Overcoming trauma is never a straight line, and seeking professional guidance is often the best way to navigate complex, overlapping mental health issues.
Ellie RoseTikTok therapists conducted an experiment at the intersection of mental health and technology by seeing what AI can tell us about recovering from trauma.
Trauma therapists valued the mental health advice provided by ChatGPT.
Rose, a former family therapist who specializes in childhood trauma, said her initial prediction for mental health advice from AI is that “given that ChatGPT is collecting all the information on the internet, I expect it to be pretty terrible.”
Rose sat down at her laptop and typed out her first question: “How do we heal from childhood trauma?”
She was pleasantly surprised when ChatGPT’s first result was “Seek professional help.”
ChatGPT’s second response to a question about how to recover from trauma was a bit off-topic: “Become more self-aware,” it declared. The AI feature recommended ways to increase self-awareness, suggesting “journaling, mindfulness, meditation, etc.”
Rose rated the answer a five out of 10, saying, “Someone who has experienced childhood trauma is probably pretty self-aware, and that’s not the problem.”
ChatGPT’s third suggestion for overcoming trauma was simply to practice self-care with an emphasis on exercise, diet, and sleep, which Rose rated as “fairly good, a 6 out of 10.”
“Setting boundaries” was the next suggestion, but Rose said, “It just says that, but no hints are given.”
As anyone who grew up in an unstable family structure or who struggles with pleasing others knows, setting boundaries is not as easy as declaring that you will set boundaries.
Setting firm boundaries is hard at first, but like any muscle, it’s a practice that will get stronger with effort.
That ChatGPT says that people experiencing trauma need to set boundaries but doesn’t explain how to do this highlights how limited their resources are, especially when it comes to highly sensitive situations like addressing mental health.
ChatGPT tells trauma survivors to “reframe their story with positive self-talk and rewriting their life story.”
Rose pointed out exactly what was wrong with that advice, saying, “I like the idea, but it’s hard to implement.”
“Positive self-talk is great, of course, but I think it’s more important to understand why it’s so hard,” she said.
The therapist explained that the problem with ChatGPT’s responses is that they offer solutions without any context or understanding of how trauma works.
“They also let me know about the problems I’ve had on social media, where they offer solutions without any context or understanding,” Rose explains. “The problem is that more often than not, it doesn’t work or ends up being more embarrassing.”
She gave an example of why this might be the case, saying, “If you grew up in a really difficult family environment, and you’re still struggling with your relationships with that family for a variety of reasons, and someone says, ‘Set boundaries,’ then yeah, OK, that’s fine, but actually enforcing them is probably going to be really hard.”
“Instead, you might just feel bad because you can’t do it… you actually need to understand specifically why it’s so hard for you,” Rose says.
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“I really just want to stress that if the advice you see online just offers solutions without any knowledge or explanation and makes you feel bad or even worse about yourself, it’s time to find some new advice,” she concludes.
She was forthright about why ChatGPT isn’t the best therapist: precisely because the technology is not human at all.
ChatGPT doesn’t understand nuance or context – it doesn’t know you as a specific, unique person with a specific, unique history that influences your emotions and behavior in the present.
AI tools might be able to spit out common platitudes that touch on mental health issues, but they lack the human connection that comes with a session with a live therapist — a connection that can guide people on a personalized path to healing.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer for YourTango’s news and entertainment team. She covers all things related to social issues, pop culture, and the entertainment industry.
