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How can therapists use AI to save time without losing the human touch that clients need most? Are you struggling to come up with some good prompts and want a few to get started with? How can we get involved in the AI conversation to shape how it serves our practices and clients?
In this podcast episode, Joe Sanok discusses 15 surprising ways to use AI in your counseling private practice.
Podcast Sponsor: JotPsych
If you’re in private practice, you already know—it’s not just about seeing clients. It’s notes, treatment plans, onboarding, scheduling, insurance, forms… the list goes on.
JotPsych was built to take the busywork off your plate. It’s the first AI-powered EHR made specifically for therapists. It can draft your progress notes automatically, send reminders, handle scheduling, deliver clinical screeners, and help with treatment planning. It’s a smart system that learns how you work— and then works for you.
JotPsych has already supported over a million therapy visits and is helping thousands of clinicians save hours every week.
You can try it free—and get 50% off your first two months with code JOE at JotPsych.com/Joe.
In This Podcast
- The biggest issue with AI? Perfection
- Client session and clinical work AI ideas
- Business-related practice management AI ideas
- Thinking strategically with AI
The biggest issue with AI? Perfection
One of the biggest problems with AI is that it’s too perfect. People can spot an AI email, they can spot an AI landing page. You need to have a person go through it, look at how you speak, and then train the AI to speak like you. (Joe Sanok)
You need to humanize the work that you create with AI, because it is too perfect.
No one naturally speaks or writes in the way AI does, so if you don’t change it, people can spot it a mile away. You can train your AI models to learn from your way of speaking.
Another thing you can do is to give a role to the AI that you want it to answer your question from. Is the AI a colleague, a client, another expert? Asking the AI to respond to your prompt or question with an assumed role is going to give it a tighter angle to respond in, which increases your chances of a more accurate answer.
Do you want [the AI] to act like an attorney in Michigan? Do you want it to act like an accountant? Do you want it to act like you? Giving it some context is really helpful. (Joe Sanok)
You can then take what you learn and verify it with a person who is an expert themselves in that field or industry.
Client session and clinical work AI ideas
1 – Turn bulleted notes into full soap notes.
- Prompt: “Think like a licensed therapist writing soap notes for a [state]-based private practice … Turn these bullet points into professional, insurance-ready notes. Keep the notes consistent and the client identifiers removed.”
2 – Create treatment plans that will pass insurance audits.
- Prompt: “Think like an IFS supervisor. Tell me what assumptions you’ll make … Write a treatment plan for a generalized anxiety disorder using CBT and mindfulness-based interventions with goals and expected outcomes.”
3 – Build client homework between sessions.
- Prompt: “Think like a trauma-informed therapist specializing in self-compassion. Create five reflective journal prompts and three grounding exercises for a client processing trauma.”
4 – Summarize sessions for client followups.
- Prompt: “Think like a compassionate therapist. Write a brief, strength-based summary for a client after session, include two reminders, one affirmation, and one focus area for the next week.”
We want to think about the kind of practice we’re building. Are we building a practice where we do some of that follow up? Because whenever we do, we need to continue doing it. (Joe Sanok)
Business-related practice management AI ideas
5 – Simplify intake forms and screening tools.
- Prompt: “Think like a UX designer who builds mental health forms. Rewrite this intake form to be more conversational, trauma-informed and mobile-friendly.”
6 – Handle your inbox with AI summary.
- Prompt: “Think like an executive assistant for a therapy private practice. Summarize this email thread, flag any action items, and draft a quick reply in my tone, friendly but professional.”
7 – Automate scheduling reminders.
- Prompt: “Think like an operations manager for a group practice. Create an automation schedule for client reminders, intake forms, and progress completion deadlines.”
8 – Drafting legal or policy documents – have your attorney review them before use.
- Prompt: “I want you to think like a [state]-based attorney that specializes in mental health law. Draft a basic confidentialy policy and informed consent form for a solo counseling practice, flagging areas to be reviewed my a licensed attorney.”
9 – Create a simple budget and cashflow.
- Prompt: “Think like an accountant who practices in [your state]. Create a 12-month budget and cashflow projection for a solo counseling practice earning [set] amount per year, factoring in taxes. Suggest three areas to reduce spending by 10% without impacting client care and retention.”
10 – Write job descriptions and interview questions.
- Prompt: “Think like an HR recruiter in a counseling group who prioritizes diversity and inclusion. Write a job description for a part-time therapist who specializes in EMDR and develop five interview questions that accesses emotional intellegence and collaboration.”
Thinking strategically with AI
When we’re thinking strategically, we’re walking through not just, “How do I keep things going that are happening right now?” but, “How do I forecast the future of what I want out of this practice?” (Joe Sanok)
11 – Use AI as your personal strategist.
- Prompt: “Think like [Joe Sanok]. Review my work and give me three ideas to move forward with.”
12 – Explore ethical dilemmas before consulting peers.
- Prompt: “Think like an ethics consultant for therapists. List three perspectives a counselor should consider before engaging in relationships in a small town.”
13 – Speed up your continuing education learning.
- Prompt: “Think like a therapist educator. Summarize the key takeaways from this article and suggest three ways to apply it in practice.”
14 – Repurpose one piece of content into five pieces.
- Prompt: “Think like a social media strategist for a trauma therapist. Turn this blog post into three Instagram captions, one short-reel script, and one newsletter paragraph using an encouraging, professional tone.”
15 – Check-in on your burnout.
- Prompt: “Think like a therapist coach with expertise in burnout prevention. Ask me three deep questions to access how I am managing energy, boundaries, and workload.”
You as a mental health expert need to be involved in this conversation. We know that AI is here – for good, for bad, for ugly, and we know that it’s going to continue to expand … The president of the college I used to work at used to say, “You’re either at the table for dinner, or you’re on the menu” … We need to have our fingers in this stuff so that we can influence it in the way that we think is healthy for the world. (Joe Sanok)
Sponsors Mentioned in this Episode:
You can try it free—and get 50% off your first two months with code JOE at JotPsych.com/Joe.
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Meet Joe Sanok
Joe Sanok helps counselors to create thriving practices that are the envy of other counselors. He has helped counselors to grow their businesses by 50-500% and is proud of all the private practice owners who are growing their income, influence, and impact on the world. Click here to explore consulting with Joe.
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