Dr. Steve A Johnson is a psychotherapist, university teacher, international supervisor, and researcher specializing in areas including addiction, trauma, and neuropsychology. Throughout his work, one challenge remains the same: how to clearly share complex information with more people without placing even greater demands on his time.

Today, HeyGen has become part of how Steve solves that problem.

He uses AI video to introduce lessons to university students, give clients techniques they can practise between sessions, translate material for professionals he supervises internationally, standardize research instructions, and create content for digital mental health experiences.

"HeyGen has become a great way for me to bring together and share that information," Steve said. "It really helped me in a precise way. It handles the jargon well and gets straight to the point."

Making complex ideas easier to understand

At the university level, Steve currently teaches five courses—a substantial workload that leaves little time for traditional video production.

​He uses HeyGen to create a five- to 10-minute video at the beginning of each week that summarizes what students are about to learn. When a particularly difficult concept comes up, he can add another video during the week to explain it before moving on.

​"Students absolutely love it," Steve said.

​Video has also proven useful outside the classroom. Steve creates videos demonstrating techniques that his psychotherapy clients can use between sessions. Clients still receive written materials, but many also appreciate having a video they can watch.

​The format lets Steve distill complex information into something more direct without having to repeat the same explanation himself.

"My students don't care," Steve said about using AI video. "They just like that I can summarize things. It's the same with my clients. I can get right to the point and help them make positive changes in their lives."

Replacing hours of production with a simpler workflow

Before HeyGen, creating that volume of video wasn't practical.

Steve experimented with several tools and workflows, including recording audio separately and using Zoom. Producing a single video could take hours, particularly when he needed to redo portions of a recording.

​Translation added another challenge. There wasn't a quick way to create high-quality versions in other languages without adding more tools to the process.

​"I was using three, four, five different platforms to do what I do," Steve said. "With HeyGen, it’s all on one platform."

​His workflow today is much simpler. Steve writes a script, edits it, brings it into HeyGen, and creates the video.

​That efficiency has made video practical even while teaching five university courses.

​“Sometimes, it would take me hours to make just one, and then I’d have to redo it again and again,” Steve said. “It drastically reduces the amount of time required.”

Sharing expertise across languages and borders

Steve's work also extends beyond the United States. He supervises professionals internationally, including people in Russia, India, Pakistan, and other countries.

​With HeyGen, he can translate his videos so professionals can receive information in their own languages while preserving technical terminology.

​Steve was particularly interested in whether the translations could handle the specialized language required for his neuropsychology work. After asking Russian-speaking colleagues about the quality, he was impressed by their response.

​"It sounds just like we talk, even when it comes to technical language," Steve recalled.

​He also uses HeyGen in research to introduce instruments and assessments. Instead of relying on different people to explain a study to different groups, Steve can create one video that ensures participants receive the same instructions.

​"It ensures consistency across those videos, so everyone in the research project hears the same things," he said.

Making his expertise available 24/7

Steve is also using HeyGen to make his expertise available beyond appointments and classrooms.

​He creates digital mental health experiences that use short videos to help people work through specific challenges, including reducing conflict between couples. HeyGen videos can sit directly inside those experiences, giving people access to Steve's guidance when he isn't personally available.

​"It's helping people 24/7. I don't have to be there," Steve said.

​The content is also creating unexpected opportunities. After watching videos from Steve's Psychology of Evil course, people approached him about turning his expertise into a book.

He has now received two book offers that he's considering.

​Meanwhile, Steve is revisiting older content on his YouTube channel, taking scripts from videos created years ago and rebuilding them with HeyGen. He says the refreshed videos improve the quality of his library, give older ideas new life, and attract additional views and channel members.

​For Steve, the greatest impact is ultimately freedom. By spending less time producing and repeating information, he has more time to explore new areas of treatment and discover new ways to help people.

​“It gives me the freedom to explore areas I haven't had time to look into,” Steve said. “It's allowed me to experiment and cast a wider net so I can try to help people with other conditions.”