Brave and Well: Conversations helping mental health professionals build a sustainable, profitable & values-aligned business
How I Use AI as a CEO (Never as a Therapist)
Jun 23, 2026
Episode 39
Vanessa Newton
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There are biases baked into AI — the same biases we as therapists are trying to undo. So the topic of today's episode might land a little different coming from a therapist: AI. Vanessa is still a little skeptical, so she’s drawing a hard line between how she uses AI as a CEO and where she refuses to let it anywhere near client care. What she wants you to take from this episode is that AI is a tool, not a team member.
Tune in to hear about:
- Why Vanessa is still a little skeptical of AI
- The hard boundary: no AI in clinical work, treatment planning, or client data
- Fears around replacing human connection, confidentiality, bias baked into these tools, and the slippery slope into clinical judgment
- Using Claude as a CEO for cash flow clarity, payroll, and a full picture of where her practice stands
- Drafting emails, building hiring systems, and reading contracts in plain English instead of losing hours to admin
- Connecting Claude with her other tools (Asana, Slack, Notion, and Google Drive) to keep her business organized
- Why he never outsources her own discernment — and why she still runs everything through her team, her CFO, and her husband
- Why this is about getting back the margin to be present with her family and herself
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How I Use AI as a CEO (Never as a Therapist)
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