By: Cassidy Delamarter, USF College of Education Marketing
Aaron Norton
As artificial intelligence reshapes nearly every corner of modern life, the USF College of Education is helping counselors and the future generation of counselors navigate what comes next. Aaron Norton, a licensed mental health counselor and assistant professor in the Department of Leadership, Policy and Lifelong Learning, is analyzing the intersection of AI and counseling.
With nearly 20 years of clinical experience, Norton has witnessed firsthand how new technologies influence the therapeutic space.
鈥淥ur professional codes of ethics mandate that counselors continually develop competency in the use of technology to serve our clients effectively,鈥� Norton said. 鈥淭he COVID-19 pandemic was an accelerant, forcing a rapid, profession-wide shift to telehealth delivery for psychotherapy. Counselors have also increasingly embraced electronic platforms for record keeping and assessment. Now, a critical, defining question for our profession is how we can ethically and competently harness the transformative power of AI to maximize benefit and minimize harm.鈥�
His latest research, , tackles one of the profession鈥檚 most urgent questions: How can counselors safely and effectively use AI?
According to Norton, national research on the use of generative AI tools within counseling is still in its early stages. Counseling associations across the country have just recently started to issue AI-related guidelines, but many specializations, including rehabilitation counseling, still lack standards tailed to their unique areas.
Norton hopes to fill those gaps. His research introduces counselors to foundational AI concepts, outlining how generative AI tools work and breaking down both the potential benefits and the risks these technologies pose to practitioners, educators, supervisors and clients.
According to his analysis, AI has the power to meaningfully enhance the profession when used responsibly. Some benefits include streamlining documentation, improving case management, assisting with referral searches, helping deliver therapy homework and using chatbot-based support. But counselors need to remain cautious of misinformation, privacy, security and confidentiality concerns.
As AI continues to develop at an unprecedented pace, Norton plans to continue his research to provide timely guidance to help shape policy, education and client care across the country.