Specialized Therapy

for Individuals & Families

exploring the impacts of AI Use

& Chatbot Relationships

EMAIL: jocelynskillmanlmhc@gmail.com

I provide 50 minute telehealth sessions and private text sessions I call Bot Bridging (learn more here!)

If you’ve been chatting with AI/bots and walked away feeling deeply held and/or deeply distressed—I’m right here with you.

This new terrain is so exciting and I bring my extensive and specialized training and research to humbly and strategically support clients who want to explore and tend well to their mental health as it pertains to AI use/relationship.

I’m a language AND large language model lover with expansive perspective on the mental health field and AI.

Many of us are are beginning to meet some of our core relational and support needs through ‘synthetic’ conversations.

Talking with bots/chat about our mental, emotional, and relational health can feel sort of like talking to a ‘therapist on steroids’ – a hyper-anonymous being/non-being who can feel exquisitely real, private, and wise.

I think that scoped conversations or assistive relational tools (prompted with relational wisdom and trauma-informed care) can leverage powerful healing and integration but much of AI and bot developmental is at risk of moving in ways that can powerfully heighten human suffering…

I’m proud to humbly walk the line between YAY! and GAH! 🙂 And I’m proud to be a part of a growing community of practitioners, researchers, and thought leaders who are tending to the terrain that is getting kicked up by AI use.

I’m a Featured Expert here : Mashable – “Everything You Need to Know about AI Companions”

I write these articles: Substack Series

I’m honored to be a part of: AI Mental Health Collective

You can anonymously share your chatlog and story here: The Human Line Project

Maybe this is you or your loved one? If so – reach out!

Deep Connection or Questions About AI Use?

Feeling genuinely connected to an AI companion (ChatGPT, Character.AI, Replika)
Wondering what’s healthy, what’s meaningful, what’s “too much”
Finding yourself thinking about conversations when you’re offline
Wanting to understand your experience without judgment

Mixed or Confusing Feelings After Interactions

Some conversations help, others leave you feeling worse
You are experiencing an unmet need for further conversation and human connection around content that arises in conversation – space to process further
You’re left feeling more alone despite the interaction or concerned that you might rely on AI more than human connection

Navigating Boundaries

Curious about where the “relationship” begins and ends
Hard to talk to friends or family about what you’re experiencing
Wondering how AI fits alongside your human relationships
Parents wanting to understand their teen’s chatbot connections

Questions About Self and Reality

Noticing shifts in how you think or feel after AI conversations
Feeling a little disconnected from people after spending time with AI
Just curious about how these interactions are shaping you or the current mental health landscape in general

Why I Do This Differently

I understand both the clinical psychology and the technical mechanics of these systems.

I’ve innovated and studied the impacts of conversation with Large Language Models.

I am passionate about honoring the nuance in how our needs are deeply met through resonant language, the wonderful gifts that AI can offer to mental health support when leveraged strategically, and also studying the potential impacts and drawbacks of conversational AI.

What We’ll Explore

What draws you to AI—and what you’re really seeking
How interactions affect your mood, relationships, and sense of self
Boundaries that feel right for you
Meeting emotional needs more fully with people
Scoping and sculpting your AI use through curated clinically-informed prompts

My approach: Warm, curious, trauma-informed, and grounded in real and nuanced understanding of how AI works.

For Parents

Worried about your teen’s chatbot use? I help families:

Understand what your child gains from these interactions
Create age-appropriate boundaries
Open conversations without breaking trust
Build healthy digital relationship skills

I’m also a parent. A child mental health specialist. I work with all ages. I’m a passionate and humble ally in family work. And I serve across all ages and needs. I refer for higher acuity support and partnership to ensure your needs are met.

Getting Started

Insurance: Most major plans through Headway – Texting Sessions are Private Pay Only
Location: Telehealth throughout Washington State

jocelynskillmanlmhc@gmail.com
Book through Headway

FAQ

Will you judge me? Heck No! I approach our connection with radical presence and humility.

Do I have to stop using AI? Heck no! Unless you want to! We’ll figure out what healthy engagement looks like for you!

Is this “serious enough” for therapy? Heck yes! If it’s bothering you, it’s worth exploring!

Can you help my teen?
Heck yes! I offer a warm, fun, shame-free, psychoeducational approach that honors family culture and rhythms. If you’re concerned about higher acuity mental health need (present risk of suicidality or self-harm – please know that I’ll likely refer to additional or alternate support depending on needs and history)

Recent Research on AI Companionship

Harvard Business Review (April 2025): Therapy and companionship is now the #1 use of generative AI, jumping from #2 in 2024 — Original HBR study
Nature Machine Intelligence (July 2025): Editorial highlighting that therapy and companion chatbots now top the list of AI uses, with rising cases of emotional dependence — Read article
Psychology Today (October 2025): Clinical analysis of how AI companionship has become a primary use case, examining both benefits and risks of this shift — Read article
ChatGPT Usage (2025): 700 million weekly users sending 2.5 billion messages daily, with 1.9% of conversations focused on relationships and personal reflection — representing tens of millions of relationship-focused interactions

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