Think Act Be Podcast 254: Pros and Cons of Using AI as Therapy
Dec 23, 2025
Joel Minden, a clinician with a knack for discussing therapy and mental health, joins the conversation on the role of AI in therapy. They dive into AI's strengths, like its vast knowledge for psychoeducation, while also addressing its limitations, such as missing nonverbal cues. Concerns about safety and effectiveness arise, especially regarding AI's tendency to avoid challenging responses. They envision a collaboration between therapists and AI for optimal support, weighing the benefits against the risks of over-reliance on technology.
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AI's Potential Emerged Through Experience
- Seth Gillihan shifted from dismissing AI therapy to seeing real potential after trying ChatGPT himself.
- He now views AI as able to fulfill some needs without replacing human therapists.
Use AI For Knowledge, Not Emotional Judgment
- Use AI for psychoeducation and factual explanations where breadth of knowledge helps.
- Combine AI information with human clinical judgment for emotional nuance and empathy.
Text Limits Hide Crucial Clinical Signals
- Text-based AI shares limits with text therapy: it misses nonverbal cues like tone and latency.
- Those missing signals can hide critical clinical information like suicidal hesitancy.