AI… AI… AI. It’s Everywhere.

Everywhere we look, AI is there—on our news feeds, in our workplaces, and even in conversations with family and friends. Its rise has felt sudden and impossible to ignore, leading many of us to ask big questions like, “What can it do for me?” or “What will it mean for my job?”

This post won’t answer all of those giant questions. Instead, let’s focus on the one that matters most for people in counselling, therapy, or any kind of mental health support:

What is AI’s role in my therapy or counselling?

Traditionally, counselling and psychotherapy have always been deeply human processes. Whether it's talk therapy, trauma therapy, CBT, or online counselling, the foundation is the same: healing happens through meaningful human-to-human connection. Feeling seen, heard, and understood is what creates emotional safety and supports personal growth.

Research in psychology consistently shows that the therapeutic alliance—the relationship between the client and the therapist or counsellor—is one of the strongest predictors of progress.

So the idea that AI could replace a professional counsellor or a licensed therapist feels far-fetched—and for good reason. AI isn't a person. It doesn’t feel emotion. It doesn’t truly understand your lived experience. It can simulate warmth, but it can’t actually care.

And yet… it can still play a role.

AI and Emotional Validation in Counselling

Let’s break it down.

On a fundamental level, AI cannot empathize. It can’t experience grief, anxiety, joy, or trauma. But what it does have is access to a vast amount of knowledge—psychology articles, mental health research, counselling concepts, and human reflections. This allows it to generate responses that feel validating.

And validation is meaningful.Whether you’re working with a mental health therapist, starting online counselling, or exploring self-guided therapy tools, hearing that your feelings make sense can be grounding.

Many counselling approaches, including Humanistic Therapy, place validation at the center. When we feel weighed down by shame, depression, stress, or anxiety, validation can help us regain clarity and motivation.

But while validation can support emotional relief, it cannot create long-term personal growth.

AI and Personal Growth in Therapy

Growth requires challenge—and this is where AI falls short.

To truly evolve, we need someone who can help us:

• see our blind spots

• question unhelpful patterns

• explore new perspectives

• sit with uncomfortable truths

• reflect on our behaviours and choices

This is the work that trained counsellors, psychotherapists, and mental health professionals are uniquely equipped to do.

They draw on clinical experience, intuition, and relational understanding—not just data. They know when to gently challenge us, when to slow down, when to push forward, and when to simply sit with us in our pain.

AI, at least today, doesn’t have that capacity.It can offer information, but it can’t offer wisdom or relational depth.

So What Can AI Do in the Counselling Process?

Rather than replacing therapy, AI works best as a support tool—something that enhances your counselling experience rather than standing in for a therapist.

AI can:

• generate therapy exercises

• offer summaries of CBT or mindfulness skills

• provide journaling prompts

• organize therapeutic goals

• help with psychoeducation

• support your progress between counselling sessions

Think of it as a study partner for therapy, especially helpful in online therapy programs or self-guided mental health work.

But when it comes to deeper healing—attachment wounds, trauma processing, relationship issues, identity work, emotional resilience—we need what humans uniquely offer: empathy, presence, and genuine connection.

That’s why professional counselling endures. No matter how advanced AI becomes, it cannot replicate the experience of sitting with someone who sees you, believes in you, and can say—with compassion and honesty—“Here’s what might help you grow.”

References 

Aafjes-van Doorn, K., Békés, V., Prout, T. A., & Hoffman, L. (2020). Psychotherapy for personal growth? A multicultural and international focus-group study of practitioners’ views. Psychotherapy Research. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31944795/

Messina, D. (n.d.). The role of therapy in personal growth. https://drmessina.com/the-role-of-therapy-in-personal-growth/

Möseneder, L., Ribeiro, C., et al. (2019). Impact of confrontations by therapists on impairment and utilization of the therapeutic alliance. Psychotherapy Research, 29(3), 293-305. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30047304/

PositivePsychology.com. (2021, September 1). What is validation in therapy & why is it important? https://positivepsychology.com/validation-in-therapy/

Robitschek, C., et al. (2010). Personal growth initiative and its relation to well-being: An exploration. Journal of Happiness Studies. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272735810000413?via%3Dihub

Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21(2), 95-103. https://garfield.library.upenn.edu/classics1978/A1978FD05200002.pdf(https://garfield.library.upenn.edu/classics1978/A1978FD05200002.pdf)

Weigold, I. K., Weigold, A., Russell, E. J., Wolfe, G. L., Prowell, J. L., & Martin-Wagar, C. A. (2020). Personal growth initiative and mental health: A meta-analysis. Journal of Counseling & Development, 98(4), 376-390. https://ksoakes.expressions.syr.edu/sec060fall2021/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2021/12/Personal-Growth-Initiative-and-Mental-Health_-A-Meta-Analysis.pdf