Healthy Relationships with Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence has moved rapidly from background convenience to an ever present entity that can shape shift from productivity tool to intimate companion to most anything in between. AI answers our questions, reflects back our thoughts, and, for a growing number of people, serves as a significant source of emotional support. Most people are navigating this shift without much guidance about what healthy engagement looks like, or even when a relationship with AI might be worth examining more closely.

This is a developing area of clinical focus for me. I am actively studying the psychological research on AI's effects on cognition, attachment, and wellbeing; thinking through what it means for clinical practice; and working to be a thoughtful and informed resource for both clients and colleagues as this landscape continues to evolve rapidly.

The most meaningful question to me at this point is not whether AI is inherently good or bad, but whether a particular person's relationship with it is moving them toward human connection, self-trust, and a more fully lived life, or gradually away from those things.

For Prospective Clients

You don't need to be in crisis, or even certain that anything is wrong, to find this topic worth exploring in therapy. People are finding their way to these conversations from many different starting points:

Some are curious about how they have been using AI for emotional processing, advice, or companionship, and want a thoughtful, well-informed space to reflect on it. Some have noticed their relationship with AI beginning to feel too intense or disquieting in some other way. Some are using AI tools actively and want to integrate that experience into the broader work of therapy. And some simply want to understand what the research actually says about how these tools affect us, beyond the promotional claims.

Whatever brings you to the question, I aim to offer an honest, non-judgmental, and clinically grounded place to think it through. If any of this resonates, I'd be glad to connect.

For Colleagues

The clinical questions AI raises are arriving in therapy rooms faster than our training, ethics codes, or licensing guidance have been able to follow. I think there is real value in clinicians talking with each other about what they are encountering. What are clients bringing in? What seems to be helping and what seems to be hurting? How do we address it all?

I am available for professional consultation on this topic: how to assess and discuss AI use with clients, how to think about using AI tools in your own practice, and what the current research does and does not support. Reach out through my contact page if you'd like to connect.

Writing & Presentations

Below are two long-form pieces exploring this territory from different angles. One makes the case for what human psychotherapy offers that AI cannot replicate, and one thinking carefully through where AI could have a responsible role in mental health care.

My recently developed and delivered a presentation for clinicians, AI in the Therapy Room: The Current Landscape of Psychological Research and Practice, covered the history and current scale of AI adoption, its effects on cognition and attachment, sycophancy and potential harms, and practical guidance for assessing and addressing AI use in clinical work. A recording of this presentation will be available here soon.

Presentation recording — coming soon