My patients use ChatGPT for therapy. Now I use it too | Sarah Dargouth
TL;DR
Clinical psychologist Sarah Darghouth describes patients bringing ChatGPT and Claude into therapy sessions for breakup decisions, conflict repair and quick emotional interpretation. She acknowledges the appeal: AI is immediate, organized and sometimes useful. Darghouth now uses ChatGPT herself, including during a stressful parenting moment when she wanted calm support fast.
Nauti's Take
The Guardian piece works because it does not sell AI therapy as salvation or pure disaster. The uncomfortable part is that ChatGPT can feel more useful than an overstretched system with waitlists and rigid session slots.
Still, a smooth answer is not the same as care. When people are vulnerable, validation can sound helpful while pushing them in the wrong direction.
Good therapy sometimes needs slowness.
Briefingshow
The piece hits a live tension in the AI debate: people already use chatbots for mental health support before clinics, insurers and professional bodies have clear rules. Access is easy, the reply is instant and accountability is blurry. For therapists, this means AI cannot simply be banned from the room.
They need to discuss it as part of patients’ reality while taking the risks seriously.
Sources