Part 1 | Meeting generative AI

Chapter 5. Start by using it as a sounding board

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Key points

Do not aim at efficiency gains straight away; start with "someone to talk it over with"
The fit is especially good with the work around the work — materials, email, organising
AI is also a tool for reducing the load that is not your real job

A sounding board is close enough

When you first start with generative AI, there is no need to reach for

automating your workflow
building AI agents
advanced analysis
vibe coding

At the beginning it is better to treat it as

a sounding board

complain to it
untangle something that is bothering you
throw a small question at it
put into words something you have only half been thinking

Working as a therapist, things pile up in your head:

"Was that the right call?"
"I'm worn out."
"This case is hard."
"How do I explain this to them?"

You cannot take every one of those to a colleague. Generative AI makes a quiet listener.

You do not have to want an answer

The important thing here is

do not hand the final judgement to the AI

Its role is to help you organise thought, organise information, put things into words, and prompt ideas. The decision is yours.

Rather than

"get the right answer"

the useful posture is

think out loud against it, and organise your own thinking

It can be used clinically, but with care

AI has uses in the clinical work itself:

laying out assessment items
supporting clinical reasoning
a way into an evidence search
drafting patient explanations

But the parts that involve

individual particularity
bodily sensation
context
non-verbal information
ethical judgement

are not ones AI can carry responsibility for. Keep the distance: not "the AI said so", but "a human decides with this as reference".

The fit with peripheral work is outstanding

As things stand, the fit is far stronger with making the surrounding work efficient than with clinical judgement itself.

Home exercise handouts

Have it organise the home exercise material you give clients so it is clear, easy to read, and pitched for a general reader.

In-house material

Have it bullet-point, summarise and structure material you are giving to fellow therapists.

Tidying up email

Have it adjust messages to a manager, to a junior colleague, to other professions. It is notably good at

softening an expression that came out too strong
making something more courteous
pulling out the key points

A therapist does a great deal that is not clinical

It is easy to picture this job as only clinical, but in practice there is documentation, materials, study groups, teaching, correspondence, paperwork, presentations, information sharing.

"What a chore…" "…but it has to be done."

There is no shortage of work that feels like that.

AI as a tool for concentrating on the real work

AI is a means. Which is why, beyond

"make the core work more efficient"

it is just as valuable to

reduce the load that is not the core work, so you can concentrate on the work itself

Cut the time spent on materials, summaries, email and organising, and put the recovered margin into clinical work, study, family, hobbies, sleep. That alone is worth it.

A prompt to try

You are an experienced senior therapist. Something about how I handled a patient is sitting badly with me. First, listen without interrupting. At the end, offer about three clearly framed issues. Hold off on suggesting solutions until I ask separately.

Chapter 5 summary

Start with it as a sounding board and someone to consult
The fit is better with peripheral work than with clinical judgement
Position it as a tool for reducing the load that is not your real job

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