top of page

Disclaimer: This blog is supported by AI assistance, with all content reviewed, edited, and approved by human professionals. It serves informational and outreach purposes only, and is not a substitute for professional psychotherapy services. For mental health concerns, please consult a qualified therapist.

Search

Beyond the Bot: Safeguarding Client Care in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

  • Writer: Ricky Waite, LCSW
    Ricky Waite, LCSW
  • 5 days ago
  • 5 min read

Updated: 4 minutes ago

Notice: This article discusses topics of suicide and self-harm. If you or someone you know is unsafe for themselves or others, please contact the National Hotline at 988 or call 911 in an emergency.

Sometimes AI can feel like a tsunami coming for us all - AI is here, it's not going anywhere. Concerns include AI use in clinical settings, the environmental impact, and the lack of ethical guidelines and training for professionals.


These days it's easy to feel like AI is coming for everyone's jobs. We discuss it on the news, in social media, in meetings, at conferences, and on webinars. Personally, it's been something colleagues and I have been discussing during case consultation and as we support each other through unprecedented times.


The speed at which AI is being adopted makes our heads spin. And it's no wonder! The diffusion rate of new technologies across the globe has been increasing over time. The World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO's) study observed, "What once took a century now takes years. What [once] took years now takes months," (Fink, C. et al., para. 5).

Concerns over AI use

When asked about barriers to AI use in Social Work, professionals most often cited concerns over the ethical use of AI in professional decision-making (24.0%) and about data privacy and security (23.7%). It's worth noting that - while a smaller number of professionals reported these concerns - the environmental impacts of AI use and the "dangers of AI use in mental health treatment" were also cited (Borah, 2026).


Environmental Footprint of AI

A new study by UN University concluded that water consumption related to AI use would reach an amount of water usage equal to the domestic needs of 1.3 billion people in the next four years (United Nations, 2026).


In addition to water usage, carbon emissions and land usage become major concerns when looking at AIs impact on the environment. For example, the UN estimates that land usage for AI infrastructure will reach 14,500 square kilometers (United Nations, 2026).


AI Use in Social Work and Mental Health Care

AI seems to be a reality of our profession that cannot be ignored. Nearly two-thirds (63.5%) of Social Workers - primarily practicing in Mental Health, Psychotherapy, and Private Practice - report using AI in their current roles. Nearly one-third report using AI multiple times per day. (Borah, 2026).


AI use from professionals has primarily centered around documentation and administrative support. Correspondence and reporting were noted as the top uses for AI applications at 32.5%, clinical documentation followed closely at 29.1% (Borah, 2026).


AI usage for therapy seems to be a reality as well for many of our clients and people experiencing psychological distress. With approximately 1.2 Million ChatGPT users each week expressing "explicit indicators of potential suicide planning or intent" (Jamali, 2025) it's clear people are turning to AI in these moments.


It makes sense that people would turn to AI at a time when the affordability of healthcare and services is the primary barrier reported preventing access to these services (Coombs, 2021).


This comes with new implications to mental healthcare as concerns over AI Psychosis and AI's ability to assess safety concerns are on the rise. Lawsuits and news stories allege grim situations where AI has fed into grandiose thinking leading to manic episodes requiring hospitalization (ABC News, 2025) and even providing options for killing one's self to a suicidal 16 year old - who did end up dying by suicide (PBS, 2025).


Where do we go from here?

Social Work ethics calls on us to be advocates for social and environmental justice. Because the environmental impact disproportionately impacts under-resourced communities, high-water and -energy AI models inherently intersect with our social and environmental justice mandates.


So how do we balance these ethical callings when dealing with something like AI - the impact to the environment is profound, AI models area not providing the safety and evidenced-based care that human can, and yet AI provides a cost affordable option for many people.


Professionals are being forced to navigate these questions. They have identified needs moving forward for the ethical use of AI tools. Included in these recommendations is a call to oversight groups, like NASW, to develop and publish updated ethical guidelines that include the use of AI (Borah, 2026).


As technologies continue to diffuse at faster and faster rates, governing bodies like NASW must find ways to provide training and guidance sooner than ever before - to borrow from the researchers at WIPO, when once we had years to update ethics and policies, we now only have months.


In addition to ethical guidelines, professionals call for training in AI technologies throughout professional development - from training in Social Work classrooms to required continuing education training and workshops. Finally, while AI can find it's salvation in administrative tasks and even case management, clinical decision-making, diagnosis, intervention and crisis assessment must remain with human clinical professionals. Even then, professionals must be aware of HIPAA and data privacy concerns when entering any client information into non-BAA (Business Associate Agreements) consumer services.


With AI models, services, and programs being integrated in nearly all facets of our profession, we cannot afford to step away from AI at this time - we must lean into it! As professionals, we must ask ourselves:


  1. How are we supporting our mandate of social and environmental justice?

  2. How are we protecting data privacy and the privacy of our clients when we use AI?

  3. How are we ensuring human oversight of clinical decision-making and safety assessments?

  4. How are we ensuring we continue to strengthen our clinical and cognitive skills with the integration of AI?

  5. How are we offering cost-affordable and accessible services?

  6. How are we advocating for affordable healthcare?


AI Use Disclosure

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, specifically Gemini, was used to provide the initial framework for writing an article and for basic editing. The author retained responsibility for research, interpretation, and writing.


Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet
Add a rating

©2024 by Ricky Waite Consulting

bottom of page