From a Therapist’s Perspective: The Pros and Cons of AI in Mental Health

Lately I’ve been asking many of our therapists…

Have you heard about ChatGPT? 

If you’ve been keeping up with the latest tech trends or are active on social media, then you’ve heard about ChatGPT.

ChatGPT is the latest and greatest when it comes to AI. A least in terms of chatbots or language and text applications. ChatGPT feels as if you’re actually talking with another human or reading content written by one.

All that goes to show how far artificial intelligence has come. However, these AI advancements beg the question — how would AI fit in with mental health? Could AI technology like ChatGPT be used in mental health and therapy? Is it a tool that could help us connect with potential clients more easily? What are the potential drawbacks? 

These questions sparked a conversation about the role AI could play in our field. We knew we had to explore the topic more deeply.

As with most things, the future of AI in mental health and therapy isn’t all black and white. It’s worth examining the pros and cons. — That’s what we'll be exploring in this piece from the standpoint of a mental health professional.

In this blog post, we'll delve into the pros and cons of using AI in mental health. The answer isn't clear-cut. We believe it's important to explore the possibilities and impact of this exciting technology.

But First, What Is Artificial Intelligence?

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of artificial intelligence, let’s clear up the basics. What exactly is artificial intelligence?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is exactly what its name implies. It’s a simulation of human intelligence used by machines and computer systems. Over the years, AI has become a catch-all term for these softwares and programs. They can do tasks that typically require human intelligence. 

AI programming learns from the data it’s allowed to access and the rules or algorithms it follows. Many businesses and platforms already integrate machine learning. For example, Google, Facebook, and Amazon all use AI to improve their services and products.

AI in Healthcare

What does AI look like in the healthcare industry?

As early as now, AI and its close cousins are already integrated into healthcare. These include machine learning and robotics. 

AI is actually widely used today. It’s not as flashy as you might think, though. 

You've likely used AI in healthcare without even realizing it. Some examples include speech recognition, language translation, predictive analytics, and conversations or chatting. All these are not only in the healthcare industry but various others as well.

AI-powered solutions are also being explored in creating hospital or healthcare administration tools. The goal is to further improve ease-of-use, efficiency, and reducing admin task-related burnout. This can be a huge help for big healthcare systems. They're also especially beneficial for private practice therapists.

Specific emerging uses of AI in the healthcare space include:

• Medical imaging analysis or review
• Early disease detection, such as cancer
• Screening and prediction of drug compounds for medicine development
• Analysis of patient data and medical records
• Disease forecast or prediction, particularly for acute kidney disease

In the mental health space, the bulk of AI use is through apps and software — both for us therapists and our clients. 

In his TedTalk, Andy Blackwell describes how he and his colleagues at ISEO are using AI to analyze and identify pieces of conversations. This includes analyzing discussions between therapists and clients. This data will determine the effectiveness of treatment modalities and mental health concerns.

AI In Mental Health: Considering the possibilities and drawbacks

What about the mental health care space? Is AI really a promising tool in our field? Therapy involves emotions and introspection on top of human intelligence. 

For the most part, yes. AI can be a great tool for private practice therapists. Yet, like many things, this tool also has its ups and downs.

Endless possibilities for improvements to client care

Let’s take a look at all the pros first. What are the benefits of AI for us therapists? 

AI use in mental health-related services is already showing that it can be a game-changer. The technology can give us greater insight into clients’ needs and medical history. In doing so it also helps us streamline our practice administrative duties.

In short, AI can be a valuable tool both on the medical or therapy side of our job as well as the business side of things.

Below are a few benefits of artificial intelligence in mental health.

Quality Control

AI can help us maintain high therapy standards. It’s a useful tool for both quality control and automation. 

With more and more people seeking therapy, our workloads are getting heavier. Heavier workloads mean we can get stretched pretty thin. This often causes a drop in quality. 

There are already mental health clinics implementing AI software for therapists. Some of these tools are to help therapists review therapy session transcripts. Using natural-language processing (NLP), AI is used to process transcripts. This gives therapists deeper insight into the way they work and choose their words with clients. 

Diagnosing Mental Illness

AI has already been in use for detecting early signs of cancer. It's even being used for predicting acute kidney disease. It's use can be applied in a similar way in mental health.

AI’s works through pattern recognition and predictive analytics. In this way, it can supplement therapists’ knowledge and experience. It analyzes a client's medical records and determines patterns of behavior. It can help us avoid second-guessing our diagnosis. 

In short, it can help us assess mental health issues faster and more accurately. AI provides us with evidence or proof to support our findings. These kinds of AI softwares may also provide insight to help us determine a treatment plan. 

Reduce Bias and Error

Even if we don’t use AI straight-up for diagnosing illnesses, it can still serve as a kind of safety net or backup. Having AI analyze our session transcripts can provide us with evidence to support our recommendations. It can help reduce the likelihood of inaccurate diagnoses or treatment planning.

AI tools can also help therapists and counselors reduce any unintended bias. When humans get mentally exhausted, it's natural that there is a wider margin for error. AI can help to avoid this. 

If you have an AI app or tool that can ask certain questions, you can push past surface-level appearances. AI helps you notice the more subtle signs of their condition.

This can be quite helpful when dealing with clients who are otherwise high-functioning.

Flagging Early Warning Signs

AI pattern recognition and predictive analytics can help with diagnoses and also flag early warning signs.

Imagine having an app that can alert you when your client starts to show signs of trouble. AI can look through online conversations, language use, and notice deviation from regular habits. It can notice things like how often they talk about leaving the house, or if they haven't left at all.

Timely intervention can be important for an oncoming mental breakdown. It can be all that stands between undoing months of progress made with therapy sessions. 

Identify the Ideal Treatment Approach for Clients

AI pattern recognition can also identify and reaffirm the efficacy of evidence-based treatments.

In one study, AI was able to analyze conversations between therapists and clients. It recognized speech patterns and phrases. It found higher levels of CBT or the use of CBT techniques during sessions. It was able to differentiate this from general chit-chat. Using AI, they able to link the use of higher level CBT to improved recovery rates.

Drawbacks of AI in Therapy: Understanding the limits of AI in therapy

What did you think about the pros of AI and examples I gave above? It all sounds amazing, right?

Maybe a little too amazing in some aspects. When we only look at those benefits, it seems like a no-brainer to integrate AI into our practices. and support widespread use of AI teletherapy chatbot apps.

However, if something is too good to be true, that usually means it is — and AI is no exception. Just as it has its pros, it still has its cons.

Need for Human Oversight

Despite the leaps and bounds that AI technology has made in recent years, it’s still got a long way to go. It needs to be developed more before we can run it without any human oversight.

Quality control is still an essential part of using AI responsibly. Technology, no matter how advanced, can benefit from a once-over by a human eyes. This can help ensure the information is relevant.

Chatbots that learn and adapt need a database where they can pull the answers they give users. Diagnostic apps might present a course of action based on the data they're given. However, it still need an actual human doctor to verify that everything is right. 

If we want to use AI technology to its full potential, there still needs to be human input and assessment. 

Lack of Personal Interaction

Chatbots can provide service and insight, but can’t provide emotional human connection. That can be one of the drawbacks of AI in therapy.

AI isn’t programmed for emotions or feelings. It's a rational software that regurgitates information it’s been fed or data it finds on the internet.

In therapy, where emotion, trust, and connections are part of the healing journey, AI is on the losing end. Heavy reliance on rationality, rules, and regulations is not always what clients need. In some cases, it may even be the opposite.

Helping Clients Use AI in Mental Health to Their Advantage

With all that said, AI in mental health is still quite promising. Yes, it has its drawbacks, but that’s where we come in — to educate our clients about these cons. Being well informed can help you take charge of your healing journey.

There’s no denying the convenience that AI can offer to us and to our clients. Proper use of AI coupled with continued development can make mental healthcare more accessible. The more accessible it becomes, the less stigmatized in society. 

Using AI with a healthy amount of caution is key — as is finding the balance between AI and live human therapy. 

Staying up to date with AI developments is essential. As AI further integrates into the mental health industry, you'll want to stay informed. What better way is there to do that than to join the Clarity Cooperative community?

The Clarity Cooperative is more than a resource to help improve your private practice. Our community is also a great resource for what’s up and coming in the industry. You're sure to find out the latest news about AI use in mental healthcare in our community. With our many therapists, counselors, and mental health professionals, who better to turn to for advice? 

We hope to see you there.

Yours in service,

Dr. LPJ