If you’re in a direct care role, your clients are probably already telling you that they're experimenting with AI tools (such as ChatGPT) for work, school, or even emotional support between sessions.
You personally may have considered integrating AI as part of your documentation process. You probably already use some earlier forms of "AI" if you use speech-to-text, predictive text, or certain data analysis tools.
And if you are a particularly forward-thinking individual, you might have been thinking about the role of AI in our profession and the long-term impact of AI on our profession.
I’ll happily admit, I’ve played with these tools for non-clinical tasks, and they can be fun. (These emails are all me though, writing them is
I wouldn’t say that I find them efficient, per se. There’s still a fair amount of training of the chat-bots. They don’t readily “understand” the types of questions you’re asking or the types of answers you’re seeking, and that becomes more true the more specific your questions become.
Chat bots and generative AI can give the same kind of generic mental health advice you’d find on any responsible website, but they struggle with nuance don’t really understand the things that happen beyond “talk to a licensed professional to learn more.”
I suspect, given the research requirements of our degrees, we’d be better at finding our own answers faster, for now.
Generative AI (Gen-AI) is a technical term to describe the kinds of AI that can pretend to chit-chat with you by picking words in the order most likely to make sense for the conversation. It’s currently relatively cheap for the user (but expensive for the companies and the planet), easy to access at any time, day or night, and creates the illusion of shallow human understanding.
I can see the appeal. I think of it as a good overview of the content on the internet.
It can assume what words should go in what order. That’s helpful if you’re feeling jumbled up or brain-foggy when trying to write.
Gen AI can give you a good first draft if you’re struggling with the “blinking cursor problem”…as long as you’re a rigorous fact checker.
Several companies have emailed me to offer their (generative) AI notes tools for my practice. And I find myself…annoyed, I guess?
It’s concerning that AI tools are being developed and launched faster than we can expand our understanding, ethical guidelines, or regulations to keep us and our clients safe.
Would I love to not think about my notes anymore? Sure!
Do I trust an investment banker to start and run a company that will a) listen to my sessions, b) correctly identify the interventions, c) keep the individual data safe, AND d) use the aggregate data to make society better? Hmm let me think. OF COURSE NOT!
I’m not at the point yet where I feel able to make a recommendation about your workflow. There will undoubtedly be a useful role for some algorithmic technological support for therapists’ jobs. I’m SUPER curious about what you’ve tried and what you’re willing to try regarding AI.
If you’re an “early adopter,” someone who likes to be on the cutting edge of new tools and treatments, here are some of our current professional associations’ guidelines, recommendations, and intentions for the integration of AI into our field.
Notice that every association is advocating for openness, understanding, and research, but many are also discussing the concerns of over-reliance on AI to assess, diagnose, or prevent self-harm.
AI and Social Work (NASW) https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/AI-and-Social-Work
The APA: “APA urges the Federal Trade Commission to put firm safeguards in place to prevent the public from harm” https://www.apaservices.org/practice/business/technology/artificial-intelligence-chatbots-therapists
The Ethical Implications of Generative Artificial Intelligence for Psychologists
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGXCyTyYS6k
Now MFTs, walk with me. Here we have:
CAMFT’s AI Ethics Recommendations https://www.camft.org/Members-Only/Association-Documents/2025-2027-StrategicPlan/Technology-Integration
Hahahahahahahaha just kidding… CAMFT is planning to update our ethics code by 2027.
Let’s see what the AAMFT has for us…
Oh! Literally nothing related to AI is on the AAMFT website at all! Cool. (If you have seen otherwise, please let me know.)
So, for now, I’m going to be working with the ACA’s guidelines as my professional framework for AI in my practice.
ACA’s Recommendations for clients https://www.counseling.org/resources/research-reports/artificial-intelligence-counseling/recommendations-for-client-use-and-caution-of-artificial-intelligence
ACA’s Recommendations for counselors https://www.counseling.org/resources/research-reports/artificial-intelligence-counseling/recommendations-for-client-use-and-caution-of-artificial-intelligence
If you decide to utilize AI for your clinical practice, make sure you:
1. read ALL of the fine print: you’re looking for information about how data is stored, transmitted, owned, used, and deleted if necessary, as well as who is liable for what.
2. review your professional associations,
3. review your state guidelines,
4. get the approval of your leaders,
5. get informed consent from your clients,
6. and sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with the company you’re planning to work with.
You may want to find a lawyer to help you understand any legalese you encounter. And remember that you are still working at the leading edge of this technology, so you may run into issues no one has anticipated yet.
There are still plenty of therapists who are moving cautiously with this technology, and others who are jumping right in!
Let me know if you’ve found a tool that’s made a big difference for you!
Chat with you next week!
-Andreana
P.S. I’ll see the subscribers from Jan-March for our first Quarterly gathering this Wednesday at noon PDT!
If you’d like to join us for this meeting: “Quarterly Planning April, May, and June 2025”, make sure to become a supporter ASAP and email me your info so I can send you the link. Pay what you want, subscribe or make a one-time contribution, whatever makes sense for you.
Can't make this one? I'll host a supporters-only workshop every 3 months for now, and more often if there's more interest. So please, reach out and let me know what would be useful for you!
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