Innovative Horizons: Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Counseling and Psychotherapyediate

Description: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, counselors scrambled to embrace a technology that only 5 to 10% of them had previously dabbled in—telehealth. Just as many of us felt like we’d achieved at least a moderate level of competency in telehealth, artificial intelligence (AI) emerged as yet another mysterious, exciting, and—perhaps—terrifying technology to have to contend with, creating a slew of relevant questions: Can AI help me write my progress notes and treatment plans? How do I handle the fact that my counseling students are using AI to write their papers for them? What’s up with the creation of AI bots that offer mental health advice to our clients? Does AI perpetuate ethnocracies stereotypes? Is it true that some clients are recording their therapy sessions (without the therapist’s consent) and then selling those recordings to tech developers who are working on developing AI-powered therapy bots? Will AI make therapists obsolete? Is Cyberdyne finally coming to destroy us all? (Okay, that last one’s a little over the top…or is it?). This presentation was designed to offer an overview of how AI can (and already has) impacted the counseling field, as well as strategies for ethical and impactful use of AI in counseling.

This event is sponsored by FMHCA, an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider. FMHCA NBCC Provider# 2058. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified.  FMHCA is solely responsible for all aspects of the program. This course is approved by the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling, LMHC, LMFT, LCSW – FMHCA CE Broker #: 50-748

Learning Objectives:

1. Define and describe artificial intelligence (AI) and some of the ways AI has been used as an adjunct to counseling and psychotherapy.
2. Identify and describe emerging issues (including benefits and drawbacks) related to the use of AI in counseling.
3. Implement a list of guidelines and strategies for ethical and effective use of AI in mental health counseling."

Dr. Aaron Norton is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with certifications in addictions, alcohol and drug counseling, rehabilitation counseling, clinical mental health counseling, trauma treatment, forensic mental health evaluation, forensic behavioral analysis, telehealth, and forensic psychometry. He serves as Executive Director of the National Board of Forensic Evaluators, Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Dept. of Mental Health Law & Policy, Southern Regional Director, Ethics Committee Liaison, and International Counseling Task Force Chair for the American Mental Health Counselors Association, and Chair of the Government Relations Committee for the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association. Dr. Norton has particular interest in the use of technology in counseling and has written, taught, and presented on the use of virtual reality, telehealth, artificial intelligence, and computers in counseling. He co-authored a set of universal telehealth guidelines for a joint AMHCA-International Association of Counseling task force, served on the expert panel that created the standards and written exam for the Florida Certification Board’s Certified Telehealth Practitioner (CTP) credential, and co-wrote a revision to the AMHCA Code of Ethics clarifying ethical standards for the use of artificial intelligence in counseling. He has 20 years of experience as a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, researcher, and professor.

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