Psyche & Praxis Forum: AI, Therapy, and the Future of Care
Jasmine Virdi, MSc (Writer, Educator, Lyric Essayist, Activist & Integrative Somatic Coach)
Thursday 28 May, 2026 8PM CEST (7PM BST, 2PM EDT, 11AM PDT)
Online via Zoom
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This forum invites us to examine the clinical, ethical, and relational questions emerging as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly present in the lives of our clients. Many people are now turning to chatbots and digital platforms for mental health guidance, substance-use information, emotional validation, and even integration support. What happens when care, harm reduction, and meaning-making are mediated through algorithms rather than relationships?
How do we understand validation when it is delivered by a system designed to please? What distinguishes relational discernment from informational support? And what responsibilities do therapists hold when the therapeutic container extends beyond the consulting room into digital spaces that operate without accountability, context, or interruption?
We do not approach this conversation from a place of technophobia, nor from uncritical optimism. Rather, the aim is to create a grounded space where clinicians can reflect honestly on the opportunities, risks, and ambiguities that AI introduces into therapeutic practice, particularly in psychedelic and altered-state contexts where suggestibility, expectation, and narrative framing already play a significant role.
Drawing on the recent article ChatGPT’s Drug Advice Under Scrutiny After Teen’s Overdoseas a starting point, we will explore broader questions around digital harm reduction, relational accountability, algorithmic reinforcement, and the changing landscape of care.
What to Expect in the Forum
This session will be discussion-based, using the article as a springboard for small-group and whole-group dialogue. Together, we will explore questions such as:
- How does AI function as a new form of “set and setting”?
- Where does validation become potentially dangerous?
- How might algorithmic reinforcement shape client belief systems or risk-taking?
- What is lost when discernment and interruption are removed from care?
- How should therapists respond when clients rely on AI for guidance around mental health or substance use?
Participants are warmly invited to bring examples from their own practice, supervision contexts, research settings, or personal experience. This may include cases where technology, chatbots, online communities, or digital platforms have influenced client decision-making, integration processes, or therapeutic dynamics. We ask that all shared material be fully anonymised and handled with care to protect confidentiality.
Jasmine Virdi, Coordinator of Professional Events at the OPEN Foundation, will facilitate and moderate the discussion, supporting participants to engage with care, groundedness, and mutual respect. These sessions will not be recorded in order to protect participant privacy and encourage open dialogue.
