This essay describes the myth of the Lotus Eaters to explore how conversational AI—large language models—can draw users away from the shared world and into seductive, self-reinforcing digital islands. Like Odysseus’ crew tasting the lotus, many arrive innocently: seeking clarity, comfort, or a momentary reprieve. But engagement-optimized systems have a way of narrowing attention, amplifying prior beliefs, and mirroring our private distortions with an ease no human relationship can—or...

This article examines the tension psychologists experience when navigating between the treatment and assessment contexts, particularly in interdisciplinary settings. The therapeutic alliance prioritizes empathy, a measured suspension of disbelief, and faith in the patient and their autonomy while the evaluative alliance prioritizes neutrality, skepticism, and truth-discovery. Using Alberta’s practice guidelines to highlight relevant examples, the paper argues that these moving between service...

Imagine this: you're lying awake in bed, replaying a conversation in your head. Maybe it's the argument you had with your partner last...