AI Ethics Codes for Therapists: What CAMFT, APA, NASW, and AAMFT Now Require

AI Ethics Codes for Therapists: What CAMFT, APA, NASW, and AAMFT Now Require

How the CAMFT, APA, NASW, and AAMFT ethics codes now regulate AI in therapy: a CE podcourse on competence, informed consent, data privacy, bias, and human accountability.

Curt Widhalm, LMFT, and Katie Vernoy, LMFT, walk through the recent artificial intelligence updates to the major mental health ethics codes. Centering on the new CAMFT updates and cross-referencing the APA, NASW, ACA, and AAMFT codes, they turn the new language into a practical roadmap for everyday clinical work.

The conversation covers what competence with AI actually requires (closer to safely driving a car than building one), the three CAMFT obligations that travel together (disclosure, informed consent, and informed decision making), and a client's right to opt out. They get specific on data privacy, including business associate agreements and why "HIPAA compliant" is a marketing claim rather than a certification, on spotting demographic and medical-model bias in AI output, and on why the human in the loop still owns and is accountable for anything signed under their name.

This continuing education podcourse is for therapists, supervisors, and clinical educators who want to use AI tools ethically and stay accountable in an automated world.

In this episode, we discuss:

- Why the codes aim for broad, durable AI principles instead of tool-specific rules - What competence with AI actually requires of a clinician - The three CAMFT obligations: disclosure, informed consent, and informed decision making - How to vet data privacy, including BAAs and why "HIPAA compliant" is only marketing - How to catch demographic and medical-model bias in AI output - Why the clinician remains responsible for anything produced under their name

Timestamps:

- 0:55 - Why the ethics codes are updating for AI - 3:30 - Defining artificial intelligence (California AB 2885) - 9:49 - The four Beauchamp and Childress principles - 12:28 - Timeline: CAMFT, APA, NASW, and AAMFT updates - 16:11 - Competence and the "driving a car" metaphor - 21:09 - Disclosure, informed consent, and the right to opt out - 33:18 - Data privacy, BAAs, and "HIPAA compliant" as marketing - 41:20 - Bias, social justice, and reading the output - 44:52 - The human in the loop and accountability - 53:12 - Is AI right for this client? - 1:00:59 - Supervision, education, and the AI vetting guide

1 CE unit is available through the Modern Therapist Learning Community: moderntherapistcommunity.com

Full show notes and transcript: mtsgpodcast.com

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Modern Therapist's Survival Guide Creative Credits Voice Over by DW McCann: https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/ Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano: https://groomsymusic.com/