QUINCY (WGEM) — With more than 40 years of combined therapy experience, Melinda Vogel, a counselor at Midwest Counseling Services, and Tiffany Raines-Eaton, a counselor and social/behavioral sciences instructor at John Wood Community College, have seen their fair share of clients. But new data shows that younger generations may be starting to trade traditional mental health counselors for something else.
A recent study published by JAMA Network shows that 13.1 percent (roughly one in eight) teens and young adults in the United States have sought mental health counseling from artificial AI.
Among those aged 18 to 21, that rate rises to 22 percent.
For better or worse, AI is changing the way the world works, learns and lives, especially young people. Now, mental health therapists are the latest professionals to see technology make its way into the workplace.
AI models are beginning to be marketed as supplements or alternatives to traditional advice.
Therapod AI, for example, offers a free AI chatbot and even sells AI-powered “health pods” for use in schools, hospitals and businesses.
According to its website, the pods are meant to provide instant access to evidence-based support, including guided meditation and breathing exercises, but the technology is meant to “complement, not replace, traditional therapy.”
The website’s FAQ page also specifies that the pods are not designed for crisis intervention.
The leap in automation technology is creating debates about the application of AI in the field of medicine. Vogel and Rains-Eaton believe that tools like Therapod can be helpful if used in concert with traditional counseling.
“It seems like it’s really meant to supplement the help of mainstream mental health professionals. So that part sounds really good to me,” Vogel said.
“We’re in a crisis right now with a shortage of mental health providers. We know that. And if we can help fill the gap for people to get treatment, but not replace that human connection, I think it can be used for that. But we have to be really careful,” Rance-Eaton explained, later adding: “We’re at a point where we need to figure out how to use it (but I don’t think how to use it) really well.” line, especially when it comes to mental health.
Both consultants expressed concern about the potential for AI technology to eventually be pushed as a replacement for human therapists. Baran-Eaton doesn’t believe AI is capable of overcoming the complexities that many therapists face with clients themselves.
“You can’t understand the combination of everything that’s happening all the time. I’ve been an outpatient for almost 15 years, and I’m constantly hearing new things, new experiences, new symptoms, things that people are experiencing that I can’t predict,” Rance Eaton said.
Vogel emphasized the importance of human connection in the healing process.
“To take a person away from therapy, that’s dangerous to me. It (therapy) is not just a, ‘Oh here, do these breathing exercises and you’ll feel better as a person.’ I’m not disputing helping those things, but at the end of the day, for most of us, I think we’re motivated more by connecting with other human beings, and therapy is really a big part of that,” Vogel said.
“Even when we say, ‘And they’re helping their mental health,’ it usually boils down to some issue with the relationship. Or they feel lonely, they feel isolated, they’re at odds with the people they love. And so on, I feel like if we take humans out of the treatment equation, we’re only increasing the likelihood.”
As with other professions, the appropriate role of AI in counseling will be debated for years to come, but among those in the field, one thing remains true.
“You might not feel judged by a computer, but you won’t feel connected,” Rance Eaton told WGEM News.
“That personal connection you have with someone who you feel like really cares about you, they know you, they want to help you, it makes (a) huge difference,” Vogel said.
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