Free Interactive Guide for Therapists

Is AI Actually Bad for the Environment?
(See the Real Numbers for Yourself)

An interactive guide that answers the question with actual data - then gives you the ethical framework to use AI in your practice with total confidence.

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Sound Familiar?

You Care About Doing This Right. That's Exactly Why You're Hesitating.

You've been hearing about AI tools that can cut your note-writing time in half, automate intake paperwork, and free up hours in your week. And honestly? Part of you is intrigued.

But before you dive in, a few doubts surface. What about the environmental impact? You've read headlines about data centers consuming enormous amounts of energy. You care about the planet. The last thing you want is to build your practice around a tool that conflicts with your values.

So you do what thoughtful clinicians do: you pause and ask the question. Is this actually okay?

That question deserves a real answer - with actual numbers, from actual studies. Not vague reassurances. Not tech-industry spin. Real data you can evaluate yourself.

And once you have that answer? There are a few more questions worth asking. Questions that will determine whether you're using AI in a way that's safe for your clients, your license, and your practice. I've built a simple framework around those questions too.

That's what this guide is. Let's start with the numbers.

A Taste of What's Inside

You Already Know How Much Energy These Things Use.
Now Add AI to the List.

The guide includes a slider you can drag through 10 everyday activities - and see exactly how many ChatGPT queries use the same energy. Here's a preview:

☕

Brewing a K-Cup Coffee

37 Wh

= ~123 ChatGPT queries

📺

30 Min Netflix on TV

72 Wh

= 240 ChatGPT queries

🚘

10-Mile Drive (One Way)

11,200 Wh

= ~37,333 ChatGPT queries

0.3 Wh

That's how much energy one typical ChatGPT query uses - based on Epoch AI research published February 2025. Longer inputs (like pasting full session notes) cost more - but even at the high end, you're still well below a single phone charge. Scroll through all 10 comparisons in the interactive guide to see the full picture.

Plus: one more number that will reframe how you think about AI in your telehealth practice entirely.

What's Inside the Guide

Everything You Need to Answer the Question
and Move Forward with Confidence

▶ Interactive Energy Comparison Slider

Drag through 10 everyday activities and see how many ChatGPT queries use the same energy. Coffee, Netflix, phone charging, a car commute, and more. Real numbers you can actually visualize.

▶ Peer-Reviewed Research, Plainly Explained

Every number in the guide is sourced. Epoch AI's February 2025 energy analysis. npj Digital Medicine's telehealth carbon study. No vague claims - just data you can read, cite, and trust.

▶ The Telehealth Angle You Haven't Considered

A telehealth session produces 0.04 kg CO2. An in-person visit? Up to 20 kg. Your telehealth practice is already doing something remarkable for the environment. The guide shows you why this matters.

▶ The Ethical AI Checklist for Therapists

Once the environmental concern is off your plate, here are the questions that actually matter: privacy, HIPAA, clinical judgment, and scope. A 5-item framework for evaluating any AI tool before you add it to your practice.

This Is for You If...

You're a Thoughtful Clinician Who Wants Real Answers

✓ You've wondered whether the environmental cost of AI is something you should factor into your practice decisions - and you want the actual data to make up your own mind.
✓ You're curious about AI tools for your practice but haven't fully committed yet because you want to do this thoughtfully, not impulsively.
✓ You care deeply about ethics - HIPAA, clinical boundaries, client confidentiality - and you want a simple framework for evaluating new tools through that lens.
✓ You're tired of vague reassurances and want something concrete you can actually read, digest, and share with colleagues.
✓ You practice telehealth and want to understand the full picture of what that already means for your environmental footprint - spoiler: it's good news.
✓ You don't consider yourself a tech person, and you need all of this in plain language without a single acronym you'll need to Google later.

Still on the Fence?

Questions I Hear From Therapists All the Time

"I've seen headlines about AI using massive amounts of energy. Why should I believe it's fine?"

Those headlines aren't wrong - large AI training runs are energy-intensive. But the guide focuses on inference (actually using AI tools), which is a completely different scale. The numbers in this guide come from peer-reviewed research, not tech PR. Read them and decide for yourself.

"I'm not worried about the environment - I'm worried about HIPAA and my license."

Perfect - then skip straight to Part 3. The Ethical AI Checklist was built specifically for licensed therapists and covers exactly those concerns: client data, BAAs, clinical judgment, and scope of practice. It's 5 questions you can work through in under 10 minutes.

"I'm not tech-savvy at all. Is this going to go over my head?"

This guide was written for clinicians, not engineers. No jargon, no formulas. Just real comparisons - the kind you already understand intuitively. If you know what it means to charge your phone, you can follow every number in this guide.

"Can't I just Google this instead of opting in?"

You can, but you'll spend a few hours sifting through conflicting articles without a clear framework for what it means for your specific practice. This guide does that work for you - and the Ethical AI Checklist is something I built specifically for therapists, which you won't find via a search.

"Is this going to try to sell me something?"

Nope. This is a free guide, full stop. Yes, I have paid programs (Clinical AI Club and TheraAI Hub), and yes, I'll mention them in future emails - but only because they're relevant, and you can unsubscribe anytime. The guide itself exists because therapists deserve good information, not a sales funnel disguised as education.

"My colleagues are skeptical of AI. Will this help me talk to them about it?"

Yes - that's one of the most common ways therapists use this guide. The comparison data gives you specific, source-backed numbers to share in conversations. "One ChatGPT query uses the same energy as charging your phone for 2 seconds" lands very differently than "AI isn't that bad."

📚

Your Guide

Hi, I'm Kym Tolson, LCSW

I'm a licensed clinical social worker who has been in private practice for over 15 years - and for the last several years, I've been running that practice while traveling full-time. Which means I've had to think carefully about every tool I use, including AI.

I'm not a tech evangelist. I didn't build this guide to sell you on AI. I built it because therapists kept asking me the environmental question, and I wanted to give them something better than a shrug or a vague "it's probably fine." You deserve actual data. And you deserve a framework for what comes next.

I'm also the creator of Clinical AI Club, TheraAI Hub, the Portable Practice Method, and the host of two podcasts: The Traveling Therapist and Run Your Private Practice with AI. I've spent years helping clinicians build practices that give them more freedom - and right now, that work is deeply connected to helping therapists use AI thoughtfully and well.

LCSW - 15+ years in practice
Creator of Clinical AI Club
TheraAI Hub founder
The Traveling Therapist Podcast - 4.9★
Run Your Practice with AI Podcast - 5.0★
14,000+ member community

Yes, It's Completely Free

Get the Interactive Guide and See the Numbers for Yourself

Real energy data. A visual comparison tool. The telehealth carbon finding. And a practical ethical framework to move forward with confidence. All in one free, interactive guide built for therapists.

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P.S. - The therapists in my community who hesitate the longest before adding AI to their practices are almost always the most thoughtful ones. That's a feature, not a bug. This guide is specifically for you - because you deserve answers, not pressure. Grab it, read it at your own pace, and decide what feels right for your practice. That's all I'm asking.

Is AI Actually Bad for the Environment?(See the Real Numbers for Yourself)