Integrating ChatGPT into our work
“NEW” tools can elicit lots of feelings
Kimochis™️
Like many of us, I have conflicting feelings about ChatGPT and other platforms that offer us experiences with AI (artificial intelligence.) I won’t go into the controversies, fears, opportunities, etc., here, just give you a small peek at an experience I had last week.
Over the past 6 months, I have used AI a “fair” amount. To edit some outlines, draft some donor appreciation letters (I am Board Prez of Chamber Music Marin, another hat I wear,) and plan out some product launches. And, I must say, I have found it very helpful and ever so speedy. Writing that might take me hours, seems to get done by AI in about a nano-second. Especially in areas that really aren’t my “area of expertise,” it feels like having a non-human virtual assistant. But I had never brought AI into a session – until last week…
I was working with a college student who, in the first month of college, had a pretty big challenging event arise. Often dealing with anxiety, their tendency toward paranoia took over, and they made some statements that started a serious chain of events. Coordinating and in collaboration with his therapist and psychiatrist, this student and I had a session that looked specifically at paranoia. We wondered if a SocialScale would be helpful, and this student was eager to see what that might look like. He has used them quite a bit over the past few months and has repeatedly found them to be helpful.
We got to work on the wording for the five discrete points and found that it was….very hard going! The student tossed it over to me – “I have no idea – you do it” – but I was pretty baffled myself.
So, I suggested plugging my request into ChatGPT, just to see what would be suggested. I typed in my prompt: can you give me a five-point scale for paranoia? And, poof, out came this answer, that we both very much liked, and plugged into a SocialScale:
Lots of words, but for this college student, easily manageable, clear, and visually organized.
While this is clearly something for this student to work on with their mental health team, I felt I had made an important contribution to the group by making a visual support with clear definitions of the range of the feelings involved. When we work together in teams, we all collaborate to give of our particular expertise to a situation. That’s what helps our students the most.
My student was easily able to identify where they had been on the scale several months ago, and where they were at that day. They also described that, when they are home with a friend from high school, they are at the blue, far right circle – feeling safe and completely trusting of their friend – so nice to have that experience to remember during difficult times. It’s always great to have experiences to anchor both ends of a SocialScale. I’m still often surprised about how versatile SocialScales are proving themselves to be, and they are almost ready for you to explore!
So, here’s my takeaway from this session and ChatGPT. This task was really about wording and vocabulary, which I think is more a strength for AI than, shall we say, writing a legal brief with citations. Does everything that comes from AI need to be carefully double- and triple-checked? Absolutely. Are my concerns about misuse and letting the “genie out of the box” still valid? Sure. Am I still hesitant, while at the same time, curious and excited? Yep. I’m still feeling LOTS of mixed feelings! But, bit by bit, I will continue to explore how AI can support us in our sessions.
What about you? Have you tried AI, and if so, what have the results been for you? If you haven’t tried AI, what do you think is holding you back? Love to hear your experiences!
