AI in the Therapy Room

First Brick Counseling is proudly an AI-free therapy practice. This is a decision made with intention and regard to our client’s personal/private information, just like so many other decisions that built this practice. The electronic health record (EHR) system used at First Brick Counseling has AI as an “opt-in” feature. First Brick Counseling has not and will not opt in.

AI in the clinical space has been coming up in conversations more than people may like to admit. It’s in every therapist forum, all EHR systems we are aware of integrate AI in one way or another, LinkedIn posts, and more. Clinicians are eager to streamline their work, spend more time with clients, worry less about administrative tasks, etc. We can’t blame them. Clinicians are regularly expected to do more work than just what you see during a therapy session.

However, AI in the clinical space brings up a lot of red flags from our perspective. We could go on about the environmental impacts, harm towards marginalized groups, the impact on brain development and so many other concerns involving the use of AI. But that’s covered in depth by many others.

Not enough clinicians are asking key questions about how client information is being handled behind the scenes. The CEO of Talkspace stated they have gathered “one of the largest mental health data banks in the world." In other words, there is a lot of data mining going on with your most personal and private information.

Does your therapist know where the AI data is being kept? Do they know how long the records will be kept and who has access to those records? Who holds the responsibility? Why are tech corporations trying to profit off clinician’s labor and your mental health? Why are we not addressing the problems with insurance companies and the mental health system that force clinicians to drown in administrative work?

The therapist/client relationship is sacred. Client information shared during session is regularly a person’s deepest and darkest information that they don’t share with anyone else in their lives. Bringing AI into the clinical space does not align with anything First Brick Counseling was built on. We value you more than a quick fix. And yes, that is a hill we will die on.