What Physician Leaders Must Do Before Deploying ‘AI Therapy’
AI chatbots are everywhere. Some people now treat them as therapy. They aren't. This post draws a clear line between emotional support — comfort, listening, reassurance, available from almost anyone — and psychotherapy, which is a clinical treatment delivered by a trained professional who assesses, diagnoses, and is accountable for the result. Using psychiatrist Dr. Steven Reidbord's gym-versus-cardiologist comparison, it explains why tools engineered to be agreeable are excellent at comfort but unfit for care. Confusing the two has already cost lives. Physician leaders have a special responsibility to help their organizations see the difference. This post shows them how.