How is Therapy With a Psychotherapist Different From Using Artificial Intelligence?

In the last several years some people have been relying on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for their mental health issues instead of seeing a licensed mental health professional.  

Psychotherapy With a Live Therapist vs Using A.I.

Although AI can be useful in terms of understanding certain mental health issues, it's not a substitute for working with a psychotherapist. 

How is Therapy With a Psychotherapist Different From Using AI?

Psychotherapy and AI are fundamentally different:

The primary distinctions between AI and psychotherapy include:

The Therapeutic Relationship: 

• Psychotherapy: The therapeutic relationship between a client and therapist is central to psychotherapy. Healing occurs through a felt, trusted human relationship. In addition to what is said, therapists are attuned to non-verbal cues like voice tone, micro-expressions, posture and silences. Many psychotherapists who are trained to work in a psychodynamic way also tune into the client's conscious and unconscious gestures.  When psychotherapists and clients work together, whether it is online or in person, there is a right-brain-to-right brain attunement between therapist and client which enhances the client's healing.

Psychotherapy With a Live Therapist vs Using A.I.

• AI: AI operates on textual inputs. It cannot form a relational bond or therapeutic alliance with a client. Although it can mimic validation, it generates language statistically rather than experiencing an emotional connection with the client. 

Therapeutic Empathy:

• Psychotherapy: Therapeutic empathy is an essential part of healing in psychotherapy. Therapists are trained to develop empathy for clients and help clients to develop empathy and self compassion  (see my article: Why Is Empathy Important in Psychotherapy?).

Psychotherapy With a Live Therapist vs Using A.I.

• AI: An AI chatbot can adjust its responses based on sentiment analysis and learning algorithms, but lack the emotional bandwidth which is found with human psychotherapists. It can mimic empathy, but it cannot feel it. It could possibly guide, but it can't witness. 

Clinical Judgment vs Pattern Recognition

• Psychotherapy: Psychotherapists spend years training to diagnose conditions, assess complex safety risks and change treatment based on clients' responses.

Psychotherapy With a Licensed Therapist vs Using A.I.

• AI: AI evaluates texts based on probability and patterns from their training data. It struggles with deeply complex content and cannot make nuanced clinical choices.

Crisis Management and Safety

• Psychotherapy: Psychotherapists are legally bound to intervene during a crisis. Therapists actively build therapeutic plans for conditions such panic attacks or psychological trauma.

Psychotherapy With a Licensed Therapist vs A.I.

• AI: Chatbots cannot manage a crisis and often default to crisis-line referrals. If they fail to read the situation appropriately, they can provide inappropriate and stigmatizing advice.

Accountability and Ethics

• Psychotherapy: Mental health practitioners operate under strict state boards, ethical codes and HIPAA privacy laws.

Psychotherapy With a Licensed Therapist vs Using A.I.

• AI.: Chatbot platforms are corporate products not medical entities. Data privacy rules can vary widely which raises the risk regarding how sensitive personal information is stored and shared.

Intended Outcomes

• Psychotherapy: Psychotherapy is designed to foster psychological breakthroughs, process deep-seated trauma and build long term, structural psychological changes.

Psychotherapy With a Licensed Therapist vs Using A.I.

• AI: AI cannot foster psychological breakthroughs. It is best suited as an adjunct to therapy for accessing certain behavioral tools like reflection prompts, mood tracking or breathing exercises between psychotherapy sessions. 

Conclusion

The future of mental health will not be a choice between working with a human psychotherapist versus texting a chatbot.

In moments of crisis where psychotherapy is unavailable, like in a war-torn country, AI can provide information, but it has limitations.  

In terms of psychological healing, the human-to-human contact that available in psychotherapy is essential and irreplaceable for psychological healing.

About Me

I am a licensed New York psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT (for couples), Parts Work (IFS and Ego States Therapy), Somatic Experiencing and Certified Sex Therapist.

I have helped many individual adults and couples over the years.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.

Also See My Articles:

Why is Empathy Important For Healing in Psychotherapy?

The Psychotherapy Session: A Unique Intersubjective Experience 

The Creation of the Holding Environment in Psychotherapy 

Psychotherapy as a Co-created Process Between Client and Therapist