In this episode: Sean Dadashi, the founder of the mental health AI app Rosebud, joins us to unpack the collapse of traditional therapy—and why LLMs might become your next therapist.
We dive into how childhood trauma, spiritual epiphanies, and ancient Buddhist practices shaped Sean’s journey… and how AI is now helping people do the inner work that human therapists often can’t.We also debate the hierarchy of religion, how Buddhism became a luxury belief, and why the future of mental health might be on your phone—not a therapist’s couch.
Follow Dilan: https://x.com/dilan
Follow Ben: https://x.com/btaubster
Follow Sean:
- X: https://x.com/seandadashi
- Instagram: : https://www.instagram.com/dadashi/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seandadashi
- Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/dadashi
Try Rosebud: https://rosebud.app
Chapters:
00:00 – Intro & Guest Welcome
01:24 – Sean's Background and Rosebud’s Vision
03:06 – Journals, Habits, and Personal Mentors
04:19 – Growing Up in Conservative Orange County
05:59 – First Encounter with Depression
07:05 – How a Forum Led Sean to Meditation
08:24 – Spiritual Epiphany at Age 14
11:02 – “I Am God” and What That Actually Means
13:05 – Escaping the Mental Cage of Religion
15:43 – When Buddhism Fails You (Literally)
17:33 – Trust vs. Faith in Religion
20:30 – Integration: The Real Goal of Spirituality
25:36 – The Hierarchy of Religion (Poor vs. Rich Man’s Belief)
28:33 – Therabody: AI Therapy Gets Real
30:29 – Why Sean Built Rosebud
37:17 – Depression, Isolation & the 3am Spiral
41:09 – Finding a Therapist is Broken
44:17 – Can AI Replace Your Therapist?
47:08 – “Most Therapists Are Useless” Debate
51:16 – When Friends Just Project Their Trauma
53:42 – Why Men Might Open Up to AI First
55:10 – HelpBench, GPT-4 & LLMs in Healthcare
57:35 – How to Measure Healing with AI
59:44 – The Big Question: Can AI Teach Compassion?