Dr Zoe

04/09/2026

Just finished presenting at the APBAM Conference 2026 in Singapore.

My session, The AI Companion in the Therapy Room: Attachment, Avoidance, and the Emerging Role of Generative AI in Addiction Recovery, looked at how conversational AI is already showing up in clinical work, including reassurance, cultural assumptions, AI-generated labels and narratives, emotional dependence, and the idea of “pseudo-safety” in recovery.

What made the session especially interesting was hearing how other clinicians are already encountering this in practice. The discussion moved well beyond theory and into the messy, very real questions that are starting to emerge as AI becomes part of how people seek support, make sense of themselves, and prepare for therapy.

I loved the conversation in the room and the range of perspectives people brought to it.

03/09/2026

I’m very pleased to share that my new academic article, “The AI Companion in the Therapy Room: When Generative AI Becomes Part of Coping, Attachment, and Recovery,” has been accepted for publication in Psychiatry and Behavioral Health.

The paper looks at something clinicians are already starting to encounter in practice: clients using generative AI as part of their emotional lives.

That might mean turning to AI during distress, rehearsing a difficult conversation, seeking reassurance, processing a relationship, or relying on it like a recovery coach.

Once that happens, AI is no longer just a piece of technology sitting outside the therapeutic process. It can become part of the client’s coping system, attachment patterns and interpersonal world.

The article explores what that may mean clinically, including the potential benefits, the risks of avoidance or dependency, and how therapists might work thoughtfully with AI use when it is already part of a client’s life.

I’ll also be presenting this work at the APBAM Conference on Sept 4 in Singapore, where the wider conversation around AI, mental health and behavioural health is very much underway.

If you’d like to read the article, you can access it here: https://sciencexcel.com/article/the-ai-companion-in-the-therapy-room-when-generative-ai-becomes-part-of-coping-attachment-and-recovery

DrZoe Wyatt-Potage: Workplace Psychological Wellbeing Expertise

31/08/2026

There’s something slightly surreal about standing on a stage at LEAP and talking about a topic I care deeply about: building burnout-resistant teams.

LEAP brings together an extraordinary range of conversations about technology, AI, leadership, innovation and the future of work, and my contribution to that wider discussion was about what all of this change asks of people.

Burnout is often treated as an individual wellbeing issue, but there is a much bigger organisational conversation to have. The way teams communicate, make decisions, manage competing priorities and structure work can either protect people’s capacity or steadily erode it.

My session explores what leaders can actually do about that, including how we can redesign aspects of work so people are better able to think, adapt, perform and recover over time.

I loved having the opportunity to bring this conversation to LEAP in Riyadh, particularly at a moment when organisations are thinking seriously about how technology is reshaping the way we work.

For anyone who wants to explore the topic further, you can read my e27 article on building burnout-resistant teams here: https://lnkd.in/gpeZ5UiT

You can also watch the full LEAP presentation on YouTube here: https://lnkd.in/gJTEuSMN

A very memorable few days in Riyadh. 🎤

26/08/2026

I’m heading to Riyadh for LEAP 2026 ✈️

On 1 September, I’ll be speaking on the HealthTech Stage with my workshop:

Building Burnout-Resistant Teams: Practical brain-based habits for sustainable performance

I’ll be exploring what high-speed, technology-driven workplaces are asking of the human brain, where cognitive overload starts to show up, and what leaders can actually redesign to help people perform well without quietly burning through their capacity.

I’m especially looking forward to the conversations around the human side of technological transformation. Because as the technology gets faster, the way we think about attention, decision-making, workload and sustainable performance has to evolve with it.

If you’re going to LEAP, come and say hello.

📅 31 August – 3 September 2026
📍 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Free General Admission passes are available, or use ACCESS20 for 20% off Founder, Priority and VIP passes.

🎟️ https://app.ingo.me/q/2bnhu

19/08/2026

“Thailand can be very quiet and Singapore sometimes hurts my feelings.”

An HR leader in the Philippines said this to me while we were discussing communication across her Southeast Asian team.

She was laughing when she said it, but there was something much bigger underneath the comment.

People can sit in the same meeting with very different ideas about what respect, confidence, disagreement and good communication should look like.

I’ve seen versions of this repeatedly while working across countries, and it made me interested in how easily we can misread a communication style simply because it doesn’t match our own expectations.

The way we read enthusiasm, silence, directness, restraint or authority is shaped by culture. Yet multinational organisations can still treat particular communication styles as though they are universal indicators of confidence or leadership potential.

My latest article for e27 looks at cultural code-switching, leadership and what working across countries has taught me about who gets heard. Read full piece here: https://e27.co/confidence-is-culturally-coded-what-working-across-countries-taught-me-about-who-gets-heard-20260815/

14/08/2026

We all know someone who can make everything look effortless.

We don't always see how much pressure they're putting on themselves behind the scenes.

The Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale is one of the most widely used measures of perfectionism in psychology. It explores different aspects of perfectionism, including concern over mistakes, high personal standards and self-criticism.

If you've ever wondered whether you're striving for excellence or chasing impossible standards, it's an interesting one to complete.

Complete the questionnaire here:
https://www.midss.org/content/frost-multidimensional-perfectionism-scale-fmps

10/08/2026

I recently completed a Certificate in Islamic Psychology, something I have wanted to pursue for some time.

Working with Muslim clients across different countries has reinforced how important cultural and religious understanding can be within therapeutic practice. Faith, family, community, identity and spirituality may all shape how distress is understood, expressed and addressed.

I found the course genuinely fascinating. It gave me a deeper appreciation of Islamic perspectives on psychological wellbeing and encouraged me to reflect on how I can offer care that is more culturally responsive and better aligned with the values and worldview of the people I work with.

One aspect that stayed with me was the place of the soul within Islamic psychology. Mainstream Western psychological frameworks tend to focus on the mind, behaviour, emotions and relationships. Islamic psychology also allows space for the soul and for the spiritual dimensions of suffering, meaning, identity and recovery.

This connected closely with ideas I explored during my PhD, where I examined what I described as the “dominant discourse of the Western medical model.” I have long been interested in what becomes visible when we move beyond a purely individualistic understanding of psychological wellbeing.

Professional development is most valuable to me when it expands the way I think and helps me see the person in front of me more fully.

I am very pleased to have completed this certificate and to continue developing this area of my practice.

06/08/2026

We usually hear about nature as a way to reduce stress, but new research suggests it may also influence how we experience our bodies.

A large 2026 study involving more than 50,000 people across 58 countries found that people who had greater contact with nature also reported more positive body image and higher life satisfaction.

Self-compassion and the sense of restoration people experienced in nature appeared to be important parts of that relationship.

The study cannot tell us that going outside will automatically change how someone feels about their body. It does suggest that environments which draw our attention beyond appearance may help us relate to ourselves with a little less scrutiny.

Perhaps the body feels different when it is being used to walk, breathe, swim, climb and experience the world, rather than continually being looked at.

Read the study: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2026.110277

03/08/2026

We expect people to sit at their desks and send routine spreadsheets while their phones deliver back-to-back updates about global crises.

The workplace inevitably absorbs that tension. You might notice shorter tempers or completely missed deadlines.

The human nervous system inherently prioritises immediate physical safety over long-term strategy. Your team is spending massive amounts of metabolic energy trying to suppress their natural biological response to the news just to get through a Tuesday status meeting.

Understanding this physical reality changes how you manage people during a period of high uncertainty.

I wrote an article for e27 exploring how global instability enters the workplace and what you can actually do to manage the fallout.

Read the full piece here: https://e27.co/when-global-uncertainty-becomes-workplace-anxiety-20260801/

30/07/2026

One of the nicest things about friendship is that nobody has to be there.

They choose to be.

Year after year.

Conversation after conversation.

Through weddings, breakups, job changes, illness, grief and all the ordinary Tuesdays in between.

That’s no small thing.

Happy International Day of Friendship. Tag your bestie below, or send this to the friend who keeps choosing you.