AI as a Psychodynamic Therapist: Future Perspectives

Document Type : Original article

Author

Independent Researcher of Psychodynamic Therapy, Tehran, Iran.

10.22059/jcss.2025.389271.1124

Abstract

Background: The integration of artificial intelligence into psychodynamic therapy presents a transformative opportunity to enhance mental health interventions.
Aims: By consolidating evidence from diverse studies, this research underscores the theoretical and practical implications of psychodynamic AI systems and their potential to reshape therapeutic practices.
Methodology: This study employs a meta-analytic approach to synthesize findings from existing research, focusing on the application of psychodynamic principles—such as unconscious processes, relational dynamics, and symbolic meaning—in AI-driven systems. Despite the dominance of cognitive-behavioral frameworks in AI therapeutic tools, psychodynamic approaches offer unique potential for fostering deeper emotional engagement and interpersonal understanding.
Results: The analysis highlights advancements in AI-based systems designed to emulate psychodynamic processes and explores challenges, including technical limitations and ethical concerns. The findings emphasize the need for future research to refine AI's capacity to address complex psychodynamic phenomena while adhering to ethical standards, ensuring accessibility, and enhancing emotional intelligence.
Conclusions: Ultimately, this work advocates for a balanced integration of psychodynamic principles with AI technologies to achieve scalable and effective mental health solutions.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Arsalani, A.; Sakhaei, S. & Zamani, M. (2022). “ICT for children: The continuous need for media literacy”. Socio-Spatial Studies. 6(1): 1-11. https://doi.org/10.22034/soc.2022.211944.
Ashraf, C. (2020). “Psychodynamics of the technological unconscious”. International Journal of Jungian Studies. 13(1): 69-91. https://doi.org/10.1163/19409060-bja10008.
Bendig, E.; Erb, B.; Schulze-Thuesing, L. & Baumeister, H. (2019). “The next generation: Chatbots in clinical psychology and psychotherapy to foster mental health– A scoping review”. Verhaltenstherapie. 32(Suppl. 1): 64-76. https://doi.org/10.1159/000501812.
Borenstein, M.; Hedges, L.V.; Higgins, J.P.T. & Rothstein, H.R. (2009). Introduction to Meta-Analysis. John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470743386.
Buller, A. (2005). “Building brains for robots: A psychodynamic approach”. In PReMI 2005, Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS). 3776: 70-79. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11590316_10.
Cooper, H.; Hedges, L.V. & Valentine, J.C. (Eds.). (2019). The Handbook of Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis. 3rd ed. Russell Sage Foundation.
Egger, M.; Davey Smith, G.; Schneider, M. & Minder, C. (1997). “Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical test”. BMJ. 315(7109): 629-634. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.315.7109.629.
Fullam, E. (2024). The Social Life of Mental Health Chatbots. PhD thesis, Birkbeck, University of London. https://doi.org/10.18743/PUB.00053874.
Galijašević, T.; Škarić, M.; Podolski, E.; Mustač, F.; Matovinović, M. & Marčinko, D. (2024). “New breakthroughs in AI chatbots and their potential in mental health services”. 9th International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Technologies (SpliTech). 1-4. https://doi.org/10.23919/SpliTech61897.2024.10612516.
Grodniewicz, J.P. & Hohol, M. (2024). “Therapeutic chatbots as cognitive-affective artifacts”. Topoi. 43(3): 795-807. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11245-024-10018-x.
Haber, Y.; Levkovich, I.; Hadar-Shoval, D. & Elyoseph, Z. (2024). “The artificial third: A broad view of the effects of introducing generative artificial intelligence on psychotherapy”. JMIR Mental Health. 11: e54781. https://doi.org/10.2196/54781.
Halfon, S.; Doyran, M.; Türkmen, B.; Aydın Oktay, E. & Salah, A.A. (2021). “Multimodal affect analysis of psychodynamic play therapy”. Psychotherapy Research. 31(3): 313-328. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2020.1839141.
Holohan, M. & Fiske, A. (2021). "’Like I’m talking to a real person’: Exploring the meaning of transference for the use and design of AI-based applications in psychotherapy”. Frontiers in Psychology. 12, 720476. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.720476.
Hwang, G.; Lee, D.Y.; Seol, S.; Jung, J.; Choi, Y.; Her, E.S.; An, M.H. & Park, R.W. (2024). “Assessing the potential of ChatGPT for psychodynamic formulations in psychiatry: An exploratory study”. Psychiatry Research. 331: 115655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115655.
Kaur, R. (2023). “Future of therapy: How AI is transforming mental health care”. Therapy Helper. https://therapyhelpers.com/blog/future-of-therapy-ai-transforming-mental-health-care/?srsltid=AfmBOoqDZoa7I0Djx7yjDBqbpTBHrArlCTLngQ8-1ayZgoQXPUlt2_no.
Lawlor, D.; Sher, M. & Khaleelee, O. (2023). “Systems psychodynamics and the impact of digitalisation, AI and virtual working on the eco-system”. In Systems Psychodynamics (pp. 239-256). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003368663.
Leibovich, L.; Mechler, J.; Lindqvist, K.; Mortimer, R.; Edbrooke-Childs, J. & Midgley, N. (2023). “Unpacking the active ingredients of internet-based psychodynamic therapy for adolescents”. Psychotherapy Research. 33(1): 108-117. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2022.2050829.
Litwack, E.B. (2024). “Chatbots, Robots, and the Ethics of automating psychotherapy.” Athens Journal of Philosophy. 3(1): 1-13. https://doi.org/10.30958/ajphil.X-Y-Z.
Liu, J. & Ando, H. (2008). “Emotion eliciting and decision making by psychodynamic appraisal mechanism”. In 2008 Conference on Human System Interactions (pp. 645–650). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/HSI.2008.4581516.
Liu, Y.X.; Ting, I.H.; Liberona, D. & Hsu, M.Y. (2024). “Personalized user interface design for psychological counseling chatbots: A pilot study.” 11th Multidisciplinary International Social Networks Conference (MISNC ’24). 23-28. https://doi.org/10.1145/3675669.3675683.
Mayer, C.H. & Oosthuizen, R.M. (2021). “Anxiety and excitement in the fourth industrial revolution: A systems-psychodynamic perspective”. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology. 47(0): a1813. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v47i0.1813.
Narynov, S.; Zhumanov, Z.; Gumar, A.; Khassanova, M. & Omarov, B. (2021). “Chatbots and Conversational Agents in Mental Health: A Literature Review”. 21st International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems (ICCAS). 353-358. https://doi.org/10.23919/ICCAS52745.2021.9649855.
Nosraty, N.; Tomraee, S. & Zamani, M. (2020). “Beauty business in Iran: Does beauty make you healthy?”. Socio-Spatial Studies. 4(1): 1-11. https://doi.org/10.22034/soc.2020.211920.
Page, M.J.; McKenzie, J.E.; Bossuyt, P.M.; Boutron, I.; Hoffmann, T.C.; Mulrow, C.D.; Tetzlaff, J.M.; Akl, E.A.; Brennan, S.E.; Chou, R.; Glanville, J.; Grimshaw, J.M.; Hróbjartsson, A.; Lalu, M.M.; Li, T.; Loder, E.W.; Mayo-Wilson, E.; McDonald, S.; McGuinness, L.A.; ... Moher, D. (2021). “The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews”. BMJ. 372, n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71.
Raile, P. (2024). “The usefulness of ChatGPT for psychotherapists and patients”. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. 11(47). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02567-0.
Sakhaei, S.; Soroori Sarabi, A. & Alinouri, S. (2024). “Teaching IT use to elderly: A media literacy solution”. Journal of Cyberspace Studies. 8(2).
Shapiro, Y. (2014). “Psychodynamic formulation in the age of neuroscience: A dynamical systems model”. Psychoanalytic Dialogues. 24(2): 175-192. https://doi.org/10.1080/10481885.2014.893777.
Soroori, A.; Arsalani, A. & Tousi, R. (2020). “Risk management at hazardous jobs: A new media literacy?”. Socio-Spatial Studies. 4(1): 13-24. https://doi.org/10.22034/soc.2020.212126.
Trappey, A.J.C.; Lin, A.P.C.; Hsu, K.Y.K.; Trappey, C.V. & Tu, K.L.K. (2022). “Development of an empathy-centric counseling chatbot system capable of sentimental dialogue analysis”. Processes. 10(5): 930. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10050930.
Xu, B. & Zhuang, Z. (2022). “Survey on psychotherapy chatbots”. Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience. 34(7): e6170. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpe.6170.
Zhao, Y.; Li, L.; He, X.; Yin, S.; Zhou, Y.; Marquez-Chin, C.; Yang, W.; Rao, J.; Xiang, W.; Liu, B. & Li, J. (2023). “Psychodynamic-based virtual reality cognitive training system with personalized emotional arousal elements for mild cognitive impairment patients”. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine. 241: 107779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2023.107779.
Journal of Cyberspace Studies
Volume 9, Issue 1
January 2025
Pages 127-144

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics