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Therapy and AI companionship were listed as the #1 use of AI by Harvard Business Review in both 2025 and 2026. How are therapists supposed to respond? Many clinicians feel overwhelmed, apprehensive, or tempted to avoid AI altogether. Yet as clients increasingly turn to chatbots for therapeutic processing, emotional support, and personal companionship, expanding our AI literacy is no longer optional.
This webinar provides a comprehensive overview of the emerging clinical concerns surrounding public AI adoption and its growing impact on client mental health, interpersonal relationships, and the therapeutic alliance. We will explore critical topics such as AI sycophancy, the amplification of cognitive distortions, and other potential psychological risks. Drawing from this past year's public events and research, we will analyze real-world case studies involving synthetic relationships and AI-associated delusions. Additionally, we will examine current state and federal legislative responses to these emerging challenges.
By attending, clinicians will clarify their evolving role, expand their scope of competence, and gain deeper insight into how AI is shaping their clients’ emotional lives. Participants will leave with specific assessment questions and concrete strategies to conceptualize these novel use cases within the clinical setting.
Earn (2) CE Credits
This course meets the qualifications for 2 of hours continuing education credits for LMFTs, LPCCs, LEPs and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Analyze how client engagement with AI companions impacts relational dynamics, client attachment patterns, and the therapeutic alliance.
2. Identify at least three recent, emerging clinical risks associated with increased AI use among clients.
3. Compare current state legislative responses regarding AI technology to determine their implications for mental health and healthcare protections.
June Thompson MFT (she)
June is a licensed psychotherapist and geographer with over 20 years of clinical experience. An AAMFT-designated clinical supervisor, her expertise includes working with anxiety, depression, and complex trauma across outpatient, residential treatment, and psychiatric hospital settings. She holds dual master’s degrees in Marriage and Family Therapy and Human and Environmental Geography.
Her research focuses on the intersection of technology and human behavior, specializing in the emerging psychology of human-AI interactions. She has drawn additional insights from extensive time spent within AI-user online communities to learn about firsthand experiences involving AI-associated delusions and parasocial relationships. June is featured in the 2026 title How to Talk to AI (And How Not To) by BBC journalist and author Jamie Bartlett, where she discusses parasocial relationships in AI use.
