Dr. Cynthia Marshall

Should artificial intelligence (AI) therapy replace human counselors?

In the United States, there has been a statistical rise in people isolating online rather than being sociable members of a community. Church membership is in free fall; many clubs, including country clubs, are finding it difficult to find new members.

When someone is staying in their home, existing with only an online community rather than a face-to-face human community, it seems logical to them to also acquire an AI online therapist. AI counselors offer convenience, affordability, and accessibility, but there are serious downsides.

Face-to-face human counselors perceive subtleties in human behavior. Human counselors are professionally trained to notice odors, which can indicate physical illnesses and drug/alcohol use. Also, personal grooming, hygiene, compulsive tics, bruising, eye contact, repetitive speech patterns, emotional affect and emotional register cannot be discerned by AI at this time.

AI can recognize signs of common mental health concerns, but the human counselor uses a physical and psychological holistic approach to recognize issues that are specific to individual clients.

For example, AI can note that the client verbally lists issues which fit the mental illness depression. AI cannot discern that a client is also having difficulty with hoarding behaviors.

The AI therapist cannot feel empathy or compassion. AI cannot access the emotional depth or suffering that a client may not have indicated through words alone. AI cannot handle complex, nuanced cases like severe trauma, personality disorders, or active crisis.

Studies have shown that AI chatbots handle suicide-related prompts inconsistently and may not mobilize help effectively during a crisis. Finally, users of AI therapy may become dependent upon a bot for emotional support which can hinder them from developing healthy human relationships.

Human therapists create a confidential alliance and space based upon a genuine trusting human connection. This is a key factor in client healing and lasting change. Most important of all, the counselor sees the whole person, not an image of a head and shoulders online.

If you need counseling, don’t rely on AI. You are worth the time spent with a human counselor to begin the journey to a healthier and happier life. When you are ready, I’m here to help.

Dr. Cynthia Marshall can be reached at 724-679-7502.

This article was submitted by Dr. Cynthia Marshall.