Four Reasons Why AI Cannot Replace Your Therapist

Let’s face it, artificial intelligence is here and isn’t going away any time soon. It can be optimistic to some - scary and unknown to others.

In the world of therapy, this reality may prompt people to ask this question: Will AI ever replace my therapist?

I want to briefly talk about four reasons why AI and technology cannot replace a human therapist in this post. As we discuss, this article that explores AI terms may be helpful: Let’s dive in.

Our Culture is Information-Saturated and Meaning-Deficient

One of the great strengths of AI tools is that LLM’s, large-language models, have incredibly wide depth and breadth of access to human knowledge, vocabulary, usage and patterns. Now, AIs, like ChatGPT and Bing, offer the ability to generate original types of complex writing in seconds. AI’s strength is knowledge; human strengths are accurate empathy and true understanding from a place of care.

Heather McGowan, a Future of Work keynote speaker, says that we are living in the Augmented Age. She says that we have changed our relationship to information and knowledge, and people need to be utilized differently in today’s workforce as a result.

What AI lacks much of the time is making meaning out of the information it provides, which is where humans come in, and in many cases - therapists. 

One of my favorite authors, John Mark Comer, says in his book Live No Lies that: "the goal of reading Scripture is not information but spiritual formation." Along these lines, I might suggest that the goal of therapy is not acquiring more knowledge as much as it is to be formed in maturity as a human - i.e. wisdom.

AI Does Not Have a Soul and a Spirit

One of my favorite YouTubers, Dr. Marie Fang, a therapist in Private Practice, examined this question: Can a Robot do Better Than a Therapist? Another example is the ChatBot Pi: While there are up and coming chatbots that are geared towards providing some kind of therapeutic interaction like Pi, there are limits to these technologies as well. 

While AI continues to develop and even learn about humans, it cannot replace human interactions fully. Psalm 139 reminds us that God created us, which includes a soul and a spirit - fashioned in God’s image. No ChatBot will be able to fully realize this divine quality placed uniquely in humans.

Therapy Apps Have Their Limits

Mental Health apps like Calm and Headspace promise relief from anxiety and depression through meditation exercises, soothing music, and other therapeutic media. Other apps like BetterHelp and TalkSpace have sprung up in recent years offering therapy services, but some have questioned certain parts of this model of therapy with issues like therapist pay and therapist burnout. 

While each of these apps does offer unique benefits to someone seeking therapy, there can also be advantages to seeking out a local therapist where you might develop a personal connection.

A Good Human Therapist Ultimately Affects for Life-Change

“Life as a therapist is a life of service in which we daily transcend our personal wishes and turn our gaze toward the needs and growth of the other. We take pleasure not only in the growth of our patient but also in the ripple effect—the salutary influence our patients have upon those whom they touch in life.”

Irvin D. Yalom, The Gift of Therapy.

I love Yalom’s words here as one of the historical fathers of psychotherapy. And I am reminded that a chatbot can only simulate so much in creating a feeling of therapeutic interaction with a “client.”

Concluding Thoughts

I want to end this post with a few words of encouragement. You may be thinking: What is the value of AI as it relates to therapy?

Yes, if you feel led, you can experiment with - and even use AI (responsibly). As the writer of Ecclesiastes put it, “there is a time for everything.” But this same author reminds the reader that many aspects of life are ultimately futile, “a chasing after the wind” in some sense.

The value of a good therapist is in the therapeutic alliance, as we call it in grad school, the personal connection that forms as a result of a relationship grounded in time, track record and trust. 

I trust that AI can enhance the value of therapy in some ways. Yet I also see more value in finding a good therapist, one that promotes healing, wholeness and flourishing.