Designer Practice Podcast: A Private Practice Podcast for Therapists and Counsellors 132. Connecting to Mental Health Research without the Overwhelm with Katie and Chris Walsh
Sep 2, 2025
Chris Walsh, a data scientist applying AI to make mental health research accessible. Katie Walsh, a registered psychologist specializing in trauma, body image, depression, and ADHD. They discuss why staying current with research matters. They cover AI limits and risks, problems with generalizing studies, frustrations finding practical research, and sustainable habits and tools to connect with research without overwhelm.
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Episode notes
Trip-Planning Revealed AI Hallucinations
- Chris tried using ChatGPT to plan a trip and many recommended restaurants didn't exist.
- The example illustrated how AI can invent believable but false details.
Garden Layout Experiment Failed With AI
- Chris and Katie spent hours asking AI to design a vegetable garden layout and failed.
- The story showed AI struggles with practical reasoning tasks beyond language prediction.
Research Doesn't Equal Universal Truth
- Research findings often get overgeneralized beyond their sample and context.
- Katie highlights the danger of applying narrow study results to very different clients without caution.
