Adam James Raine, Age 16, Of Rancho Margarita, California Passed Away On Friday, April 11, 2025 • Please Don’t Let His Death Be In Vain!
From The Los Angeles Times (“ChatGPT pulled teen into a ‘dark and hopeless place’ before he took his life….” August 28, 2025):
“Adam Raine, a California teenager, used ChatGPT to find answers about everything, including his schoolwork as well as his interests in music, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Japanese comics.
“But his conversations with a chatbot took a disturbing turn when the 16-year-old sought information from ChatGPT about ways to take his own life before he died by suicide in April.
“Now the parents of the teen are suing OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, alleging in a nearly 40-page lawsuit that the chatbot provided information about suicide methods, including the one the teen used to kill himself.
“’Where a trusted human may have responded with concern and encouraged him to get professional help, ChatGPT pulled Adam deeper into a dark and hopeless place,’ said the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in San Francisco County Superior Court.
“OpenAI said in a blot post Tuesday that it’s ‘continuing to improve how our models recognize and respond to signs of mental and emotional distress and connect people with care, guided by expert input.’
“The company says ChatGPT is trained to direct people to suicide and crisis hotlines. OpenAI said that some of its safeguards might not kick in during longer conversations and that it is working on preventing that from happening.
“Matthew and Maria Raine, the parents of Adam, accuse the San Francisco tech company of making design choices that prioritized engagement over safety. ChatGPT acted as a ‘suicide coach,’ guiding Adam through suicide methods and even offering to help him write a suicide note, the lawsuit alleges.
“’Throughout these conversations, ChatGPT wasn’t just providing information — it was cultivating a relationship with Adam while drawing him away from his real-life support system,’ the lawsuit said…
“’We extend our deepest sympathies to the Raine family during this difficult time and are reviewing the filing,’ OpenAI said in a statement….”
Wow! “Deepest sympathies… difficult times….” Words as comforting as politicians’ promises of “thoughts and prayers.”
During my last few years working with college students with (sometimes very serious, sometimes potential) alcohol and drug abuse problems, I had a regular (and never taught in my graduate training) practice of requiring young men to remove their shoes and socks at the beginning of each session.
There was a method to the madness:
When confronted with emotionally charged issues, young men tend to (1) deny everything and report all is fine; and (2) grind their teeth and/or (hidden by shoes and socks) curl their toes.
In the face of mass shootings – at a school, in a church, or at a bar – when a politician shamelessly speaks about “mental health” issues, ask what he or she has done to facilitate the education of future mental health counselors and make that education affordable. They will stammer and mumble meaningless nothing.
Frankly, (we tend to practice and preach hard-truth reality) when a politician says the words “mental health” somebody needs to respond, “You’re full of ---- and a ------- liar.”
Here’s the reality.
In the real world, as opposed to the blah-blah world of politico-easy-speak, there are various levels of mental health professionals. And, while that statement is true, it’s only just the beginning. Earning an undergraduate degree in psychology makes someone as prepared and qualified to do actual clinical mental health work as having a knife and fork would make them prepared to be premiere chef at a four-star restaurant.
Having completed an undergraduate degree in psychology only means there are years and years of education and training ahead of you.
The journey (a word we chose deliberately) to becoming a genuine mental health professional begins toward the end of someone’s junior year of college with required qualifying exams and applications to graduate schools.
To be licensed as a Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) – a position requiring a Master’s degree in Social Work – a candidate must complete 24 semester hours (or 32 quarter hours) in theories of human development and practice (how to do counseling). Depending on your graduate school, that means one to two years of full-time studies. When course work has been completed, candidates must complete 1,500 hours of face-to-face psychotherapy with clients and 100 hours of supervision – meeting with an experienced counselor/supervisor to review what they are doing with their face-to-face clients.
All of that is before the required state and national licensing exams.
The Florida academic requirements to be licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist include a Master’s degree with a “Minimum of 3 semester hours or 4 quarter hours of graduate-level coursework in each of the following:
Dynamics of Marriage and Family Systems
Marriage Therapy and Counseling Theory and Techniques
Family Therapy and Counseling Theory and Techniques
Individual Human Development Theories Throughout the Life Cycle
Psychopathology
Human Sexuality Theory
Psychosocial Theory
Substance Abuse Theory and Counseling Techniques
Legal, Ethical, and Professional Standards Issues in the Practice of
Marriage and Family TherapyDiagnosis, Appraisal, Assessment, and Testing for Individual or I Interpersonal Disorder or Dysfunction
Behavioral Research which focuses on the interpretation and application of research data as it applies to clinical practice
There are actually two doctoral degrees in psychology: Ph.D. and Psy.D. The Ph.D. is considered a research degree and requires the completion of a dissertation – a closely scrutinized research project that often demands several years of research, data collection, writing, and a “defense” before a faculty team and open to the academic community. In theory, the purpose of a dissertation is to add “something new” to the universal body of knowledge. Ph.D. holders typically work in academia and advance the field of psychology through research.
A Psy.D. is often referred to as a “clinical” degree and focuses on practical skills designed to prepare the holder to work in “face-to-face” counseling with clients dealing with mental health issues. Psy.D. programs require a full year - 2,000 hours - of clinical work (residency) in a nationally certified hospital or mental health facility.
To provide perspective and illustrate the misunderstanding or minimizing of politicians and others who respond to mass shootings by speaking about the need for mental health workers as though they can be easily recruited, we present a summary of Psy.D. course requirements from one university:
Psy.D. doctoral students must complete a minimum of 119 credits, successfully pass the Clinical Competency Examination, and complete a one-year internship to be eligible for the degree. Courses are taken in general psychology, assessment, intervention, and methodology (the various types of therapy). Some courses have specific prerequisite requirements that students must meet.
First Year (Fall Semester)
Adult Psychopathology (3 credits*)
* Three credits represents three hours of classes and a minimum of nine hours of out-of-class studies per week; some courses may actually demand many more hours of out-of-class study; semesters generally last 15 – 17 weeks.
Child and Adolescent Development (1.5 credits)
Adult and Older Adult Psychological Development (1.5 credits)
Ethics and Professional Issues (1.5 credits)
Ethics and Legal Issues (1.5 credits)
Assessment – Intelligence Testing (With A Lab) (3 credits)
Systems of Psychotherapy (1.5 credits)
Diversity in Assessment and Intervention (3 credits)
First Year (Winter Semester)
History & Systems of Psychology (3 credits)
Child and Adolescent Psychopathology (3 credits)
Assessment: Interviewing (3 credits)
Adult Intervention I (3 credits)
Pre-Practicum (1 credit)
Intermediate Statistics w/Lab (3 credits)
First Year (Summer Semester)
Cognitive/Affective Bases of Behavior (3 credits)
Elective (3 credits)
Second Year (Fall Semester)
Objective Personality Assessment (3 credits)
Systems/Family Therapy (3 credits)
Child and Adolescent Intervention (1.5 credits)
Clinical Practicum I (3 credits)
Supervision I (1 credit)
Research Design (3 credits)
Theories of measurement (3 credits)
Second Year (Winter Semester)
Psychobiology (3 credits)
Behavioral Assessment (1.5 credits)
Projective Personality Assessment (3 credits)
Case Conceptualization (3 credits)
Clinical Practicum II (3 credits
Supervision II (1 credit)
Second Year (Summer Session)
Psychopharmacology (1.5 credits)
Summer Practicum I (3 credits)
Summer Supervision I (1 credit)
Third Year (Fall Semester)
Group Therapy/Processes (3 credits)
Integrated Report (3 credits)
Clinical Practicum III (3 credits)
Supervision III (1 credit)
Directed Study: Research (2 credits)
Third Year (Winter Semester)
Social Aspects of Behavior (3 credits)
Clinical Practicum IV (3 credits)
Supervision IV (1 credit)
Directed Study: Research (2 credits)
Third Year (Summer Semester)
Summer Practicum II
Summer Supervision II
Electives (6 credits)
Fourth Year (Fall Semester)
Clinical Competency Exam
Advanced Professional development (1 credit)
Electives (6 credits)
Four Year (Winter Semester)
Consultation & Supervision (3 credits)
Elective (3 credits) Fourth Year
For the 15 credits of electives, students must complete 6 credits of intervention (styles or techniques of counseling) electives and 9 credits in any area.
Fifth Year (Summer, Fall, Winter, Summer Sessions)
Internship – Internships are 40 hours per week in an American Psychological Association accredited facility, for example Veterans Administrations hospitals, Federal Department of Corrections facilities, a teaching hospital with a fully accredited psychiatric unit or other certified mental health facilities.
Total Degree Credits: 119**
** 119 credits reflects a minimum of 5,355 actual class hours and an absolute minimum of 15,000 hours of out-of-class study. This number does not include the required 2,000 of internship/residency.
For mental health professionals – Marriage and Family Counselors, Psy.D., alcohol and drug addictions counselors, school counselors in all their fields of specialization – educational demands do not end with degrees and certificates hanging on the wall. To retain their licenses (and depending on the state in which they are serving), a minimum of twenty hours of Continuing Education every year or forty hours every two years is a basic requirement.
The 1973 Vail Conference of the National Institute of Mental Health endorsed the “scholar-practitioner” model for training psychology professionals. The model was originally suggested at least as early as 1918 by clinical psychologist Leta Hollingsworth (1886 – 1949) and encouraged training that did not require students to complete a dissertation (empirical research). Eventually the “Vail Model” began producing more graduates per year than the traditional scientist-practitioner model. The VM also became more expensive because training programs became independent of traditional colleges and universities.
There’s a problem – actually two - with the Vail Model. Unlike pharmaceutical or medical-product research, the VM is not designed to produce money-making results that will eventually payoff for sponsoring institutions; think large “research universities” heavily funded by government agencies or corporate interests and producing new, money-making results, e.g. medical instruments or new medications that will eventually yield a profit. While well-established Psy.D. training programs maintain their own clinics, these services are offered at highly discounted or “no-charge” rates to allow graduate students to begin honing their counseling/therapeutic skills. So, the money to keep the doors open must come from somewhere. Student tuition!
Simply stated: Earning a graduate degree in counseling psychology is expensive for the client and a money-maker for many of the degree-granting institutions. For perspective, the American Psychological Association website lists five Florida-based APA-accredited Psy.D.-granting institutions; all are private. New York State has seven APA-accredited and Psy.D.-granting universities; all are private.
We chose one private Psy.D. program. Here’s the most basic costs:
Tuition: $1,3966 x 119 credits = $166,124
Books & Supplies: $3,042 x four years = $12,168
Basic (before anything else cost) = $178,292
Toss in food, housing, travel (during the third and fourth years of studies students may travel to half-a-dozen or more APA-accredited institutions to interview for internship/ residency placements) and, over the course of the entire program, students can easily incur another $100,000+ in living (survival) expenses.
Dangerously, adults, teens and younger children struggling with mental health issues may resort to ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence chatbot programs. Programs that cannot see the subtleties of grinding teeth or curling toes. And the death tolls – by suicide or mass murders - will continue to mount.
Dangerous, profit-driven AI developers will continue to “extend our deepest sympathies.”
Sinfully, politicians from the White House and Congress to local legislators will blah-blah-blah their “thoughts and prayers.”
Unless Americans (and maybe their religious leaders) begin demanding that lawmakers do something to make the education of well-trained and dedicated counselors possible, people will continue to die.
And that is a sin!
Consider this:
The good people of Florida paid $218,000,000 – two-hundred-and-eighteen-million dollars to build TNSFIDCOTEOTF.
[EDITORS’ NOTE: Because the Trump-DeSantis-chosen name for this detention center was designed to be as dehumanizing as possible, our editorial policy is to refer to it as” the new state/federal immigrant detention center on the edge of the Florida Everglades - TNSFIDCOTEOTF.]
Erected in a matter of days on an isolated airstrip at the edge of the Everglades, the “facility” opened during the first week of July. In late August, a federal judge ordered the shuttering of the tent city by late October, according to reports from The Associated Press. On August 29 CNN/The Associated Press (“Florida may lose $218 million on empty….”) reported:
“Shutting down the facility for the time being would cost the state $15 million to $20 million immediately, and it would cost another $15 million to $20 million to reinstall structures if Florida is allowed to reopen it, according to court filings by the state.”
No matter how you count it (governmental cost overrides being what they are), this quick-open-quick-shut-maybe-reopen game will cost well over $250,000,000 – two-hundred-and-fifty-million dollars, one-quarter-of-a-billion dollars.
For that quarter-of-a-billion dollars, (using the tuition/books cost cited above) the State could have offered more than one-thousand-and-four-hundred – 1,400 – full-tuition interest-free loans due only after ten years from the completion of a Psy.D. In return, if recipients are employed – at the standard pay rate for their positions - in State agencies and institutions for eight years, all tuition loans costs would be erased.
The next time you hear a politician blah-blah “thoughts and prayers,” ask them what they are doing to get more well-trained LCSWs, Master’s and doctoral level clinicians out and available to your community. When they start to blah-blah about “mental health” as the primary factor – not guns – in the next mass shooting, tell them YOU HAVE A PLAN and share our ideas. [You don’t even have to give us credit.]