AI and the School Counsellor

AI can help School Counsellors and the possibilities are just beginning. Of course, we all need to understand AI better. This will be an ongoing journey that can help all those in the counselling field. By deepening our understanding of AI’s potential benefits, as well as its potential risks, School Counsellors can harness this technology to better support their students. As we embark on this exciting journey, we recall the origins of AI in counselling Eliza, a chatbot therapist.

Here is what Chat GPT has to say about how it believes it can help School Counsellors : As an AI language model, here are 20 things that I can suggest to help School Counsellors :

1. Provide information on various mental health disorders and their symptoms

2. Offer guidance on creating effective and engaging counselling sessions

3. Suggest appropriate counselling strategies for different age groups

4. Assist in developing counselling programs tailored to specific needs

5. Provide insight on current research and best practices in the field of counselling

6. Help with data analysis and evaluation of counselling programs

7. Offer guidance on managing crisis situations

8. Assist in creating resources for students and parents to access

9. Provide advice on working with diverse populations and cultural sensitivity

10. Help develop techniques for stress management and mindfulness

11. Offer guidance on managing student behavior and discipline

12. Provide information on the legal and ethical considerations in counselling

13. Help create partnerships with community organizations and resources

14. Offer advice on conflict resolution and mediation skills

15. Provide information on college and career counselling resources

16. Offer guidance on working with students with disabilities

17. Help develop trauma-informed practices

18. Offer advice on supporting students with addiction or substance abuse issues

19. Provide information on LGBTQ+ issues and resources

20. Help develop self-care practices for counsellors to prevent burnout.

ChatGPT and AI models are here to stay. I would suggest you fact-check GPT. It doesn’t always get things right. Chat GPT can get you started , but add your personalized touch as you do in all you do. Like Google changed how we get information. AI is going to change how we interact and do things now and in the near future. If you’d like to join me on this learning journey. You can join in on ETMOOC2. An educational free mini MOOC. You can register here. 

Here are a few resources to get you started thinking about how AI will impact you:

• Unlocking AI for Psychology

• The promise and challenges of AI

• AI and the Future of Mental Health – CENGN

• The therapists using AI to make therapy better | MIT Technology Review

• Machines can do most of a psychologist’s job. The industry must prepare for disruption

• Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker: The idea that A.I. will lead to the end of humanity is like the Y2K bug

• What Can AI Learn from Human Intelligence?

• Multichannel Connectors – Onlim

You can also explore other resources here.

I would suggest you: begin slowly, explore collaboratively, be curious and cautious, play away and have fun always keeping humanity in mind.