According to the American Psychological Association’s 2025 Practitioner Pulse Survey, over half of psychologists report experimenting with artificial intelligence tools in their practices in the past year, but most cite concerns about how the technology may affect their patients and society.
The survey of 1,742 psychologists found that 56% of psychologists reported using AI tools to assist with their work at least once in the past 12 months, up from 29% in 2024. And 29% said they used AI on at least a monthly basis—more than twice as many as last year.
These AI technologies can support psychologists in various ways, from providing administrative support to augmenting clinical care. However, as psychologists grow more familiar with AI, they are also realizing its potential risks. Approximately 92% cited concerns about the use of AI tools in psychology, most common potential issues being data breaches, unanticipated social harms, input and outut biases, a deficit in rigorous testing to mitigate risks and inaccurate output or “hallucinations.”
Current Uses for AI Assistance
The most common uses among psychologists who used AI to assist with their work focused on routine tasks that often demand time and energy from psychologists that could be better spent with patients. Tasks such as assistance with writing emails and other materials, generating content, summarizing clinical notes or articles and note-taking. Overall, approximately (62%) said that advancements in technology are helping them work more efficiently and accurately.
APA recommendations the following to psychologists before using AI tools to assist with clinical care.
- Obtaining informed consent from patients by clearly communicating the use, benefits and risks of AI tools.
- Evaluate AI tools for potential biases that could potentially worsen disparities in mental health outcomes.
- Review AI tools to check for compliance with relevant data privacy and security laws and regulations.
- Understand how patient/client data are used, stored or shared by companies that provide AI tools.
Despite the addition of new technologies to assist in managing administrative burdens, the survey revealed that psychologists continue to struggle with insurance requirements and other administrative issues as well as the demands for treatment. While stress levels and work-life balance for psychologists have improved since the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, nearly half of all psychologists said that they do not have openings for new patients and that their patients’ symptoms are increasing in severity, indicating that the mental health crisis is not resolved yet.