Is AI Smart for Your Therapy Practice? The ethics of artificial intelligence in therapy

Curt and Katie chat about the use of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence as part of your therapy practice. We look at what uses therapists are considering, the differences between chatbots and search engines, and basic information on how chatbots work. We explore ethical implications for using chatbots within different aspects of a therapist practice. This is a law and ethics continuing education podcourse.

Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com!

In this podcast episode we talk about therapists using ChatGPT in their practices

How are ChatGPT and other chatbots being used by modern therapists?

Writing blog posts and other marketing content
Getting suggestions for writing progress notes
Potentially case consultation and differential diagnosis?

What is the difference between ChatGPT (or other AI chatbots) and Search Engines?

The goals are different – developing human-sounding language versus information retrieval
Primary sources and raw data versus interpretation and an answer that sounds good

What are the legal and ethical uses of ChatGPT?

The user agreement allows all uses of the content developed based on your prompts
There is not a guarantee of unique output between different users which calls into question ownership on content and plagiarism
Citing authorship, publication credits, and whose ideas are being included in your content
Suggestions from ethical bodies on how to cite chatbots
The importance of transparency and accountability

What is the harm in using ChatGPT without transparency on a therapist website?

The impact on pretreatment role expectations and the digital therapeutic alliance
A lack of transparency and potential for misleading prospective clients on your personality and/or expertise
If you don’t check accuracy, especially when you have someone else creating your content, you may actually create outdated information that is heavily influenced by the medical model and potentially biased

What are thoughts about using ChatGPT in clinical work for therapists?

Please use caution when using AI in any clinical work

What are recommendations for modern therapists who would like to use ChatGPT?

Use with caution: check primary sources and completely review
Transparently cite that AI was used, which app was used, how it was used, and the date when information was pulled
Be aware of SEO impacts, lack of branding, whether it adds value, and that the content is accurate and is helpful rather than harmful
Do not input any confidential information
Do not overly rely on the clinical suggestions due to bias and accuracy concerns

Receive Continuing Education for this Episode of the Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide

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Resources for Modern Therapists mentioned in this Podcast Episode:

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ChatGPT

*The full reference list can be found in the course on our learning platform.

Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide Creative Credits:

Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/

Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano https://groomsymusic.com/

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