Can ChatGPT be used as a replacement for therapy? Reflections on human connection and understanding
With artificial intelligence rapidly evolving, it is natural to wonder which human services AI might start to replace. As a Registered Clinical Counsellor, I’m often asked if tools like ChatGPT can be used as a replacement for therapy. My short answer is no, and here’s why:
1. Therapy is rooted in relationship
At its core, therapy isn’t just about problem-solving, it’s about connection. The therapeutic relationship is where healing begins. It’s built on trust, attunement, empathy, and the real-time emotional presence of another human being. AI can simulate language, but it cannot feel with you. It can’t notice the subtle shift in your voice when you talk about your dad, or hold space when you need to sit in silence. And it certainly can’t co-regulate with you when your nervous system is in a state of overwhelm.
2. You can’t be reduced to a set of symptoms or an algorithm
AI works by predicting patterns in language. It can give you strategies, reflect back ideas, and even say helpful things. But therapy is not a list of coping tools. You are not an algorithm, and healing doesn’t follow a script. Good therapy meets you where you are, in your complexity, your contradictions, your past pain and your future hopes. It listens with curiosity, not just comprehension.
3. Therapy holds the unspoken
So much of what happens in therapy lives beneath the words: body language, energy, pauses, tears, shifts in posture, tone, emotion. A trained therapist doesn’t just hear your story, they sense what’s underneath it. They know when to gently challenge, when to stay quiet, and when to lean in. That kind of presence can’t be replicated by lines of code.
4. Healing is nonlinear
AI is fast, efficient, and available 24/7. That can be helpful for some things: journaling prompts, reflection questions, even exploring ideas you want to bring into therapy. But true healing is slow, messy, nonlinear, and deeply relational. It takes time to feel safe enough to go deeper. It takes courage to be witnessed in your pain and accepted as you are. AI can’t offer that kind of presence.
5. AI has its uses, but not as a replacement for therapy
To be clear, AI can be a supportive adjunct to therapy. It can offer reminders, educational resources, even daily check-ins for reflection. But ChatGPT is just that: a tool. It’s not a substitute for human understanding, ethical care, or the deeply personal nature of therapeutic work.
It makes sense to be curious about AI. It’s accessible and surprisingly insightful. But if you’re seeking real change, real healing, or simply a space to feel seen and understood, there is no replacement for the human connection.
