When your teenager is struggling, finding the right help can feel overwhelming. With artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT offering answers in seconds, more parents are turning to AI for guidance on treatment programs, mental health resources, and important decisions about their child’s future.
But how reliable are those recommendations?
In this episode of Empower My Teen, I share a real experience involving a mother who used ChatGPT to identify five residential treatment programs, only to discover that three were no longer operating.
We explore both the benefits and limitations of using AI when researching treatment options for teens. I also discuss how AI can help parents understand clinical terminology, prepare questions for professionals, and explore different perspectives, while explaining why verifying information and understanding a child’s individual needs remain essential.
You’ll also learn why the questions you ask AI matter, how to protect your child’s sensitive information, and why technology should support, rather than replace, thoughtful conversations with experienced professionals.
AI can be a valuable starting point, but when it comes to your child’s well-being, an organized answer isn’t always an accurate answer.
Listen now!
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:
00:03
Have you reached the end of your rope trying to help your child? Are you wondering how to help your teen find their way back to themselves and you don’t know what to do next?
00:12
I’m your host, Mary Warren, and I’m here to share with you information, stories, and possible solutions to help you find the best options for your teen and family.
00:23
Are you ready to start thinking about parenting and relationships in a new way? If you are, take a breath, relax, and let’s talk.
00:35
Today, I wanna talk about something that’s becoming a bigger part of how parents look for help for their children, artificial intelligence, or AI.
00:45
More specifically, using tools like ChatGPT to research treatment programs and explore options when your child is struggling. Now, I want to start by saying that I use ChatGPT myself.
00:58
In fact, I’ve given mine a name. His name is Jack. I use Jack to help me organize my thoughts, explore ideas, and sometimes look at things from a completely different perspective.
01:11
Through using it myself, I’ve come to appreciate how valuable AI can be. But like any resource, it has its benefits and its limitations.
01:23
And a recent experience with a mom I was working with really brought this home for me. She was feeling overwhelmed and scared as she tried to find the right treatment program for her child.
01:34
She had been using ChatGPT, sharing information about her child’s struggles, and asking it to help identify residential treatment programs that might be a good fit.
01:45
Based on the information she provided, ChatGPT gave her a list of five programs.
01:51
When she shared that list with me, I started looking into each of them and discovered that three were no longer operating.
01:59
Now, imagine being a parent who’s already overwhelmed, worried about your child, and trying to make an incredibly difficult decision.
02:07
You finally have a list of programs that seem promising, only to discover that most of them aren’t even open anymore.
02:15
This mom was grateful that we’d caught that before she spent hours trying to contact programs that were no longer available. And there’s another interesting thing.
02:24
Another mom, well, she actually found me through ChatGPT. So, I’ve seen firsthand how AI can be helpful, but also where we need to be careful about relying on the information it provides.
02:38
Years ago, I wrote a blog called Are You Using Google as Your Educational Consultant?
02:44
At the time, I saw parents turn to Google not just to find treatment programs, but to figure out which program might be the right fit for their child. And I understood why.
02:56
When you’re worried about your child and don’t know where to turn, you’re gonna look for answers. Today, we’re doing something similar, but with a much more sophisticated tool.
03:07
Instead of searching through websites, we can ask AI a question and receive an organized answer in seconds.
03:15
And that’s where I wanna spend just a little time, because an organized answer isn’t necessarily an accurate answer.
03:24
AI can give you a list of treatment programs, describe their services, even explain why each one might be a good fit for your child. But that information may be outdated or incorrect.
03:38
Programs close, ownership changes, treatment approaches change, clinical teams change, and a program that once worked with a particular population may no longer provide those services.
03:52
And that’s not always something you can determine from an AI-generated recommendation.
03:57
Now, I also want to talk about some of the ways AI can be helpful when you’re trying to understand what’s happening with your child.
04:04
Maybe you’ve just received a psychological evaluation and you’re struggling to understand some of the terminology.
04:10
Or hearing terms like residential treatment, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient care, and you’re not quite sure what the differences are.
04:21
AI can help explain those terms in language that’s easier to understand.
04:25
It can also help you organize your thoughts before a meeting with your child’s therapist or put together questions you may want to ask a treatment program or a consultant.
04:35
And sometimes when you’re feeling overwhelmed, simply having a place to start organizing all that information can make a huge difference.
04:44
That doesn’t mean AI replaces the professionals involved in your child’s care, but it can help you feel more prepared to have those conversations.
04:54
There’s also something else that concerns me when families use AI to find treatment programs. AI only knows what you’ve told it, along with whatever other information it can access.
05:06
And when it comes to our children, there can be a lot more going on than what fits into a few sentences.
05:13
For example, a parent might ask AI to recommend residential treatment program for a teenager struggling with anxiety, depression, and school refusal.
05:23
AI may produce a list of programs that say they address those concerns. But what about the severity of those challenges? What has already been tried? Are there safety concerns?
05:36
How does the young person function socially? What kind of environment would help them feel supported rather than overwhelmed? Those details really matter.
05:47
Two programs can both advertise that they work with anxiety and depression and still have very different approaches, expectations, and levels of support.
05:57
And just because a program lists a diagnosis on its website doesn’t mean it’s the right fit for every young person with that diagnosis.
06:06
That’s why I don’t want families to confuse a list of possible programs with a carefully considered treatment recommendation. Now, there’s another side of AI that I find really interesting.
06:17
The way we ask questions can influence the answers we receive. If we ask AI a question that already suggests the answer we want, we may receive a response that reinforces our thinking.
06:31
For example, a parent might ask, my teenager refuses school, argues with us constantly, and won’t follow our rules. Do you think residential treatment is the best option?
06:43
But what if that same parent asked, help me understand what might be contributing to those behaviors? What options should we explore, and what might I be overlooking?
06:55
Those questions may lead to very different conversations. And this is something I’ve learned through using ChatGPT myself. I don’t always want Jack agreeing with me.
07:06
Sometimes I want him to challenge my thinking or offer a different perspective. I might even ask, what am I missing here?
07:15
That doesn’t mean AI suddenly becomes an expert on my situation or that its responses will always be correct, but it can help us consider possibilities we hadn’t thought about.
07:26
And I think that’s a much healthier way to use it than simply looking for confirmation of something we’ve already decided.
07:34
If AI gives you a list of treatment programs, that can be a helpful starting point.
07:40
But before making decisions, it’s important to verify what you’ve found and have conversations with people who understand your child’s needs.
07:49
Those conversations can reveal things that simply aren’t available in an online description. I’d also encourage parents to be thoughtful about the personal information they share with AI.
08:01
You can ask questions about treatment options without necessarily sharing your child’s name, birth date, medical records, or other identifying information.
08:11
And if you’re using AI to help understand something in a clinical report or assessment, remember that you’re sharing sensitive information about another person.
08:20
It’s worth understanding the privacy settings and policies of whatever tool you are using. And while we’re talking about what we share with AI, there’s something else I want parents to think about.
08:33
We can tell AI a lot about what’s happening with our child. We can describe their struggles, ask questions, and receive some very thoughtful responses.
08:43
But there’s a difference between describing what your family is going through and having someone truly understand what it’s like to be living through it.
08:52
When you’re frightened about your child, overwhelmed about what’s happening at home, or trying to make a decision you never imagined having to make, you need more information.
09:02
There are moments when what you really need is someone who will just listen.
09:08
A person you can talk openly with about your fears, your concerns, and the decisions you’re facing, and who can help you look at things from a very different perspective.
09:20
AI can respond with supportive words, and that can be very comforting. AI can also be a wonderful resource for exploring possibilities, gathering information, and even challenging the way we think.
09:33
But when it comes to making decisions about your child’s care, there’s a real value in bringing together what you’ve learned, what you know about your child, and the experience of people who can help you understand your options.
09:47
And that’s how AI can be a helpful part of the process rather than the entire process. Thank you for listening today. I’m your host, Mary Warren, and I’m so grateful you found this podcast.
10:01
I invite you to visit my website at EmpowerMyTeen.com and schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss your situation.
10:10
Remember, you are a caring and concerned parent, and your child is lucky to have you in their life. So please, be kind to yourself.
