Would You Talk to Your Therapist’s AI ‘Twin’?

Isabel Woodford

Bloomberg.com

Originally posted September 11, 2026

Vanessa Marin is impressively responsive. The renowned sex therapist and New York Times bestselling author replies immediately to messages — even in the early morning hours. She doesn’t hesitate to reply when asked what issues she encounters most often in her work. While everyone’s sex life is different, she explains, the dilemmas people bring to her tend to be remarkably familiar.

Mostly it’s “things like whether it’s needy to want to feel desired by your partner,” she writes. “But it’s totally reasonable. You want your partner to want you — that’s not clingy, that’s human.”

This isn’t the real Vanessa Marin. It’s a digital twin she created using Delphi AI, a startup backed by Sequoia Capital that specializes in turning experts into chatbots. The bots, which are trained on material supplied by their human counterparts, including books, websites, videos and social media, have proved popular with celebrities including Arnold Schwarzenegger, who’s created a digital replica of his mind.

The article is here.

Navigating increasing complexity in mental health practice: ETHICA-4P, a framework and toolkit to promote reflective skills for ethical clinical decision making

Calia, C., Grant, L., Guerra, C., & Reid, C. (2025).

Reflective Practice, 1–23.

https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2025.2586133

Abstract

Clinical practice for mental healthcare can be challenging. Often clinicians must make impactful decisions with little opportunity for reflection or consultation. In response to rich conversations with more than 900 local and global researchers and clinical colleagues (from more than 40 countries) about the increasing complexity of global research and clinical mental health practice, we developed the ETHICA-4P framework and toolkit for supporting clinicians in scaffolded reflection for ethical decision-making in daily practice (https://www.ethical-action.ed.ac.uk/clinical-practice). Ethical clinical interventions sit at the heart of the toolkit but practitioner-participants emphasised that ethical issues also arise during other stages of the clinical journey such as referral processes, assessment and during professional collaboration – with legacy effects long after therapy is complete. To navigate these multilayered challenges, we propose the ETHICA-4P framework and clinical toolkit centred on reflective analysis of ‘4P’s’:

• Place: Social, political, cultural, and historical factors shaping practice.

• People: Stakeholders involved in the ethical conflict, from clients to practitioners.

• Principles: Ethical guidelines and legal frameworks.

• Precedents: How past conflicts were addressed.

This paper reports on the practice-driven, co-design and iterative feedback process that led to the framework and toolkit, as well as spotlighting examples of clinical application.

Here are some thoughts:

U.S. psychologists operate in a high-stakes, high-diversity, high-burnout environment where ethical challenges regularly outpace formal guidance. ETHICA-4P offers a reflective, culturally attuned, practical supplement to the APA Ethics Code—one that supports both client welfare and clinician sustainability, and that can be used immediately in everyday practice, supervision, and training.

Artificial intelligence in psychological practice: Applications, ethical considerations, and recommendations

Hutnyan, M., & Gottlieb, M. C. (2025).

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.

Advance online publication.

https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000631

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are increasingly relied upon in the delivery of health care services traditionally provided solely by humans, and the widespread use of AI in the routine practice of professional psychology is on the horizon. It is incumbent on practicing psychologists to be prepared to effectively implement AI technologies and engage in thoughtful discourse regarding the ethical and responsible development, implementation, and regulation of these technologies. This article provides a brief overview of what AI is and how it works, a description of its current and potential future applications in professional practice, and a discussion of the ethical implications of using AI systems in the delivery of psychological services. Applications of AI technologies in key areas of clinical practice are addressed, including assessment and intervention. Using the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (American Psychological Association, 2017) as a framework, anticipated ethical challenges across five domains—harm and nonmaleficence, autonomy and informed consent, fidelity and responsibility, privacy and confidentiality, and bias, respect, and justice—are discussed. Based on these challenges, provisional recommendations for psychologists are provided.

Impact Statement

This article provides an overview of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it works, describes current and developing applications of AI in the practice of professional psychology, and explores the potential ethical challenges of using these technologies in the delivery of psychological services. The use of AI in professional psychology has many potential benefits, but it also has drawbacks; ethical psychologists are wise to carefully consider their use of AI in practice.