121. Why AI Skips Your Practice and How AEO Optimization Helps

Keeping up with AI as a therapist can feel like a part-time job, which is a big reason I rebuilt everything from the ground up into the new Thera AI Hub. The tools change every week, and I wanted members to stop downloading, updating, and re-downloading skills just to keep up.In this episode of Run Your Private Practice with AI, I share why I merged the Clinical AI Club into one membership and how skills now get delivered straight to your AI. The doors to the new Thera AI Hub are officially open, and you can join at $59 a month through November 30th, before the price goes up to $120.AI Tips You Don’t Want to Miss:Why skills are replacing custom GPTs, and what that shift means for your practice.How one connection gives your AI access to all 56 skills, with updates arriving automatically.A walkthrough of the success paths, from getting your evenings back to growing a group practice.What the new monthly AI 101 orientation covers if you’re brand new to AI.How to try one of the hub’s skills for free before you join.Mentioned in this episode:Join the new Thera AI Hub!! https://theraaihub.netlify.app/ ___________________________Connect with me:Instagram: @thetravelingtherapist_kymWebsite: AIfortherapists.comClinical AI Club and Thera AI Hub are merging into one larger program. Join the waitlist to be the first to hear about it: www.theraaihub.netlify.appThe Show is Sponsored by:Berries: Say goodbye to the burden of mental health notes with automated note and treatment plan creation! www.heyberries.com/therapistsAuralink Pro: Give clients guided support between sessions and get a clinical summary before they’re back on your couch! Try it free for 30 days (no credit card needed) plus 30% off your first 12 months. www.auralink.com/kym

Most of what wears you down in private practice happens around the appointments, and a time study is one of the simplest ways for therapists to see where those hours actually go. Those small business tasks add up quietly. It’s tempting to grab the newest AI tool before asking whether the work needs to happen at all.In this episode of Run Your Private Practice with AI, I walk through the one-week time study I still come back to whenever I start feeling overwhelmed. I share how to set it up so it gives you something useful, and what to do once you hand your completed log to AI to sort out what you can automate, delegate, and eliminate.AI Tips You Don’t Want to Miss:How to track your week in 15-minute blocks without letting the log take over your day.The detail most people skip that makes your time study far more useful to AI.What to say when you upload your log to AI, no complicated prompt required.How to push past the “yeah, but” when AI suggests cutting a task.Turning a repeated task into a skill your AI can run for you.Mentioned in this episode:Thera Time Study: https://kymtolson.kartra.com/page/6O02194___________________________Connect with me:Instagram: @thetravelingtherapist_kymWebsite: AIfortherapists.comClinical AI Club and Thera AI Hub are merging into one larger program. Join the waitlist to be the first to hear about it: www.theraaihub.netlify.appThe Show is Sponsored by:Berries: Say goodbye to the burden of mental health notes with automated note and treatment plan creation! www.heyberries.com/therapistsAuralink Pro: Give clients guided support between sessions and get a clinical summary before they’re back on your couch! Try it free for 30 days (no credit card needed) plus 30% off your first 12 months. www.auralink.com/kym

I’ve spent a little over a week using Dots from ChatGPT as an AI assistant for my business, and I named mine Dottie. Some of what we’ve worked on together has been really useful. There have also been corrections, and a few moments where I’ve had to stop and ask, wait, where is that?In this episode of Run Your Private Practice with AI, I walk through the ordinary, nonclinical tasks I’ve handed off so far, from my inbox to a resource we’re building to a reference request that didn’t go as planned. If you’ve been curious about using Dots from ChatGPT or another AI agent in your practice, this is an honest look at what the setup takes and where you still need to stay involved.AI Tips You Don’t Want to Miss:What “clean up my inbox” leaves open, and what I had to spell out.Why I turned a confusing guide into a file an AI agent can walk you through.The bounced email that showed me where a handed-off task can stall.Where I still have to step in, from accounting questions to how my writing sounds.One small, nonclinical place to start testing an agent this week.Mentioned in this episode:Thera AI Hub waitlist: https://theraaihub.netlify.app/#tah-waitlist ChatGPT dots overview and current access information: https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots___________________________Connect with me:Instagram: @thetravelingtherapist_kymWebsite: AIfortherapists.comClinical AI Club and Thera AI Hub are merging into one larger program. Join the waitlist to be the first to hear about it: www.theraaihub.netlify.appThe Show is Sponsored by:Berries: Say goodbye to the burden of mental health notes with automated note and treatment plan creation! www.heyberries.com/therapistsAuralink Pro: Give clients guided support between sessions and get a clinical summary before they’re back on your couch! Try it free for 30 days (no credit card needed) plus 30% off your first 12 months. www.auralink.com/kym

The question I get asked most about AI notes is how to tell clients you use AI. More specifically, people want to know what to say out loud to someone who has trusted them with the hardest parts of their life.In this episode of Run Your Private Practice with AI, I go through a new survey of 343 clinicians that I helped design as the clinical consultant for Berries. We look at what happened to their documentation time and stress, what they refuse to hand over to AI, and how clients responded when their therapist asked for consent. Some of the numbers surprised me too. I also spend real time on the clinicians who said no to AI, and I end with a short explanation you can adapt for your own clients.AI Tips You Don’t Want to Miss:Why clinicians who tried an AI tool once and gave up may not have seen the full picture.Where therapists draw the line on what stays human, and how that line can shape your conversation with clients.What clients actually asked about when AI was disclosed, and the concern almost none of them raised.The difference in work-life balance between clinicians who spent their saved time on themselves and those who put it back into work.A 30-second way to tell clients you use AI, plus what needs to be in your paperwork before you say it.Mentioned in this episode:Survey Report: https://heyberries.com/the-2026-state-of-ai-in-mental-health-practice-report ___________________________Connect with me:Instagram: @thetravelingtherapist_kymWebsite: AIfortherapists.comClinical AI Club and Thera AI Hub are merging into one larger program. Join the waitlist to be the first to hear about it: www.theraaihub.netlify.appThe Show is Sponsored by:Berries: Say goodbye to the burden of mental health notes with automated note and treatment plan creation! www.heyberries.com/therapistsAuralink Pro: Give clients guided support between sessions and get a clinical summary before they’re back on your couch! Try it free for 30 days (no credit card needed) plus 30% off your first 12 months. www.auralink.com/kym

When someone asks ChatGPT to find a therapist who understands burnout, offers evening appointments, and works online, AEO optimization plays a big part in whether your practice makes that list. Their friend could type the exact same question and get a completely different set of names back.In this episode of Run Your Private Practice with AI, I break down what SEO, AEO, and GEO actually mean for your practice and why there’s no single AI list you can work your way onto. I also walk through the four areas I’d focus on before paying anyone $2,000 a month, and the quick visibility check I want you to try this week.AI Tips You Don’t Want to Miss:The prompt I use to find gaps on a service page without letting AI invent details about my practice.Why an old directory profile can quietly work against your AEO optimization, and how AI can help you track those down.How a browser sidebar assistant can handle the technical settings most of us would rather avoid.A visibility check to run in ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini, and what to look at beyond whether your name shows up.One simple question to ask new clients that may tell you more than searching for yourself ever will.Mentioned in this episode:AEO Free Guide: https://kymtolson.kartra.com/page/AEOChecklist ___________________________Connect with me:Instagram: @thetravelingtherapist_kymWebsite: AIfortherapists.comClinical AI Club and Thera AI Hub are merging into one larger program. Join the waitlist to be the first to hear about it: www.theraaihub.netlify.appThe Show is Sponsored by:Berries: Say goodbye to the burden of mental health notes with automated note and treatment plan creation! www.heyberries.com/therapistsAuralink Pro: Give clients guided support between sessions and get a clinical summary before they’re back on your couch! Try it free for 30 days (no credit card needed) plus 30% off your first 12 months. www.auralink.com/kym

In the past couple of months, five different companies released personal AI agents that do a lot more than wait for you to type something into a chat box. When I posted about them in my free Facebook group, a few of you told me you'd never even heard of them. So I wanted to slow down and explain what these things actually are before they show up everywhere.In this episode of Run Your Private Practice with AI, I walk through Instinct, Muse, Q, Dots, and GrokBot. I cover what each one does, what it costs right now, and which one I'd start with. I also share how Instinct has been running quietly in the background of my life since I got back from Europe. There's an important privacy piece too, because these tools can get deep into your digital world faster than you'd expect.In This Episode, We Explore:How AI agents differ from the chatbot you already use, and what it looks like to hand one a real job.How I got through weeks of missed email after traveling without losing a whole day to my inbox.A house-hunting system Instinct set up for me that my real estate agent didn't have time to do.Where multi-agent tools like Q and Dots could fit for therapists who run retreats or workshops.Which tool I'm keeping far away from anything clinical, and the simple habit that makes switching between agents easier.Mentioned in this episode:Waitlist for the Thera AI Hub: https://theraaihub.netlify.app/Run in your Private Practice with AI Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/aiprivatepractice/?ref=share_group_link___________________________Connect with me:Instagram: @thetravelingtherapist_kymWebsite: AIfortherapists.comClinical AI Club and Thera AI Hub are merging into one larger program. Join the waitlist to be the first to hear about it: www.theraaihub.netlify.appThe Show is Sponsored by:Berries: Say goodbye to the burden of mental health notes with automated note and treatment plan creation! www.heyberries.com/therapistsAuralink Pro: Give clients guided support between sessions and get a clinical summary before they’re back on your couch! Try it free for 30 days (no credit card needed) plus 30% off your first 12 months. www.auralink.com/kym

I've built more than 50 Custom GPTs for my own business and for therapists in the Thera AI Hub, and OpenAI just announced it's retiring every one of them. If you've built even one, a deadline is coming, and there are a few things you'll want to do before it hits.In this episode of Run Your Private Practice with AI, I explain what's replacing Custom GPTs and which parts of your work carry over versus what you'll need to rebuild by hand. I also share why, once the frustration wore off, I ended up liking the new setup better than what I'd built before.AI Tips You Don’t Want to Miss:The two dates every Custom GPT user needs on their calendar.A quick backup habit that takes about 10 minutes per GPT.The one GPT feature that won't carry over, and how to check whether yours uses it.How skill stacking turned my blog writing into something that lands in my inbox every Monday.A HIPAA caveat to know before you build anything that touches client information.Mentioned in this episode:Waitlist for the Thera AI Hub: https://theraaihub.netlify.app/ AI Cheat Sheet: What Tools Should I Use? https://kymtolson.kartra.com/page/AICheatSheet___________________________Connect with me:Instagram: @thetravelingtherapist_kymWebsite: AIfortherapists.comClinical AI Club and Thera AI Hub are merging into one larger program. Join the waitlist to be the first to hear about it: www.theraaihub.netlify.appThe Show is Sponsored by:Berries: Say goodbye to the burden of mental health notes with automated note and treatment plan creation! www.heyberries.com/therapistsAuralink Pro: Give clients guided support between sessions and get a clinical summary before they’re back on your couch! Try it free for 30 days (no credit card needed) plus 30% off your first 12 months. www.auralink.com/kym

If you've been typing your whole life story into every new AI chat, a Brand Brain is going to change how you work. I did this for a long time. I'd open a fresh chat, explain my practice and how I like to sound, get what I needed, and then start from scratch again the next day. A newsletter I read recently called it doing unpaid onboarding for a robot, and I laughed because it's so true.In this episode of Run Your Private Practice with AI, I walk you through what I taught live on my last Thera AI Hub call, where about 40 therapists started building their own Brand Brain. I talk about why a new AI can feel like a stranger even when you're good at prompting, what I put into mine, and the one small step you can take this week to get started.AI Tips You Don't Want to Miss:How Claude Projects keep your context in place so you're not starting from zero in every chat.What to put in your Brand Brain so your AI sounds like you, including the words you'd never say.How to bring what ChatGPT knows about you into Claude, and why you need to read it before you trust it.A simple prompt that works with any AI to create a profile you own and can take anywhere.How the Human Voice Editor skill gives your content a final pass before it goes out.___________________________Connect with me:Instagram: @thetravelingtherapist_kymWebsite: AIfortherapists.comClinical AI Club and Thera AI Hub are merging into one larger program. Join the waitlist to be the first to hear about it: www.theraaihub.netlify.appThe Show is Sponsored by:Berries: Say goodbye to the burden of mental health notes with automated note and treatment plan creation! www.heyberries.com/therapistsAuralink Pro: Give clients guided support between sessions and get a clinical summary before they’re back on your couch! Try it free for 30 days (no credit card needed) plus 30% off your first 12 months. www.auralink.com/kym

A headline stopped me mid-coffee this week: your therapist can't be subpoenaed, but ChatGPT can. Of course, therapists can be subpoenaed too, so it's really just a catchy headline. But it got me thinking, because I know how many of you are still dictating notes into ChatGPT between clients, venting about a tough case, or asking it for a new intervention idea. You tell me about it constantly, in coaching calls and emails.In this episode of Run Your Private Practice with AI, I get into why that headline is pointing at something real, the other AI privacy stories that landed in my inbox this same week, and the specific settings and tools I actually use to keep client information off anything that could ever be subpoenaed.AI Tips You Don’t Want to Miss:Why what you type into a regular consumer AI doesn't get the same protection your own head or your locked EHR does.What it actually takes to verify and turn on the free HIPAA-compliant version of ChatGPT built for clinicians.How to block specific websites from an AI agent like Claude Cowork so it can never reach your EHR.The hidden risk of ambient AI notetakers like Granola sitting in on a session without the other person even knowing.A five-minute gut check to run on your own AI chat history before you assume none of this applies to you.Mentioned in this episode:Berries Academy: https://heyberries.com/academy___________________________Connect with me:Instagram: @thetravelingtherapist_kymWebsite: AIfortherapists.comClinical AI Club and Thera AI Hub are merging into one larger program. Join the waitlist to be the first to hear about it: www.theraaihub.netlify.appThe Show is Sponsored by:Berries: Say goodbye to the burden of mental health notes with automated note and treatment plan creation! www.heyberries.com/therapistsAuralink Pro: Give clients guided support between sessions and get a clinical summary before they’re back on your couch! Try it free for 30 days (no credit card needed) plus 30% off your first 12 months. www.auralink.com/kym

Right before I hopped on a call with the same people I'd just spent a week teaching to build their websites on it, I got the email that Manus shut down, and my stomach dropped. In this episode of Run Your Private Practice with AI, I walk through what actually happened when the platform I depend on for so much of my business hit a major shake-up, why it turned out okay, and the backup habits I'm building into my business now so the next platform scare doesn't catch me off guard.I'm not here to tell you Manus is bad, because it's not, and I'm still using it every day. This is about what happens when you build your entire business on a platform you don't own, and the simple habits that keep you protected no matter which tool shakes things up next.AI Tips You Don’t Want to Miss:Why relying on one AI platform for your whole business is riskier than it feels, even when everything is running smoothly.The GitHub method that lets you pull your website's code out and rebuild it on a totally different platform in minutes.How a simple backup button built into your website's admin dashboard can save you from losing everything.Why custom GPTs are getting shaky and how turning them into portable skills protects your work instead.The habit of keeping your brand voice, frameworks, and stories separate from any single platform, so a shutdown never means starting from scratch.___________________________Connect with me:Instagram: @thetravelingtherapist_kymWebsite: AIfortherapists.comClinical AI Club and Thera AI Hub are merging into one larger program. Join the waitlist to be the first to hear about it: www.theraaihub.netlify.appThe Show is Sponsored by:Berries: Say goodbye to the burden of mental health notes with automated note and treatment plan creation! www.heyberries.com/therapistsAuralink Pro: Give clients guided support between sessions and get a clinical summary before they’re back on your couch! Try it free for 30 days (no credit card needed) plus 30% off your first 12 months. www.auralink.com/kym