we'd finally agreed to try counseling after months of talking past each other. on the morning of the appointment, she told me she'd canceled because an ai assistant could provide the same advice for free
i suggested the assistant might be useful for journaling and preparation, but i wanted a person who could hear both of us and recognize when we were avoiding questions
she asked the chatbot to compare couples therapy with self-guided exercises. its answer was more balanced than either of us expected. she looked annoyed that her chosen expert wasn't fully on her side
we rescheduled the appointment. on the drive there she asked whether we should tell the therapist about our argument over replacing the therapist. i said it was probably an excellent place to start