about me.”
AI – “What specifically made you feel this way?”
“Are there other possible explanations?”
This kind of follow up allows a client to move from “They don’t care about me” to “I might need reassurance”.
AI journaling can provide guided reflection, real-time feedback, instant pattern recognition which is going to build deeper self awareness. Explore Therapy Packages
Communication Simulator
While gaining more control and depth of your thoughts is the first step, the next is to definitely find safe avenues to learn how to communicate these thoughts, explore your needs and build sustainable boundaries to boost your personal growth. While your therapist can help you with minding your communication style, how to stick to your intention and maintain clarity. Psychoeducate you about porous, rigid and healthy boundaries and hold space for role playing these difficult conversations. You might need more assistance in being able to do so effortlessly.
AI can be of great assistance in acting as a simulator of a difficult conversation. It can help you find the right words, align your words with your needs, and determine your emotional tone. You could begin with a prompt that says “Act as my partner and respond realistically while I try to communicate how I feel”(Mention your partner’s usual temperament as a guide for AI to mimic), you could then proceed to mentioning your unfiltered thought that AI will filter for you. An example of this could look like “You never make time for me.” to “I think I’ve been feeling a bit disconnected lately, and I miss spending time together.”
Sometimes the difference between avoiding a conversation and having it is just feeling ready enough to begin.
Anti-Procrastination Pill
Most of us consider procrastination to be an efficiency problem, but more often than not it tends to be a stress response. It’s your nervous system choosing avoidance as an answer to being overwhelmed. It is the fear of getting it wrong, it is self inflicted perfectionism, or the lack of an epicentre to start a task that is camouflaging as lack of discipline.
Here’s where AI could help you –
- Chunking – We could use prompts to break down a task.
g. – “I’m avoiding this task. Help me break it into the smallest possible first step.” Our brain prefers clear, finite, low effort steps over vague, staggering goals. Chunking further helps reduce cognitive load, decision fatigue and emotional resistance. - Uncovering the stressor- Prompts like “I keep avoiding this. Can you help me understand what might be making this feel difficult?” can help you land answers like lack of immediate reward, negative emotional association, decision fatigue etc. These answers can then help us maneuver the task more precisely.
- Interrupting avoidance loops – Avoidance loops look like
Trigger → Discomfort → Avoid → Temporary relief → More avoidance.
In this loop your trigger could be your task at hand, you could be avoiding it by scrolling, postponing but still simmering in stress.However the avoidance brings temporary relief that maintains this loop. Prompts that could help you through these loops could look like “Before I avoid this, can you help me think through what’s happening right now?” or “I’ve been avoiding this for a while. Help me reset and restart without pressure.” Hear From Our Experts
It is safe to say that AI can be used as a tool for reflection not decision making, to clarify thoughts and not to validate them, to support therapy and not to replace it. The American Psychological Association highlights how Artificial Intelligence in healthcare can solve early intervention crises and improve access in mental health support but can not fully replace human therapy. To end the debate about Artificial Intelligent therapist VS human therapists, one has an Emotional Intelligence quotient and the other claims to not have it at all.
The understanding that AI can only mirror our thoughts and not meet us in them is what will prompt us towards safe usage. Stay Connected With Us
