4 ms·

I may be in the minority here, but I’d rather have chatgpt than a severely underpaid therapist with too many clients.

haswell 4y ago
The human connection aspect of therapy is one of the primary reasons therapy works for me. Trust is a huge factor, and trust can only be built by establishing a relationship. Trust isn’t just about “I can tell this person anything”, but also trust that the therapist understands me well enough to ask me the right questions, contextual to my experience in life, and in therapy. Trust that they are looking at my facial expressions and are noticing when I’m in distress even if I don’t realize I am in that moment. Trust that the person I’m speaking to has dedicated their life to help/support others, and that the things I say aren’t all being fed to some system that is analyzing every word. Obviously YMMV, and this depends on why you’re in therapy, but one of the things that I’m deeply grateful for in therapy is that I know the person I’m speaking to deeply cares. Maybe a bot can someday fill in for those times when you just need to have a conversation with someone other than yourself, or want someone to identify and help you see the thinking traps you’re falling into. But I can’t help but feel such a bot should not be thought of as a therapist, any more than Tesla’s “Full Self Driving” feature should be considered fully autonomous. I think it’s a misnomer.
- mansoon 4y ago
  Trust is dead after what happened.
  - haswell 4y ago
    Trust in that specific product? No doubt, but that has little to do with the question of whether I’d rather speak with ChatGPT or a real therapist.
sterlind 4y ago
I'd rather have ChatGPT than a severely overworked/underpaid therapist, but I'd rather have a friend's shoulder to cry on than ChatGPT. But I'd also rather have a smart, empathic therapist I click with than oversharing with my friends. Therapy for me is like, a psychic connection. I take someone deep into my headspace and they help me sort things out, exploring the inside of my mind. ChatGPT just makes that a loopback, a mirror that lets me see my mind in a new light sometimes. A real, useful therapist.. it's not scientific, but there's a connection I feel, and the possibility of emotions and thoughts being transmitted across. a human connection.
- haswell 4y ago
  > it's not scientific, but there's a connection I feel, and the possibility of emotions and thoughts being transmitted across. And I think it’s worth mentioning that “not scientific” just means science does not currently have much to say about the mechanisms in play, which is meaningful difference from a conclusion that there’s anything “woo woo” going on. Mirror neurons are fascinating.
staticman2 4y ago
Do you prefer ChatGPD or the idea of ChatGPD? It's one thing to like the idea of a super A.I. that does therapy, but I don't think ChatGPD can do basic things like ask you how your progress has been since last week's session.

The human connection aspect of therapy is one of the primary reasons therapy works for me. Trust is a huge factor, and trust can only be built by establishing a relationship. Trust isn’t just about “I can tell this person anything”, but also trust that the therapist understands me well enough to ask me the right questions, contextual to my experience in life, and in therapy. Trust that they are looking at my facial expressions and are noticing when I’m in distress even if I don’t realize I am in that moment. Trust that the person I’m speaking to has dedicated their life to help/support others, and that the things I say aren’t all being fed to some system that is analyzing every word. Obviously YMMV, and this depends on why you’re in therapy, but one of the things that I’m deeply grateful for in therapy is that I know the person I’m speaking to deeply cares. Maybe a bot can someday fill in for those times when you just need to have a conversation with someone other than yourself, or want someone to identify and help you see the thinking traps you’re falling into. But I can’t help but feel such a bot should not be thought of as a therapist, any more than Tesla’s “Full Self Driving” feature should be considered fully autonomous. I think it’s a misnomer.

mansoon 4y ago
Trust is dead after what happened.
- haswell 4y ago
  Trust in that specific product? No doubt, but that has little to do with the question of whether I’d rather speak with ChatGPT or a real therapist.

sterlind 4y ago

I'd rather have ChatGPT than a severely overworked/underpaid therapist, but I'd rather have a friend's shoulder to cry on than ChatGPT. But I'd also rather have a smart, empathic therapist I click with than oversharing with my friends. Therapy for me is like, a psychic connection. I take someone deep into my headspace and they help me sort things out, exploring the inside of my mind. ChatGPT just makes that a loopback, a mirror that lets me see my mind in a new light sometimes. A real, useful therapist.. it's not scientific, but there's a connection I feel, and the possibility of emotions and thoughts being transmitted across. a human connection.

haswell 4y ago
> it's not scientific, but there's a connection I feel, and the possibility of emotions and thoughts being transmitted across. And I think it’s worth mentioning that “not scientific” just means science does not currently have much to say about the mechanisms in play, which is meaningful difference from a conclusion that there’s anything “woo woo” going on. Mirror neurons are fascinating.

staticman2 4y ago

Do you prefer ChatGPD or the idea of ChatGPD? It's one thing to like the idea of a super A.I. that does therapy, but I don't think ChatGPD can do basic things like ask you how your progress has been since last week's session.