Why to Use — or Avoid — AI in Counseling
continued from page 13
GUIDELINES FOR USING AI IN COUNSELING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY
Thankfully , guidelines offered by AMHCA , the American Counseling Association ( ACA ), and the National Board for Certified Counselors ( NBCC ) give counselors ways to augment the beneficial uses of AI in counseling while reducing the potential for negative AI-related impact . Following is a summary of those guidelines :
• Stay open , informed , and educated about AI and its application in counseling .
• Avoid over-relying on AI . Use it as a tool to learn , not as a substitute for learning .
• Recognize that AI tools can be biased , and that over-relying on AI-generated information can perpetuate stereotypes and discrimination .
• Advocate for transparency on the part of tech companies on the algorithms and data sources used to train AI tools .
• Maintain transparency with your counseling clients about your use of AI , and solicit appropriate informed consent if you intend to use AI while working with them ( as an example , you can view the informed consent form that I use with clients who want to use my telehealth platform ’ s AI tools ).
• Leverage AI for data-driven insights . Consider opportunities for you and your clients to use AI technology to identify trends , patterns , and insights related to their symptoms or to correlations between experiences and behaviors and their symptoms .
• Ensure data security and privacy . Use AI tools that are HIPAA-compliant , and make sure you ’ ve signed a business associate agreement ( BAA ) with any AI platform in which you are entering protected health information ( PHI ). If using an AI tool that is not HIPAA-complaint , ensure that no information is being entered that could potentially identify a client or violate a client ’ s privacy .
We can stand by while others advance this technology , hoping and pretending that AI will somehow disappear — or — we can do what we ’ ve always done : serve as an anchoring presence for our clients and for society during a time of change .
• Ask clients about how they use AI in ways that are relevant to their counseling . For example , I recently asked a therapy client if he ever uses AI tools between sessions , and he acknowledged that he used ChatGPT to offer recommendations for how to word his text messages to his girlfriend when he wants to politely confront her on some concerns he has with their relationship , which was helpful information for me as his counselor .
• Understand the limitations of AI in diagnosis , assessment , and treatment planning . When using AI tools to generate ideas , think of those tools as though they are a human consultant . Consider what they have to say , do your own research , and then decide what to do with that information . The information these tools provide is simply a perspective to be considered , not a directive .
A CALL TO ACTION
Maybe I ’ ll be proved wrong someday , but I don ’ t think that AI will replace counselors . I think that no matter how advanced AI technology becomes , many people will always want a true human connection with another person , even if that person uses AI as a tool for quality care .
The role of AI is progressing and advancing in society , regardless of how counselors think and feel about it . We can stand by while others advance this technology , hoping and pretending that AI will somehow disappear , or we can do what we ’ ve always done — serve as an anchoring presence for our clients and for society during a time of change .
We can choose a path in which we are not slaves to our emotional impulses but one in which we seek to understand our emotions and then supplement them with reason , reacting from a position of authority , leadership , and resiliency , embodying the adaptive spirit that has always guided our profession . We can help guide clients , tech companies , legislators , and the public on how to ethically use AI for enhanced mental health and wellness .
I hope this article , which was written without any assistance whatsoever from any AI tools , has helped you to start thinking about your role in this evolving technological landscape .
14 The Advocate Magazine 2025 , Issue # 1 American Mental Health Counselors Association ( AMHCA ) www . amhca . org