As we reach the end of the year, many of us are reflecting not just on our caseloads or outcomes, but on how much our daily practice has shifted. 2025 was not the year AI took over therapy. Instead, it was the year AI quietly settled into our workflows and pushed us as clinicians to become more intentional about protecting clinical judgment while embracing useful innovation.
From speech therapy and mental health to teletherapy platforms, AI moved from experimental to practical. What matters now is how we, as therapists, choose to use it.
AI This Year From Hype to Real Clinical Use
One of the most noticeable changes in 2025 is how AI tools are being designed around clinicians rather than instead of them. Platforms such as Wysa, particularly through clinician supported tools like Wysa Copilot, reflect this shift. These systems are no longer simple chatbots. They now function as structured supports that help maintain therapeutic continuity between sessions while keeping clinicians in control.
From our own testing and use, the value has not been in AI talking to clients, but in how it supports reflection, homework follow through, and emotional regulation between sessions. Clients arrive more prepared, and sessions feel less like a restart and more like a continuation.
Speech and Language Practice Where AI Truly Helps
In speech and language therapy, AI had its strongest impact this year in practice intensity and consistency. AI assisted articulation and voice practice tools now offer more accurate feedback and structured repetition that is difficult to achieve consistently between teletherapy sessions.
We have used these tools as practice partners rather than assessors. They help us collect clearer data and observe patterns over time, while interpretation remains human. Their strength lies in freeing our cognitive space so we can focus on planning, adapting, and responding within sessions.
Accessibility and Reach A Quiet Win
Another important development this year has been the expansion of AI driven therapy platforms into additional languages and regions. Tools like Constant Therapy expanding into multiple languages signal something important. AI can reduce access barriers without lowering clinical standards.
For teletherapy, this has translated into better carryover, more culturally relevant practice materials, and stronger engagement outside live sessions.
Voice Based AI and Emotional Signals Used With Caution
2025 also brought increased attention to voice based AI tools that analyze speech patterns for emotional or mental health signals. Tools such as Kintsugi and Ellipsis Health are often mentioned in this context.
From our experience, these tools work best as signals rather than answers. In teletherapy, where subtle cues can be harder to detect, they can guide deeper clinical questioning. They do not diagnose, and they should never replace observation, clinical interviews, or professional judgment.
Ethics and Regulation Took Center Stage
This year also reminded us that innovation without boundaries is risky. Increased regulation around AI use in therapy particularly related to crisis detection, consent, and transparency has been a necessary step.
As clinicians, this aligns with what we already practice. Therapeutic work requires accountability, clarity, and human responsibility. AI must remain secondary to the therapeutic relationship.
How We Are Using AI Going Forward
As we close the year, these principles guide our clinical use of AI.
We use AI to reduce administrative and cognitive load rather than replace thinking.
We choose tools grounded in clinical logic and therapeutic models.
We remain transparent with clients and families about AI use.
We treat AI outputs as supportive data rather than clinical decisions.
When used this way, AI becomes an ally rather than a distraction.
Looking Ahead
If 2025 was the year of testing and learning, the year ahead will likely focus on refinement. We expect clearer standards, better clinician informed design, and deeper conversations around ethics, inclusion, and sustainability.
Most importantly, we expect the focus to return again and again to what matters most. Human connection, clinical reasoning, and ethical care.
AI will continue to evolve. Our role as therapists remains unchanged. We interpret. We adapt. We connect.