For a growing segment of the American workforce, career anxiety has evolved beyond traditional concerns about performance evaluations or potential layoffs. A new and more insidious source of stress has emerged—one that is difficult to quantify and even harder to escape. That source is artificial intelligence.
Therapy Sessions Filled with AI Fears
According to a recent CNBC investigation, mental health professionals across the United States are witnessing a significant uptick in clients bringing AI-related anxieties into therapy sessions. Workers are expressing a wide spectrum of concerns, ranging from concrete fears of job loss to more abstract worries about their professional skills becoming irrelevant—and even their entire career identity losing meaning.
"I've had clients lose their jobs due to AI, and it's something we've processed in our sessions," shared Emma Kobil, a trauma counselor based in Denver, in her conversation with CNBC. She noted that many of her patients experience profound "shock, disbelief and fear about navigating a changing career landscape where their skills are no longer needed."
Widespread Worry About Obsolescence
This professional unease is becoming increasingly commonplace. Data from a July 2025 survey by the American Psychological Association, cited in the CNBC report, reveals that more than a third of workers—specifically 38%—express concern that artificial intelligence will render some or all of their job duties outdated.
For therapists observing this trend, the emotional responses follow a strikingly consistent pattern. "What I hear most often is a fear of becoming obsolete," explained Harvey Lieberman, a clinical psychologist practicing in New York. He told CNBC that as AI technology advances, individuals begin to fundamentally question "their judgment, their choices or their future."
When Job Loss Feels Existential
Displacement caused by artificial intelligence often carries a heavier psychological burden than traditional layoffs. Losing a position to technological automation can feel less like a standard business decision and more like a personal indictment of one's value and usefulness.
"It may feel as if the universe is saying, 'You are no longer needed,'" said Ben Yalom, a psychotherapist from San Diego, in the CNBC report. He elaborated that this experience "goes deeply into questions of personal value," making it significantly more destabilizing than conventional corporate downsizing.
The Data Behind the Dread
The statistics substantiate why these fears feel so tangible and immediate. According to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas referenced by CNBC, AI was a contributing factor in nearly 55,000 layoffs across the United States in 2025. Furthermore, a recent MIT study concluded that artificial intelligence is already capable of replacing approximately 11% of the current U.S. labor market.
Major corporations are openly acknowledging this workforce transformation. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff stated that his company released 4,000 customer support workers after AI began handling roughly half of that department's workload. Other firms like Accenture and Lufthansa have also pointed to AI integration as a component of recent restructuring efforts, per the CNBC report.
For employees caught in this transitional period, the ambiguity can be psychologically exhausting—particularly when companies are not transparent about whether AI influenced staffing decisions. "They are left in a gray zone that magnifies anxiety and self-doubt," Lieberman observed.
A Career Crisis and a Moment for Reflection
Riana Elyse Anderson, a licensed clinical psychologist and associate professor at Columbia University, succinctly captured the emotional fallout in the CNBC report: "People don't know where they fit into this new society."
For generations, clear professional pathways—such as learning to code, entering the technology sector, or climbing the corporate ladder—offered a sense of stability and predictability. That assurance now feels considerably more fragile.
However, therapists also identify a potential opportunity hidden within this disruption. "Our society is changing quickly," Kobil noted. "Allow yourself to grieve and comfort the parts of you that feel shocked, hopeless and afraid right now."
Anderson encourages workers to temporarily pause the frantic search for a single "future-proof" career. Instead, she advises a period of broader self-reflection. "Do some inventory," she suggested. "Maybe at this time, take stock of who you are."
For some individuals, this introspection may lead to decisions like returning to formal education or pivoting to a different industry. For others, the key lies in decoupling their sense of self from their job title. "You are so much more than your work," Kobil emphasized, reminding her clients that while skills—like human bodies—naturally evolve over time, core self-worth should not diminish alongside them.
Regaining a Sense of Control
While anxiety in the face of AI advancement is understandable, mental health professionals caution against surrendering to despair. "Learning enough about AI to understand where it genuinely alters work, and where it does not, often restores a sense of agency," Lieberman explained in the CNBC report.
Career coach Rhiannon Batchelder reinforced this perspective, noting that many employees are already being tasked with helping to automate portions of their own roles. In such an environment, she argued, acquiring basic AI literacy can be an empowering step. "For most workers, understanding the basics of AI will be an asset," Batchelder told CNBC. "During times of uncertainty, information is always powerful."
A Human Response to Technological Change
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the professional world, the therapists interviewed by CNBC concur on a fundamental point: the fear is real, it is rational, and it is profoundly human. The contemporary challenge extends beyond merely helping workers adapt to new technologies. It involves guiding them through a redefinition of what it means to be valuable and relevant in an economic landscape that is evolving at an unprecedented pace.
