Could AI chatbots replace therapists?
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Imagine attending a therapy session and having an artificial intelligence (AI) robot as your therapist, sounds crazy right? You’re probably thinking, what do AIs know about emotions and personal perspectives?
Then again you think of the AI chatbot on your WhatsApp that you sometimes vent to about all your problems and the algorithm actually gives you sound advice. Now you are probably stuck at a point of confusion wondering if any of this should make sense or not.
Well, the question of whether AI would ever replace therapy depends on how you look at it.
The Forbes publication states that AI is transforming traditional therapy by enabling chatbots to mimic human behaviours and offer task-oriented frameworks. “This innovative approach presents a paradigm shift in mental healthcare, providing a potential means to overcome barriers such as time, location and availability.”
If you think about it, it is faster and cheaper to talk to your chatbot when you feel you need to offload without being judged, than booking a therapy session with a therapist, whether it is online or face-to-face.
The above-mentioned publication further states that AI-driven tools can reduce depression and anxiety, maintain an “always available” status, and provide consistent support. Additionally, Forbes believes that the scalability of AI chatbots can reach remote or underserved areas, and their data-informed understanding can enhance therapeutic interventions.
However, this situation is not all black and white, you can’t just decide that you’ve stopped going to therapy because you have an AI chatbot, you need to reason carefully because according to The Wellness Corner, AI chatbots are effective at gathering data and comprehending a patient’s essential symptoms, but they fall short when it comes to providing patients with therapy-quality care.
“They are not effective in it because one of the main reasons is knowledge. They have no medical knowledge at all, while therapists do study and have knowledge about treating the patient.” The publication claims that even if AIs were enabled with information, they could not replace humans.
The Wellness Corner continues to state that AI will never be able to replace human experience, judgement, and values, at least not anytime soon, which are crucial to consider when treating a patient in therapy.
This is indeed true, nothing works like the human touch (and I don’t even mean physical) in issues that involve human emotions and feelings. Psychology Today states that the AI may work as an assistant to the therapist by asking patients open-ended questions and making initial, impartial observations. “Then modify its follow-up responses based on the patients’ reactions”
In agreement with Psychology Today, the Forbes publication states a few ways that AI and therapists could work together.
AI could perform;
- Regular check-ins: Providing continuous support and keeping an eye on the patient’s mental health over time.
- Immediate support: Providing coping mechanisms or calming methods in an emergency.
- Accessible help: Expanding accessibility in areas where mental health providers are few.
- Skill development: Useful for activities that develop new skills, including cognitive-behavioural treatment methods.
The therapist can then deal with;
- Complicated mental health problems: In extreme cases, knowledge and nuanced insight are crucial.
- Individualization: Adjusting the strategy in light of each person’s distinct experiences and background.
- Emotional connection and empathy: Giving empathy to a degree that AI is unable to match.
- Dynamic interactions: Modifying the strategy during a session in response to dynamic stimuli.
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