ReviewInquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing
Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Psychological Counseling: A Narrative Review and Governance Framework.
Review in Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Racial and gender disparities in reasons for seeking mental healthcare in Canada.Discover mental health · 2026Article
- Fear of cancer recurrence among young breast cancer patients: a qualitative study guided by social ecological systems theory.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The growing global demand for mental health services has created substantial gaps in access and service delivery due to limited workforce and resources. In this context, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a supportive technology in psychological counseling with the potential to enhance access and capacity. This narrative review critically examines the peer-reviewed literature on AI applications in psychological counseling and proposes an approach for responsible integration. A narrative review was conducted synthesizing recent peer-reviewed studies on AI-based tools relevant to psychological counseling (eg, chatbots, large language models, predictive analytics, and decision support systems). Evidence was thematically analyzed across opportunities, risks/limitations, and ethical-professional responsibilities, and used to inform a multi-layer governance framework for responsible use. The literature indicates that AI may improve accessibility, enable more personalized interventions, and support counselors in areas such as clinical decision-making, monitoring, and documentation. Key risks and limitations include limited empathic capacity, algorithmic bias, misleading outputs and potential misdiagnosis, data privacy and security breaches, and digital inequalities that may widen disparities. Ethical considerations emphasize strengthening informed consent, preserving the therapeutic alliance, maintaining transparency about AI use, and ensuring continuous human oversight. The proposed governance framework delineates roles, accountability, and safeguards at the clinical practice, organizational/health-system, and regulatory levels. AI should be positioned as a tool that complements-rather than replaces-human counselors in psychological counseling. Developing ethical guidelines, strengthening regulatory and institutional safeguards, and integrating AI literacy into counselor training are essential to ensure responsible, safe, and equitable implementation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.