Business of Practice, Part 8: Beyond Fear and Hype: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Ethics, and Clinical Judgment

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly entering mental health practice, often faster than ethical guidance, training, or clear standards of care. Many clinicians find themselves navigating a confusing landscape of fear, hype, conflicting advice, and pressure to respond without compromising professional responsibility. Others are already experimenting with AI tools in good faith, but without a clear framework to guide their decisions or fully assess the ethical and clinical implications. This webinar offers a grounded, clinically sophisticated approach to understanding AI as a tool whose ethical use depends on the clinician’s judgment, accountability, and professional responsibility.

The training moves beyond polarized debates about AI and focuses instead on what clinicians need in practice: clarity, ethical grounding, and practical guidance for making sound decisions in real clinical contexts. Participants will explore how AI is currently being used across mental health practice, where ethical and risk considerations most often arise, and how to think critically about the boundaries between administrative support, clinical assistance, and professional judgment. The emphasis is not on rigid rules or technology promotion, but on developing the capacity to make wise, defensible decisions that can be clearly articulated, documented, and ethically supported as professional standards continue to evolve.

Facilitator: Leisl M. Bryant, Ph.D., ABPP, and Donna S. Sheperis, Ph.D.

[Note] This webinar was filmed on February 23, 2026, and may not reflect the most current information and laws regarding this topic.

Learning Objectives

• Distinguish between lower-risk and higher-risk uses of AI in mental health practice, with particular attention to the limits of AI in relation to clinical judgment, decision-making, and professional accountability.
• Identify key ethical, legal, and risk-management concerns associated with AI use in clinical settings, including risks related to confidentiality, data handling, documentation, role confusion, and evolving standards of care.
• Evaluate potential uses of AI through a risk-informed ethical decision-making lens that prioritizes client welfare, the primacy of the psychologist’s role, professional responsibility, and defensibility over convenience or efficiency.
• Apply a structured, risk-informed reasoning process to examine when AI use may be ethically permissible, when it may require additional safeguards or consultation, and when it may be inappropriate in clinical practice.
• Develop an initial, risk-aware approach to AI use that reflects thoughtful judgment, ethical restraint, and alignment with professional standards and regulatory expectations.

Important Notice

Because this webinar is on-demand, once you are registered and have created a login account, you can view the webinar at any time in whatever time increments are most convenient. In order to download your CE certificate, receive CE credits, and become eligible for a discount on your Trust Sponsored Professional Liability Insurance policy premium, you must:

• Complete the entire webinar,

• Pass a brief exam, and,

• Complete a brief evaluation form.

You are required to achieve a passing score of 75 percent or higher. You are allowed three attempts to successfully complete the exam. If you are unsuccessful on the third attempt, you must re-purchase the course to try again.

Eligibility for Insurance Premium Discounts

• You can combine 6 hours of CE from any of The Trust’s on-demand webinars, bundles, and Sequence Workshops to save 15% on your Trust Sponsored Professional Liability insurance premium for two consecutive renewal periods.
• You can combine 4 hours of CE from any other continuing education program authorized by APA to offer CE and save 5% on your Trust Sponsored Professional Liability insurance premium for one year.
• To obtain CE discounts, download and submit CE certificates (totaling 4 or 6 hours as explained above and completed within the previous 15 months) with your insurance application or policy renewal.
• Discounts are not applicable to Researcher/Academician or Student policies.
• Group policies become eligible for CE discounts when at least 50% of individuals insured under the group policy submit CE certification, totaling the number of credits needed for a particular percentage discount.
• All applications are individually underwritten, and submission of CE certification will not guarantee insurance policy issuance or renewal.

Continuing Education Credits

The Trust is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Trust maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

The Trust is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0019.

Continuing Education Grievance Policy

The Trust is fully committed to conducting all activities in strict conformance with the American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles of Psychologists. The Trust will comply with all legal and ethical guidelines for non-discrimination in promotional activities, program content and in the treatment of CE participants. The Trust CE Director is responsible for complying with these standards.

While the Trust strives to assure fair treatment for all participants and to anticipate problems before they occur, occasionally grievances may be filed. In cases where a participant files a written or oral grievance, the following actions are taken:

• If the grievance concerns the content of the workshop, webinar, book or the continuing education test, a Trust representative will mediate and will be the final arbitrator. If the participant requests action, the CE Director or a Trust representative will either provide a credit for a subsequent CE offering or provide a partial or full refund of the CE fee already paid.

• Actions involving a credit or a refund will require a written note documenting the grievance for record-keeping purposes. The aggrieved individual need not sign the note. If the grievance specifically concerns The Trust, the CE Director or Trust representative will attempt to arbitrate.

Direct correspondence to:

Continuing Education
The Trust
111 Rockville Pike, Suite 700
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: (800) 477-1200

Email: grievances@trustinsurance.com

NOTE: This information is provided as a risk management resource and is not legal advice or an individualized personal consultation. At the time this resource was prepared, all information was as current and accurate as possible; however, regulations, laws, or prevailing professional practice standards may have changed since the posting or recording of this resource. Accordingly, it is your responsibility to confirm whether regulatory or legal issues that are relevant to you have since been updated and/or to consult with your professional advisors or legal counsel for timely guidance specific to your situation. As with all professional use of material, please explicitly cite The Trust Companies as the source if you reproduce or distribute any portion of these resources. Reproduction or distribution of this resource without the express written permission of The Trust Companies is strictly prohibited.