Why to Use — or Avoid — Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) in Your Counseling and Psychotherapy Practice Aaron Norton , PhD , LMHC , LMFT , is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who serves as an assistant professor of instruction at the University of South Florida ’ s Department of Mental Health Law and Policy , executive director of the National Board of Forensic Evaluators , and chair of AMHCA ’ s International Counseling Task Force and a member of AMHCA ’ s Ethics Committee . He has 20 years of clinical experience providing psychotherapy , supervision , and clinical and forensic evaluation ( www . anorton . com ). See Dr . Norton ’ s article on the use of virtual reality in counseling ( https :// bit . ly / 41L9mpE ), which appears in the 2023 # 2 issue of The Advocate Magazine .
In March 2022 , I had the pleasure of serving on AMHCA ’ s Ethics Committee when AMHCA made history as the first national association representing mental health professionals to revise its code of ethics to explicitly refer to AI ( artificial intelligence ). Of course , this historic event doesn ’ t mean that counselors feel ready to open their arms and offices to this ever-evolving technology . When I train counselors on the use of AI in counseling , I flash an image of a human hand reaching out to a robotic hand on a screen , a variation of a detail from Michaelangelo ’ s “ The Creation of Adam ” fresco . When I ask participants to identify the first thoughts , feelings , and sensations they experience , the counselors commonly use words such as “ creepy ,” “ unreal ,” “ yuck ,” “ scary ,” or “ scared ” to describe their initial rection . A minority of counselors instead use words like “ interested ,” “ curious ,” or “ cool ” to describe their reaction .
On one hand , our codes of ethics call on us to expand our awareness of the role of technology in the work we do , considering the use of innovative advances in technology as an adjunct to counseling and psychotherapy . On the other , the technophobic attitudes that many of us foster for AI is not entirely unfounded — this technology comes with a cost , as well as a slew of legal , ethical , and clinical risks . I believe that embedded within human DNA there is a natural suspicion of anything that closely mimics humanity without being human . But we counselors can use our expertise in mental health and leadership to augment the beneficial aspects of AI while reducing the likelihood of harm caused by this rapidly advancing technology .
In this article , I ’ d like to introduce you to AI , offer examples of how you and your clients can use AI to improve the counseling process , expose you to the potential risks and dangers of AI as an adjunct to therapy , and summarize guidelines for using AI in your counseling practice . I won ’ t talk about the use of AI in counselor education ; that ’ ll come in a future issue , so keep your eyes on your inbox for that .
WHAT EXACTLY IS AI , ANYWAY ?
There is no single , universally recognized definition of AI , but the definitions offered by authoritative sources are similar . I like the definition offered in a course created by the Innovative Education team at the University of South Florida ( USF ), which describes AI as “ the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence , such as visual perception , speech recognition , decision-making , and translation between languages .”
AI-generated image credit : Art of Znerol
Using this definition , AI is a much broader concept than most counselors seem to think it is , and most — maybe all — counselors are already using it in our day-to-day lives . When you wear a smart watch that monitors your heart rate while you exercise , use an app to find the fastest
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10 The Advocate Magazine 2025 , Issue # 1 American Mental Health Counselors Association ( AMHCA ) www . amhca . org