Episode Details
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Are we turning to AI instead of real help for mental health?
Description
In this episode of Faith & Clarity, Dr. Mark Turman is joined by Dr. Katie Frugé and Dr. Ryan Denison for a timely roundtable conversation on mental health, cultural trends, and the search for hope.
They explore emerging challenges, from new forms of synthetic drug use to the growing reliance on AI chatbots for mental health support, highlighting both the risks and the deeper spiritual questions behind them. The conversation also addresses the limits of technology when it comes to caring for the soul and the increasing sense of hopelessness many are experiencing today.
Together, they offer a hopeful path forward, sharing practical ways to cultivate lasting hope through worship, community, healthy rhythms, and a renewed focus on God’s presence in everyday life.
Topics
(0:00) Introduction
(0:46) Meet the roundtable
(1:43) Paper drug threat
(6:38) Fear and gospel response
(14:45) Supply versus demand
(17:45) Chatbots and mental health
(22:14) Benefits and dangers of AI
(27:11) Human soul care matters
(31:07) AI and deeper healing
(35:22) Self-regulation lessons
(42:48) Defining hope simply
(46:51) Five practices for hope
(49:57) Applying hope personally
(56:47) Closing
Resources
- Crisis Hotline
- When a letter becomes lethal
- Evaluation of large language models on mental health: from knowledge test to illness diagnosis
- Large Language Models as Mental Health Resources: Patterns of Use in the United States
- Exploring the Dangers of AI in Mental Health Care
- How LLM Counselors Violate Ethical Standards in Mental Health Practice
- Far more Americans say they’d like to live in the past than in the future
- Dick Van Dyke and scientists tell us how to live longer
- Americans Predict Challenging 2026 Across 13 Dimensions
- This has never happened before on “American Idol”
- Why Some Men Struggle to Keep Up With Friendships
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About Dr. Katie Frugé
Katie Frugé, M.Div, Ph.D., serves over 5,000 Texas Baptist churches as the Director of the Christian Life Commission for the Baptist General Convention of