AI ethics in mental health practice: How to integrate artificial intelligence responsibly
Summary
Staying grounded in evidence-based practice in a tech-driven world means evaluating new tools for peer-reviewed evidence, HIPAA compliance, and proven client outcomes before adoption.
Ensure research-based digital therapy fits your treatment plans by assessing client suitability, accessibility needs, and alignment with specific therapeutic goals.
Maintain clinical standards through sufficient training, informed consent, and regular monitoring for side effects and treatment progress.
Test technologies in your practice to verify they solve real problems and improve workflow efficiency before full implementation.
Measure client outcomes using standardized tools to confirm digital interventions reduce symptom severity and achieve measurable behavioral changes.
Technology offers innovative ways to expand care, increase accessibility, and reduce the administrative burden on clinicians. However, technological advancements are developing so rapidly that they are giving many clinicians pause to question the ethics, rigorous testing, and efficacy of digital therapeutics.
It can be challenging as a clinician to know when to adopt new methods, what research supports tech use, how to balance innovation and evidence, and how to maintain clinical standards as we advance our practice with the latest technologies.
Staying grounded in evidence-based practice in a tech-driven world requires thoughtful evaluation of each new tool we consider.
What is research-based digital therapy?
Understanding what research supports tech use is fundamental to evidence-based practice.
Research-based digital therapy can mean a few things:
The delivery of evidence-based interventions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), via virtual platforms
Validated mental health technologies that extend beyond telehealth, such as virtual reality, digital phenotyping, artificial intelligence, and smartphone apps
These digital interventions can be self-led and asynchronous, clinician-guided, or delivered by coaches. Providing multiple delivery options can increase accessibility and affordability of mental healthcare to people who may not otherwise be able to receive mental health treatment.
How to balance innovation and evidence
Evidence-based practice involves making clinical decisions based on supporting evidence, clinical experience, and patient preferences. However, therapy is not an exact science.
As clinicians, we make contextual decisions based on the client’s particular circumstances. Staying grounded in evidence-based practice in a tech-driven world requires awareness of the ethical considerations of virtual mental healthcare, while adopting new technologies when they make sense for the client.
While many of us support increased accessibility, offering treatments across a broad range of mental health contexts for anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, substance use disorders, and eating disorders, it’s essential to ensure these interventions and technologies are grounded in thorough evaluation, given that studies have highlighted gaps in the evidence supporting them.
There are also barriers to evaluating the efficacy of these apps, including challenges with implementation, engagement, access disparities, and integration. There are important ethical considerations in using technologies, such as virtual reality, to protect client privacy and safety and maintain standards of care.
How to maintain clinical standards
Staying grounded in evidence-based practice in a tech-driven world involves maintaining these core clinical standards:
Clinician competence: Ensure you’ve had sufficient training and experience to deliver the technology you’re using safely.
Obtain informed consent: Provide clients with information on side effects, efficacy, and other relevant details before treatment commences.
Client suitability: As with any intervention, ensure the research-based digital therapy fits within the scope of the treatment plan and addresses each client's specific needs and risks.
Accessibility: Certain technologies, such as virtual reality, require specialized equipment, subscriptions, or software, which can be expensive to set up. As with any modality, clinicians can weigh the costs and benefits, including the client’s access needs.
Electronic safeguards: Ensure the intervention or platform you are using is HIPAA-compliant, such as having a business associate agreement. If using VR, ensure the platform also documents its data-handling and protection practices, and stores data on US-based HIPAA-compliant servers.
Prepare clients: Ensure clients are prepared and adequately resourced to use technologies such as virtual reality, or that they have prepared for and tested their technology before a telehealth session.
Monitor for side effects and overall progress: Just as with any intervention, apply best practices, such as monitoring clients' responses to the intervention, checking for side effects, and adjusting treatment as needed. There should also be regular reviews using appropriate measures to assess the effectiveness of therapy in reducing symptoms and achieving treatment goals.
How to evaluate new tools
Staying grounded in evidence-based practice in a tech-driven world means carefully evaluating new tools before implementation.
When evaluating new research-based digital therapy tools, consider the following questions:
What problem does the tool solve? For example, ask about its benefits to clients and/or clinicians and why it is better than well-established, validated tools.
Has the tool been rigorously tested and evaluated? Are there peer-reviewed studies? What about real-world data?
Is the tool accessible to marginalized populations, and what would the client need to use the tool?
Has bias been addressed? For example, has the tool’s efficacy been measured across demographic groups?
What are the risks, side effects, or adverse experiences associated with the tool?
Is the tool HIPAA compliant? What measures are in place to protect data?
When to adopt new methods
Adopting new methods and tools depends on whether the technology meets your specific needs as a clinician and adheres to clinical standards. Understanding how to maintain clinical standards during implementation is crucial. You can only fully evaluate technology by testing it in your practice to see if it solves the problem and is a good fit for your workflow.
Understanding how to evaluate new tools is essential before implementation. For example, if considering an AI note-taking app, assess whether it saves you time and reduces your administrative burden.
What about outcome measurement?
Ultimately, staying grounded in evidence-based practice in a tech-driven world requires focusing on measurable client outcomes.
Still, if the client doesn’t benefit through improved treatment outcomes, using specific measures like reduced symptom severity and behavioral changes, then the research-based digital therapy may not make sense in your practice.
Sources
Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine and Healthcare. Chen, D. (2024). Integrating technology and evidence-based practice: A vision for future healthcare.
Frontiers in Health Services. Nilsen, P., Sundemo, D., Heintz, F., Neher, M., Nygren, J., et al. (2024). Towards evidence-based practice 2.0: leveraging artificial intelligence in healthcare.
American Psychological Association. Stringer, H. (2025). Technology is reshaping practice to expand psychology’s reach.
World Psychiatry. Torous, J., Linardon, J., Goldberg, S. B., Sun, S., Bell, I., Nicholas, J., Hassan, L., et al. (2025). The evolving field of digital mental health: current evidence and implementation issues for smartphone apps, generative artificial intelligence, and virtual reality.
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