Where Support Lives
A whole-life check-in on where people turn for care
Most of us are already taking care of ourselves with whatever is within reach. A good night of sleep, or not. A friend who texts back. A group chat, a favorite podcast, a scroll before bed. And more and more often, an AI chatbot at 2 a.m.
This check-in looks at the whole picture, gently and without judgment. Use it at intake, with longtime clients, or on yourself. Take your time. Skip anything that doesn't fit.
What's inside
- Rest
How have you been sleeping lately? What helps you rest, and what tends to get in the way?
- Nourishment
Are you able to eat regularly most days? What makes that easier or harder right now?
- Screens and social media
Which apps or accounts do you reach for most? How do you usually feel when you put your phone down?
- People
Who do you reach out to when something is hard? And who reaches out to you?
- Belonging
Where do you feel like you belong right now? A team, a faith community, a class, a group chat, an online space, anywhere.
- AI and chatbots
Do you ever talk with an AI chatbot (like ChatGPT, Claude, or another app) about how you're feeling or what's going on? If so, what do you usually go to it for, and how do you feel afterward?
No wrong answers here. Lots of people do, and it can really help.
- AI and chatbots
Is there anything you've talked through with AI that you haven't shared with a person yet?
- From the chat to a real person
AI can work like a talk-out-loud journal. It can help you sort out what you're feeling and find the words. What have you figured out that you'd want to bring to someone in your life, or to your therapist?
Thinking it through with AI is a good first step. Saying it to a person who cares about you is the next one.
- The whole picture
Looking at all of this, what's helping most right now? Where would you like a little more support?
Every kind of support tells us something. The point isn't to judge it, just to see the whole picture clearly.
For therapists. If you're using this with a client, ask about AI the same way you'd ask about sleep or social media: curious, not alarmed. Ask everyone, not just young people. Most people won't mention a chatbot unless we ask. If they are using it, get curious about what it's helping with and what it might be standing in for. You can even invite them to bring what they worked out with AI into session. Support changes over time, so it's worth coming back to this every few months.