Mental Health in School

Mental Health in School

The supportive role of artificial intelligence in counseling and mental health

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Meysareh Keramati
Ph.D in educational psychology, Garmsar Branch, Islamic Azad University,Garmsar,Iran. Kmeysareh@yahoo.com
10.22034/jmhs.2025.539967.1149
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the counseling and psychological services profession. This technology acts not as a replacement for human counselors, but as a powerful tool to augment and support service delivery, increase access, and improve client outcomes. Given the global increase in the need for mental health services and major barriers such as specialist shortages, high costs, social stigma, and geographic limitations, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a powerful advocacy tool. This article explores the complementary and enabling role of AI in strengthening counseling and mental health systems, with a focus on increasing access, improving quality of care, and supporting professionals. This systematic review was conducted by searching PubMed, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, and PsycINFO (2019-2024). Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform access to care, personalize treatment, and empower professionals by playing a supportive role in counseling and mental health. However, successful implementation requires:

- Development of ethical frameworks to manage bias and privacy

- Longitudinal research to assess long-term effectiveness

- Design of hybrid human-AI models while maintaining the centrality of the therapeutic relationship

Responsible integration of this technology can be a critical step in realizing equitable, cost-effective, and evidence-based mental health care.



Keywords: "AI", "Counseling", "Mental Health", "Chatbot Therapy"
Keywords
Keywords: "
AI"
Counseling"
Mental Health"
"
Chatbot Therapy"

Subjects

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Mental Health in School
Volume 3, Issue 3 - Serial Number 11
Spring 2025
Pages 146-151