Patient Loses Trust After Therapist Uses AI to Record Sessions

Psychotherapy depends heavily on mutual trust between patient and therapist, as individuals find it difficult to be honest and share genuine feelings without a sense of security. This was the experience of Molly Quinn, 31, who was shocked to learn that her trusted therapist had begun recording their private conversations using an artificial intelligence-based tool, according to a report by NPR.

Quinn noticed the change during one session when her therapist stopped taking notes as usual and instead placed an iPad unusually in front of her, as reported by futurism.

Privacy and Data Concerns in AI Therapy

This discovery raised numerous questions for Quinn about how her personal words were being handled, where the data was stored, and whether it might be used in training AI systems in the future. She explained that such concerns typically do not arise when therapists use traditional note-taking methods, but for her, this became a growing source of anxiety.

Quinn stated, "The more I thought about it, the more nauseous I felt. This person, whom I was supposed to trust and share my deepest feelings with, completely ignored my discomfort. I felt a blatant violation of my privacy." Although her therapist offered to stop using the AI tool, Quinn chose to end the therapeutic relationship and seek another professional, emphasizing that trust between them had been entirely lost.

AI Tools Gain Traction Amid Debate

Similar to developments in the medical field, an increasing number of psychotherapists nationwide have started employing AI tools to take notes and generate transcripts. Developers promote these technologies as means to reduce paperwork and administrative duties, thereby allowing therapists to devote more time to their patients.

Despite this, the reliability of such AI tools remains widely questioned. Even disregarding the issue of "hallucinations"—erroneous AI-generated information that has been observed to appear in medical records—it is still unclear how patients feel about the use of AI in mental health care.

According to a YouGov survey cited by NPR, only 11% of Americans are open to using AI in mental health treatment, with just 8% expressing trust in the technology, while 40% reported no trust at all.

Ongoing Questions About Safety and Trust

Marissa, a couples therapist based in New York, noted that the presence of AI during therapy sessions alters the nature of the experience itself. She explained that clients sense or are aware of an additional party listening, which may indirectly affect how openly they disclose their feelings and thoughts.

She added that storing information electronically introduces further concerns about trust and security, viewing the technology as a third party within the therapeutic relationship.

Tal Salman, CEO of "Perez," a well-known AI voice transcription platform for therapists, stated that conversation recordings are deleted immediately and that transcripts are stored on servers compliant with the United States HIPAA regulations.

Despite these assurances, Quinn believes AI companies still need to earn patients' trust, which has not yet happened. She also expressed fear that hackers might breach these recordings in the future.

Quinn said, "We will see violations, maybe not tomorrow or next week, but within a few years, I believe it will happen. I do not want my therapy sessions to be part of such incidents."