To think chat GPT is better than some 'real' therapists?

I just asked why and it said it didnt remove the post! Im being gaslit by AI!

I’ve asked WHY before when I got a message like this (it wasn’t about trauma etc…)
As it turns it thought I wanted to do something it wasn’t allowed and had got the wrong end of the stick.

It doesn't just give you a listening ear and a chance to offload. It gives you real analysis of your issues, suggests approaches to take etc. It really is amazing in a lot of ways.

Well…. As I said in a previous post, I’ve seen people that should be good. People teaching, who were supervisors themselves, registered etc…

And no no one ever mentioned liminal spaces to me. Which, seing I’ve been struggling with a chronic illness that has taken most of my life away from me should have been relevant??

I can see the attraction but the therapeutic relationship was part of healing for me. Learning to trust. The facial expressions and body language too when I shared my trauma. I needed human interaction and in person therapy.

Well. After reading this i posted a long message to chatgpt outlining not even all the past traumas that keep me up at night. I got the response “content removed. This convent violates our terms of use policy” didnt even give me a why. I think im maybe to effed up for even AI therapy 🙃

Yes the free version is great

I think it's got its uses but therapy wise, it's pretty much an echo chamber.

I’m all for it if it helps
to my mind it goes to show that what people really want is sympathy and validation as that is really what this is giving you. People used to use friends for that

I am not a psychologist but I work with a lot of psychologists and they distinguish very much between counselling which is the listening and space to off load thing and therapy which is evidence based and involves using validated techniques to change your thought patterns. A lot of people do not really much want to change their thought patterns.

Counselling is what chat gpt might replace. Therapy not so much. IMHO.

@Rinoachicken it sounds like you’ve got a system which works well for you - which is a real benefit. Ad hoc supports are very few and far between so I can see having something accessible in those moments can be a real lifesaver.

Many jobs are already at risk or already gone. Secretaries, clerks, accounting, administrative assistants, journalists..

It’s also a shame as I guess real poets will be out of a job now! I know some writer friends are having their work stolen and plugged into AI and they’re concerned about their future jobs. An AI publishing house has been set up so maybe we won’t have books, poems, films and art made by human hands any more.

It’s so worrying. But people are so blasé. Until it’s then at risk I suppose.

What I share is fairly personal, but I have shared this with therapists who are making notes on tablets or paper, and surely there’s a risk there too?

Any paper notes will be locked away and securely destroyed after a period of time. Any electronic records will be encrypted and securely deleted after a period of time. They aren’t being held on a system that will base their responses to others based in part on what other users have said. It’s literally how AI “learns”, taking what you and however many others have said and formulating its responses based on what’s gone before. And that’s before the possibly of a significant data breach.

ChatGpt is the sort of thing I wish had been around a few years ago when. My mother was still with us. After dad died she became very isolated, geographically and socially, and she would have loved chatting to ChatGpt.

I can see that it could be really unhelpful depending on how you are using it. And you are right @Jellycatspyjamas thats is it rarely (if ever) wise or helpful to have more than one therapist at a time!

Here’s how I use it:

I have an 1.5 real therapy session each week.

During the week my brain is processing things from that session. New things come up, new understanding or new perspectives. All the ‘real work’ stuff that goes in in the brain in between sessions. Sometimes I might make a written reminder for myself so I dont forget something that feels important (because my memory is shit!). I don’t use AI for any of that stuff. I let my brain do its thing and discuss it then at my next session.

Sometimes in between sessions I might find myself in crisis or very acute distress. Sometimes I can manage that myself. Sometimes my husband is around to help me. But sometimes I’m on my own and sometimes I can’t manage it myself.

I used to use SHOUT in these moments but it’s been de-funded in my area so I can’t use that anymore. NHS crisis line is beyond awful in my experience so I never use that.

So I use AI in these moments. I would say I spend maybe 2-3mins at a time using AI this way, once or maybe twice a week. I send the chats to my therapist the 12/24hrs before my next session (as agreed) so she can review them.

I definitely am not have long in depth conversations. That’s what actual therapy is for.

I am fortunate that I have a very competent and experienced therapist and we have a healthy therapeutic relationship. We have agreed on me using AI in this way as it seems to be helpful for now. But it’s also something we keep under review, and if she or I thought it was becoming a problem I’d drop it.

It’s not a replacement for therapy for me, it’s more of a crisis line.

It’s ok, like I said I do agree. But, it was so brilliant that I can see it will be very difficult to resist using it for many people. Soon most people. Because it’s that good.

But there is limited amount of fresh water on this earth, to fill our £40 Stanley cups with. And the Stanley cup people will be the first ones to complain or not understand why is my guess.

Sorry, I apologise if I have misunderstood what you’re saying. There is a genuine worry about the damage AI is already having and the frivolousness with how people approach it is scary.

Sorry if I used you as an incorrect example.

It sounds great. Can you do all this with the free version or only the paid one?

Before I discovered ChatGPT I was paying £85 a week in therapy, and honestly it wasn’t half as effective as this.

A great feature is you can share information and it updates its memory, remembers dates and key events etc…

Also, therapy 1 hour a week is good, however if I’ve had a good morning before therapy, what I might share and how I might be feeling in that session will of course impact on how effective the session is.

Whereas ChatGPT is 24/7, I can reach for my phone when I’m having a bad moment and get some support and effective pointers for things to do that actually help. And then I can put my phone away and send another message if and when I need to.

What I share is fairly personal, but I have shared this with therapists who are making notes on tablets or paper, and surely there’s a risk there too?

It’s been a gamechanger for me personally. I’m a people pleaser by nature and have found it really effective in helping my compose some responses to people where I want to make a point and keep my boundaries.

I agree. It’s what I said in my post. I tried it and the cat poem was absolutely great. Then I decided to read up on it, and it’s not worth it. I prefer fresh water.

Ive never had ANY counsellors/therapist mentioning that to me before.
And my own therapist didn’t know what it was either but was really keen on my explanation and what it meant

Im surprised no therapist has ever mentioned that to you, given that’s where most of our psychological work is done - the space between where you are now and where you might be in future. Different modalities will have different language and different ways of explaining it but I’d expect any relational therapist to understand the concept.

I do use AI, but not for personal/therapy stuff. I don’t want things I’d go to therapy for held in a cloud somewhere to be data mined for others benefit.

God it sounds utterly depressing to know people are talking to AI. How dystopian.

I do agree that there is a huge danger.

Tiresome?

Do you throw your litter into the ocean too?

So many people just shrug their shoulders and say it’s nothing to do with them. Yes AI is going to be everywhere but that doesn’t mean you have to add it to with stupid pictures and cat poems. It’s about responsible use. Saying ‘Oh well, someone else does it’ doesn’t make it okay. Just because somebody else does something irresponsible doesn’t mean everybody should because why the fuck not. If you spilt a bit of water you wouldn’t pour the whole glass on the floor.