AI & Human Well-Being
People are forming real attachments to systems that were not designed to hold them. I work at the intersection of clinical practice and technology — with individuals, clinicians, universities, and organizations trying to understand what is actually happening, and what a measured response looks like.
The questions this work is built around
This is a fast-moving area with more speculation than evidence. I try to stay precise about what is observed clinically, what is still an open question, and what is simply unknown.
Problematic AI use and overreliance
Patterns of use that start to crowd out sleep, work, decision-making, or human contact — described carefully, without treating every heavy user as disordered.
Romantic and parasocial relationships with AI
Attachment to companions, chatbots, and characters: what people get from it, what it costs them, and what a thoughtful clinical response looks like.
Effects on relationships, functioning, and identity
How AI use shows up between partners, in families, at work, and in a person's sense of who they are.
Changes in thinking and behavior
Shifts in confidence, reassurance-seeking, avoidance, and tolerance for ambiguity that clinicians are beginning to see and ask about.
Available now
Therapy for individuals
Support around problematic AI use, AI relationships, and their effect on daily life, through Modern Therapy Seattle.
Custom training for clinicians and medical providers
Presentations and workshops built for your team's actual caseload and questions. Available now on a custom basis.
Organizational consultation
Advisory work for healthcare systems, agencies, and technology companies thinking about AI and human well-being.
Speaking
Keynotes, conference sessions, and panels on AI and human relationships.
In development
Continuing education program on problematic AI use
A CE curriculum for therapists and healthcare providers. In development — not yet submitted or approved for CE credit.
Doctoral nursing student collaboration
Educational and research collaboration with doctoral nursing students on problematic AI use. In progress; no findings to report yet.
Programs for AI developers and technology workplaces
Sessions focused on balance, sustainability, and the human side of building these systems. In development.
Ways people reach out about this work
Tell me which of these fits and I'll respond with a realistic next step.
Thinking about AI and the people it affects?
Whether you're a clinician, a university program, a technology company, or someone worried about your own use — start a conversation.
Contact Kate