The Role of AI in Therapy

In a world that moves quickly, it can feel both fascinating and overwhelming to watch technology evolve in real time. Artificial intelligence is becoming part of many conversations, including those around mental health and therapy, and that doesn't have to be a bad thing! I’ve had clients mention apps that offer mindfulness reminders, chatbots that answer emotional check-ins, and even tools that analyze mood patterns. I have even recommended clients use AI to help with journal prompts, affirmations and some validation after a break up. These resources can be helpful, and they’re often designed with good intentions. But they aren’t a replacement for therapy.

Human healing happens in relationship. It happens in spaces where we feel seen, heard, and held without judgment. AI can simulate aspects of this- it can mirror back your language, offer reflective prompts, even make suggestions for coping skills. But it does not carry presence. It doesn’t attune to your tone, your silences, your pauses. It doesn't read your body language. It doesn’t know what you hold back because you’re unsure if it’s safe to say it out loud. It doesn’t offer the softness of a human heart meeting your pain with care (the good stuff).

Therapy is a living, breathing process. It’s about who you are, not just what you think or feel. It’s about being witnessed in your humanity and gently invited into deeper layers of understanding and healing. AI can support parts of that journey, but it doesn’t walk beside you in the same way.

If you're curious about integrating AI tools into your healing work, I invite you to do so thoughtfully. Ask yourself how it serves you, and notice when it might be replacing something you actually need from a human connection. A good therapist won’t try to compete with technology. Instead, they’ll help you discern what you truly need and how to meet those needs with care.

In the end, healing isn’t something you can outsource. It unfolds through presence, through relationship, through the slow and sacred process of being with what is real. That’s something no technology can replicate.