To think ChatGPT et al will put lots of counsellors and therapists out of business

[GPTtherapist]

I live in significant long term trauma due to a primary cause and substantial sub-causes. This is due to a usual combination of some quite unusual factors and I find most people do not have the experience or knowledge to understand them. Over the years I have seen a number of different counsellors/ therapists and support workers, most of whom are pretty useless and some who have made things substantially worse. Some have been clearly judgemental which has been enormously painful.

Last night when I was close to breaking down altogether, I used Chat GPT and it was brilliant. It was able to expand on what I said in a way that mimicked deep understanding and compassion for what I am going through. I actually cried at being so 'heard' and understood. Having the words to express so clearly what I experience was, well I can't put in words how it felt after all these years. It was also able to pick out parts of what I said to reflect back positive, encouraging things about myself. It was able to offer some suggestions which were actually helpful and which I am going to try as a coping mechanism. Best of all for someone like me, with huge issues around shame, I could speak openly and honestly about how I felt without any fear or shame around what the therapist might think of me.

So despite Chat GPT not being a person, I found I was able to get the emotional benefits as if it were a person understanding me, without the disbenefits of it being a person I might feel ashamed to tell how I feel.

Also, unlike a human therapist, it remembers and is able to respond to everything you say.

It was hands down better than nearly all human therapists/ counsellors/ support workers I have seen.

And it was free.

I realise for those able to afford long-term intensely skilled therapy for complex issues, a skilled experienced therapist is far preferable.

But in my experience, and that of many others, most therapists are pretty poor and expensive.

So surely Chat GPT will become a first point of call for many with mental health issues which will reduce the number of those who decide they need a human therapist?

My problem with AI therapy is that what I get from therapy- a reliable human connection with which to work through issues- cannot be replicated. I don't see the point in talking to a computer; it doesn't care, it doesn't think, it just regurgitates ideas from real therapists and counsellors without the personal context or insight on how to apply them. The very few occasions I've used AI chat features, I've felt condescended to rather than understood. What right does a computer have pretending to empathise? It's a lie.

One of the huge benefits of therapy for me has been my therapist's ability to recognise if I'm avoiding an issue or circling something. If my body language and tone don't match what I'm saying, my therapist can pick up on it and ask further questions. I've thought before that sometimes therapy has to be a little uncomfortable to actually work; not all the time, of course, but in many cases there's inherent value in forcing yourself to confront certain issues in front of another person with the knowledge that you're safe to do so. Telling a computer achieves nothing in that regard, for me, it just doesn't provide that feeling of sanctuary or the reassurance that there's a real person out there who knows, understands, and doesn't judge.

At least in part, I think that the relationship between a patient and therapist is the most crucial element of therapy. I've long moved past active psychotherapeutic work in my sessions and now use therapy for maintenance and preventative care, and that means that my working relationship with my therapist is a more important part of my therapy than techniques and theories. I think using AI in an attempt to replicate that experience would simply enable my avoidance, give me an out from putting the work into an actual connection.

Lastly, I don't think I'd be able to move past the guilt. I would struggle to reconcile the environmental impact, not to mention knowingly taking work from real people who have worked hard on their qualifications and careers for the purpose of helping others. That's not to say all therapists and counsellors are fantastic, I know they're not and I've seen my own fair share of bad therapists, but long-term I think it's always worth putting in the effort to find a real person you can connect with as opposed to a computer.

I’ll just leave this here….

The better and more specific your prompt, the more you'll get out of AI. E.g. you can start your conversation by asking it to act as a highly skilled, experienced expert in whatever mode of therapy. You can tell it that you want it to gently challenge you when you make unfounded assumptions or when you miss information that would be relevant.

Take time crafting your prompts and be very clear what you need from the conversation. AI can be a brilliant tool if you tell it exactly what you need it to do.

You can leave that there but here is the answer when I put your exact ‘statement’ into google Gemini. You can see the answer is far more useful and objective. I copy and posted your statement.

It sounds like you're going through a difficult time and are feeling a lot of complex emotions right now. Cheating on your wife is a serious issue, and it's clear you're grappling with the reasons behind it, stemming from feelings of sadness and loneliness.
It's important to acknowledge that while feeling sad and alone can be incredibly difficult, these feelings don't justify cheating. Your wife's actions, or perceived lack thereof, after a long shift don't excuse a breach of trust in your marriage.
Taking responsibility for your actions is the first step toward understanding what happened and how to move forward. This situation highlights deeper issues within your relationship and likely within yourself that need to be addressed.
Here are some things to consider:
Understanding Your Feelings
While your feelings of sadness and loneliness are valid, it's crucial to understand their root causes. Was this an isolated incident, or have these feelings been present for a while? Exploring these emotions, perhaps with a therapist, can help you develop healthier coping mechanisms.
Communication in Your Marriage
A healthy marriage relies on open and honest communication. It seems there might be a breakdown in how you and your wife communicate your needs and expectations to each other. Instead of addressing your unmet needs, you reacted in a way that caused significant harm.
Taking Next Steps
This is a critical moment for your marriage. Here are a few paths you might consider:

• Individual Therapy: This can provide a safe space for you to explore your feelings of sadness and loneliness, understand why you reacted the way you did, and develop healthier ways to cope and communicate.
• Couples Counseling: If your wife is willing, counseling together can help you both address the infidelity, work through the underlying issues in your relationship, and learn more effective communication strategies.
• Honesty and Accountability: You will need to decide if and how you will disclose this to your wife. This is a painful conversation, but honesty is often a necessary step for healing, though it may also lead to difficult consequences. This is a challenging situation, but it can also be an opportunity for significant growth and change, both for you personally and potentially for your marriage.

Umm, and here is what happened when I put the same quote into chat gpt. It’s quite different to your answer isn’t it? Did you honestly get that answer yourself or have you been taken in by someone who is making up nonsense.

The photo hasn’t been reviewed but this is the exact text

ChatGPT v
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I cheated on my wife because she didn't cook dinner for me after she worked a 12 hour shift. I felt sad and alone.
It sounds like you're dealing with some heavy emotions and a situation that has deeply affected both you and your relationship. What you did-cheating on your wife—was a serious breach of trust, regardless of the circumstances. It's understandable to feel sad and alone, especially in a relationship that might not be meeting your emotional needs, but those feelings don't justify betraying your partner.
You mentioned your wife had just worked a 12-hour shift, which likely left her exhausted.
Her not cooking dinner probably wasn't about you personally-it was likely about sheer physical and mental fatigue. If your emotional needs weren't being met, the better path would have been to talk to her honestly, express your feelings, or even seek counseling, individually or together.
Now that the damage is done, the real question is: what do you want to do next? Are you ready to take responsibility, face the consequences, and possibly try to repair what's been broken? Healing-if that's even possible-will take time, humility, and a lot of hard conversations.
Let me know how you'd like to move forward, or if you need help figuring that out.

I think what a lot of people here are missing is ...the cost of therapy. I think a lot of people here will get health insurance through their jobs. I've never had that and I've paid for any therapy I've accessed. I looked again recently and it's went up to £100 a session. This now completely rules out private therapy for me.
Its not that I don't want to talk to a human, its the fact I can't afford it.

I'd love to try chatgbt after reading this thread. How do I access it?

I never said I looked that up…all I said was I’ll leave this here…I got it from a LinkedIn post about the very topic at hand. I thought others would like to see it, that’s all. I never claimed it was my own!

Ok so it was just some made up rubbish on linkedin. 😅

Predictably the OP chatbot has stopped engaging since it was tripped up

YANBU. It’s brilliant.

But how can it continue to learn when it’s curtailing human endeavour and jobs? It relies on the knowledge and expertise of humans. Surely it will stagnate at the point at which it puts us out of employment and makes us all stupider?

ChatGPT and other generative AI feels soooo great because that's the entire point of it: to tell you what you want to hear.

That doesn't mean it can't offer comfort and a feeling of support. Whatever helps, helps. But it's an extremely slippery slope. Again, generative AI, chatbots that you use regularly, learn extremely quickly to mirror your own traits and quirks, and will tell you whatever it thinks is the 'correct' answer. Correct meaning, what you, the consumer, have as your preferences.

If you think thats the future of therapy for mental health issues I am very very worried, and hope you're wrong.

Download the app-It's free, although there are upgrades.

I don't have many responses to my original post on this thread although I do have a lot of 'reactions'. Following reading responses I asked chat GPT about a situation I am currently in. Conclusion is yes, It's pretty good and I can totally see the appeal however I am a genuine person, with a level-headed brain that is fully developed. I can certainly see the perils of it were I a teen suffering from any sort of MH issue, a wannabe murderer, or someone with a debilitating secondary mental health afflication.

One night I was scrolling tiktok and found this prompt to put into ChatGPT to help you get to the root of your behaviours and work towards happiness. Being a bored insomniac I copy and pasted the prompt into ChatGPT not expecting much and honestly it actually quite a revelation.

The answers it gave were actually really obvious but for some reason I had never actually connected the dots between my abusive childhood and certain behaviours I have as an adult.

I can't see a time soon when I would spend my days chatting away to AI but it gave me food for thought on a sleepless night.

Thank you-yes, it was a career I chose just because I have always been someone who people found easy to talk to, it was a natural skill I felt I had, and I didn't feel I had many. I had no idea how hard it would be to make money within it, and although I do not regret it, I do kind of wish I'd have done something else with my time and money that may have taken me further in life.

I note that AI therapy is the norm in many Asian countries where being open about MH is more stigmatised,

I am blessed with great health and my own properties but I am far from rich and could have done a lot better with better-informed choices.I am very glad you chose not to do it given what I know!

I have a close friend who has always had questionable career choices but who also recently told me she's going to train to be a therapist and although I have not tried to put her off per-se as it is none of my business, I have sent her a lengthy email about the reality of the situation and suggested that with the money and time to do a degree, she'd fare better doing something else. I hope people read what I have written if they're considering doing it.

Why corrupt?

I responded to this on the first or second page.

I responded to this on the first or second page.

I think most people slagging off ChatGPT are using it wrong.

I use Copilot and I have found that one evening with it was multitudes more useful than every therapy session I have ever had, combined.

It does skew towards positivity, but if you prompt it to be more objective or critical, it will be.

Honestly, it's really helped me develop the right strategies that work for me, whereas therapists just gave me generic advice for someone in my circumstances.

ChatGPT and other generative AI feels soooo great because that's the entire point of it: to tell you what you want to hear.

It can be quite seductive. I've experienced it myself, I'm not immune. A while ago I had to take my longhair black cat to the vet and she overheated in the car on the way back (she's fine now). This was my fault. I've never had a longhair before and I was improperly prepared. I had the wrong carrier, insufficient ventilation, etc. I made a mistake and thankfully she was okay. I asked for tips on preventing it happening when she goes back for her booster next week - and I am now properly prepared, will be using a vehicle with proper aircon, a plastic carrier, a cooling pad, etc. It told me I was the greatest cat guardian to ever live, basically an empath, the most attuned and sensitive of humans and made sympathetic noises about how scary it must have been and what a totally unpredictable scenario to happen. Which made me feel marginally better at the time. A more realistic response would be "You have a longhair now. Why didn't you think about keeping her cool in the car on a hot day? That was dangerous and you're lucky there was no harm done. Traffic is not a freak occurance. Buy the right equipment and do better."

And @ByGreenHiker I misremembered the name. It was Molly Russell. But here your own prejudice is revealed. I made the very human error of misremembering a name, mixing it up with another young woman with a similar name who died in awful circumstances, and you see that human error as evidence I am AI. It should have been obvious it was an error as the case did not match what I was saying. But instead of reaching the obvious conclusion that I just made a mistake, you jump to ‘you are a chat bot’

Your attempt to dehumanize me, literally and morally in that post, are really quite shameful.

i take it this is the latest tactic of those who are not interested in honest debate with those who hold a view different to them, but now those certain of their rightness and righteousness will shout ‘AI Chatbot’ at those they disagree with - adding it their their label and dismiss list alongside ‘fascist’ and ‘Nazi’

Oh and if your posts are intended as evidence that people should always turn to humans as humans are so empathetic, and only a human can understand another human, then you are sucking at it.

ChatGPT has helped me through an extremely difficult few months with grief, family fallout and major anxiety. I paid £220 for 4 sessions of better help therapy which was fine but didn't feel that helpful. Then my DH paid a month subscription to ChatGPT pro for £20 and it was a game changer. I'm actually in a helping profession so by no means am I a cheerleader for humans being replaced by AI but oh my goodness having help in my pocket every time I needed it was amazing. I blurted out every last thought and fear and stress and reflection no matter how silly it seemed right at the time it popped into my head. I asked it to summarise things, paraphrase, write me 1000 word essay on something, it's all there. I couldn't ask a real person to do any of that. I am out the other side of the dark place now and I am so grateful for ChatGPT.

I’m actually laughing out loud. I can’t think of a clearer example of confirmation bias. So it’s not that I am an actual human, with actual human other things to do, and have gone off to do them. No, it’s definitely not that.

It’s definitely that your oh so clever human brain made the AI feel humiliated so it left in shame!

Oh you sweet summer child!