Clinician's Survival Guide to the Chatbot Revolution

Chatbots now conduct more mental health sessions than all human clinicians combined--despite having little training, zero licensing, and no professional accountability. This essential guide from world-renowned psychiatrist Allen Frances helps clinicians understand the bewildering chatbot revolution and provides strategies for thriving within it. Frances describes how to train AI-based tools to be helpful therapy assistants--not rivals or harmful replacements. He discusses ways to evaluate patients' use of chatbots, assess possible risks, set up guardrails for using these tools safely, create between-session chatbot homework, manage digital boundary violations, and protect patient privacy. The book is packed with vivid stories, concise explanations of technical concepts, and practical tips. The companion website features reproducible/downloadable tools for clinicians and a multipage patient handout.