Before You Start

AI & Therapy

What it can support — and where depth requires a human

Where AI can genuinely support growth

AI tools show genuine promise in therapies centered on thought patterns, habits, and coping strategies — particularly Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and behavioral activation. These approaches rely on structured exercises, psychoeducation, and repetition — things AI can deliver consistently, on-demand, and without scheduling constraints.

Think of it as a patient, always-available practice space. AI can help you identify cognitive distortions, guide thought records, prompt mood tracking, and reinforce skills between sessions with a therapist. At this level, the work is largely explicit and skill-based — and AI is reasonably well-suited to support it.

Where human presence is essential

Depth-oriented work — the kind that draws on your inner world of thoughts, sensations, intuitions, images, and personal history — requires something AI cannot offer: a genuine human presence that can track, respond to, and be changed by the encounter with your experience. This is the territory of trauma, attachment, somatic work, and the deeper questions of meaning and identity.

In this kind of therapy, growth does not come from information or skill-building alone. It comes from exploring what truly resonates — through imagination, dreams, the body, and the living relationship between therapist and client. These are dimensions of experience that AI can neither access nor facilitate.

What the research shows about AI's limitations

The evidence on AI therapy chatbots is sobering — particularly for vulnerable populations and complex presentations:

Why the therapeutic alliance matters

Research consistently shows that the relationship between therapist and client — called the therapeutic alliance — is one of the strongest predictors of successful outcomes, especially in trauma work. A 2022 meta-analysis of 34 studies confirmed that this alliance significantly predicted PTSD symptom reduction, with client-rated alliance showing a moderate effect size across treatments.

For trauma survivors, who often struggle with trust and interpersonal connection due to their experiences, the ability to form a genuine human relationship within therapy is not a luxury — it is the mechanism of healing itself. AI cannot provide the attunement, rupture-repair cycles, or embodied presence that trauma recovery requires.

Counseling vs Therapy

Two distinct traditions, different directions

Counseling

Counseling typically focuses on specific problems, life transitions, or decisions. It tends to be shorter-term, more advice-oriented, and centered on conscious, practical concerns — navigating a career change, working through a relationship decision, processing grief, managing stress.

The counselor often takes a more active, guiding role. The work is usually focused on the present situation and on developing practical strategies for moving forward. Many people find this approach helpful when they have a clear issue they want to address and are looking for support and direction.

Therapy

Therapy — especially depth-oriented therapy — goes further. It explores the underlying patterns, histories, and unconscious dynamics that shape how you experience yourself and your relationships. The goal isn't just to solve a problem but to understand and transform the deeper structures that create problems in the first place.

This kind of work often involves exploring your early relationships, your family system, your dreams and imagination, and the ways your body holds experience. It tends to be longer-term and less directive — the therapist is a collaborative partner in exploration rather than an expert providing answers.

Which is right for you?

Both have value. The question is what you're looking for. If you have a specific situation you want help navigating, counseling may be the right fit. If you sense that your struggles connect to deeper patterns — or if you're drawn to understanding yourself more fully — therapy may be what you need.

Privacy & Woodside

Your information stays yours

My approach to privacy

My work with high-profile clients in Seattle taught me something important: privacy isn't just about compliance — it's about how a practice is built. Many of the protections we once relied on are no longer there, so I've done what I can to compensate.

I maintain two office locations — one in a professional building, another in a private ADU at my home. This gives you the option of anonymity if that matters to you.

How I handle consultation and records

I hold strict rules about my clients. When I need to consult with another professional — a physician, another therapist, a specialist — I share only what's clinically necessary, never identifying details, and never with someone you might encounter. They are bound by HIPAA; I hold myself to a higher standard.

The state requires I keep some basic information on file. I store nothing digitally — all records are offline, physical, and encoded. Despite what the state requires, I maintain sole control over your Protected Health Information.

Diagnosis is your choice

A diagnosis exists primarily for insurance or your own use — it is not required for therapy. If you prefer to work without one, we do. If you want to understand what a diagnosis might mean without anything going into your record, that conversation stays between us.

You decide where we land

Some clients need detailed records — for FMLA, insurance, or continuity with other providers. Others want minimal documentation. Where we land on that spectrum is entirely your decision. I take this right seriously.