No matter how clever artificial intelligence is, there are areas of the human psyche where it cannot go. And the main one is the world of living relationships and deep emotional processes.
Psychological work is a lot like growing a garden. You can’t just water the seeds once and wait for the harvest. It needs constant care, regular watering, feeding, pruning of excess branches. Likewise with our psyche – major changes take time, consistency, and sensitive attention to what is happening in the growing process.
AI: Should you use it or not?
Artificial intelligence, however perfect, remains a set of algorithms (like paid traffic arbitrage) . It can give good advice on a one-time request, but it is incapable of building the kind of subtle, long-term work needed for deep personal change. Each conversation with the program starts as if from scratch, without memory of previous sessions, without understanding the path a person is taking.
A real psychologist works quite differently. He sees not only what the client says today, but also remembers what the client talked about a month ago. He notices recurring themes, tracks the dynamics of change, feels when a person is ready for the next step, and when it is worth slowing down and giving time to reflect on what has already been achieved.
This difference can be compared to the difference between doing sports at home using video lessons and working with a personal trainer. Of course, video lessons can be excellent – they will show the correct technique of exercises, offer an effective training program. You may well practice according to them and get results.
But a live trainer does something fundamentally different. He sees exactly how you perform an exercise, notices mistakes in technique that you yourself do not realize. He can adjust the program right in the process of training, seeing that some exercise is especially hard or, on the contrary, too easy for you. It senses your condition and can suggest taking a break if it sees that you are overstretching.
With an artificial mind, you have to monitor your condition yourself, adjust your approach yourself, and decide when you need to change tactics. This requires a high level of self-awareness and psychological literacy that not everyone possesses.
But there is an even deeper aspect in which artificial intelligence cannot fundamentally replace a living specialist. This is the sphere of human relations and the healing experience that arises in the process of genuine contact between people.
AI is far from real life
Most of our psychological problems are related to relationships in one way or another. We learn to love, trust, conflict and reconcile in contact with other people. And very often our difficulties are rooted in the fact that in childhood we learned unfavorable patterns of interaction, which then automatically reproduce in adult relationships.
Psychological therapy is largely to give a person the experience of new, healthier relationships. In the psychologist’s office, the client may for the first time in his life encounter the fact that he is not judged for weaknesses, not criticized for mistakes, not trying to remake him according to someone else’s ideas of what he should be.
This experience of unconditional acceptance, empathy and support often becomes a turning point in a person’s life. He begins to realize that relationships can be different. That it is possible to be vulnerable and still receive support rather than rejection. That it is possible to talk about your needs and be met with understanding rather than criticism.
The artificial mind, no matter how sympathetic its tone, cannot provide that experience. Behind its words is not a living heart that can truly empathize. Its support remains just a set of right phrases, albeit very well chosen.
Research in attachment psychology shows that for deep healing we need the experience of real contact with another person. We need to feel that our experiences really matter to someone else, that we are not alone in this world with our problems.
When a psychologist says, “I understand how hard it is for you right now,” behind those words is a living person who can really imagine your pain because he or she knows what suffering is like. When a program says the same words, it is just an imitation of sympathy, albeit a very skillful one.
When can ChatGPT help?
Does all this mean that artificial intelligence is useless in the field of psychological assistance? Not at all. The point is to understand its place and not demand more from it than it can give.Digital assistants are excellent at serving as smart reference guides and patient conversation partners for reflection.
They can be a great addition to working with a live psychologist or help in situations where professional help is unavailable for some reason.
Imagine a person who is just beginning to think about their psychological problems. They are not yet ready to see a specialist — perhaps they are shy, afraid of judgment, or simply don’t know where to start. ChatGPT can be a bridge for them to understanding what is going on in their inner world.
The program will help them structure their experiences, give them an initial understanding of how the psyche works, and show them that their problems are not unique and can be worked on. Perhaps this experience will give them the courage to seek out a live specialist.
Or let’s take another situation. A person is already working with a psychologist, but sessions are held once a week, and support is needed more often. In between meetings, artificial intelligence can be a useful companion for reflection, helping to reinforce the insights gained in therapy and apply new skills in everyday life.
Digital assistants can be especially valuable in sudden situations when immediate support is needed.
In the middle of the night, on weekends, in situations when the next meeting with a psychologist is still far away, but you need to cope with your emotions right now.
Of course, in such cases, the program cannot replace professional crisis assistance, but it can help a person calm down, structure their experiences, and hold on until professional help becomes available.
It is also important to understand that not all problems require deep therapeutic work.
Sometimes we just need to understand a specific situation, get a fresh perspective on the problem, or find practical ways to cope with current difficulties. In such cases, ChatGPT may be a perfectly sufficient solution.
Prompt for ChatGPT for analyzing life situations
A prompt for ChatGPT from Andrew Vintergrin that is perfect for analyzing specific life situations, preparing for important conversations, analyzing your reactions, and finding new perspectives on a problem. It will help in stressful situations, when making decisions, and for developing emotional intelligence.
Please analyze my behavior in the following situation: [describe your situation]
Conduct the analysis in three stages:
Stage 1: Mirror my behavior:
– Describe my behavior in other words, showing me what I may not notice
– Show me new aspects of my behavior that may have gone unnoticed
Explore values:
– What values might be behind this behavior?
– What might be important to me if I behave in this way?
– How can this behavior be explained in terms of my inner needs and values?
Help clarify:
– What might really be driving me in this situation?
– What underlying motives might be influencing my behavior?
Stage 2: Explore obstacles:
– What might be preventing me from moving toward my values?
– What internal or external barriers might be standing in my way?
– What in my behavior or environment creates resistance to change?
Suggest ways to develop:
– What can I do to start moving toward my values?
– What small steps could I take to get started?
– What small experiments could I try in the near future?
– What specific actions would be most realistic and achievable for me?
Stage 3: How to support yourself in the current situation:
– How can I show understanding and acceptance towards myself right now?
– What can I say to myself to feel supported?
– How can I approach my situation with compassion?
Support on the path to change:
– How can I support myself while carrying out small experiments?
– What will help me not to give up if something doesn’t work out the first time?
– How can I remind myself of the importance of this path?
– What methods of self-support will be most effective for me?
Creating sustainability:
– How can I create a safe space for myself to experiment?
– What will help me be patient with myself during the process of change?
The main rule: Don’t take the answers from the neural network as the ultimate truth, but as food for thought. Trust your feelings — take note of what resonates with you.
