Tech-Integrated
Counseling Seminar
Is counseling still necessary in the age of AI? Are counselors consumers or creators of AI? — Over one semester, answer 35 questions and build your own AI counseling tools.
In the age of AI agents, is counseling still necessary?
Is imperfect human empathy more therapeutic than perfect AI?
Who decides the future of counseling in the AI era?
Course Overview
Learn how to enhance clients' quality of life by integrating cutting-edge technologies such as AI and virtual reality, and create programs that fuse these technologies with counseling practice.
This seminar explores the convergence of AI technology and counseling psychology. Students will build counseling support platforms through vibe coding with Replit Agent, and learn hands-on how to apply AI across the entire counseling cycle.
No prior coding experience is required. Develop the technical competencies and ethical judgment that counseling professionals need in the AI era.
"AI can only demonstrate empathy if it has been intentionally taught."
— Seneka Gainer, The Counseling Singularity (2025)
Required Materials
Classes run 30% theory and 70% hands-on practice. We project Replit AI on the big screen for real-time collaboration, cycling through student presentations → discussions → practice. When opinions clash, we use AI to derive a third solution.
Learning Objectives
Critically evaluate the potential and limitations of AI counseling tools
Design context-appropriate AI responses for counseling using prompt engineering
Build a counseling support system using Replit Agent
Create counseling process prototypes through vibe coding
Recognize ethical issues in AI counseling and design appropriate safeguards
Apply AI across the full counseling cycle
Counseling Process & AI Application Areas
16-Week Syllabus
Part 1: The Essence of AI & Counseling
Weeks 1-4
Orientation
Overview of counseling psychology in the AI era, comparing Woebot·Wysa·Replika, evaluating AI through Rogers' 3 core conditions
In the Age of Agents, Is Counseling Still Needed?
The structural crisis of mental health, current state of AI counseling, cultural differences (Korea vs. US), deriving key questions for the semester
- Is counseling still necessary in the age of agents?
- What aspects of human counseling can AI replace, and what can it complement?
- Is counseling harder to access in Korea than in the US because of culture or structure?
- AI counseling is flawless, but real relationships involve rejection and disappointment — what about that gap?
- Is something created with AI equal in value to something made by humans, or does it represent a new level of value?
In an Era Where Anyone Can Build, What's Different When a Counselor Builds?
Sharing AI usage, discussing individual project ideas, Replit + vibe coding hands-on
- What do I truly want to build with AI? Why that?
- What problem in the counseling field do I most want to solve, and how can AI help?
Is Imperfect Human Empathy More Therapeutic Than Perfect AI?
Rogers' empathy theory, transference/countertransference and AI, counseling preferences across cultures, connecting to team project direction
- Can AI implement transference and countertransference? If it learns to, is it a living being?
- If a humanoid sits beside you and counsels you, is that counseling?
- If a client self-discloses more deeply to AI, is that therapeutic progress?
- How do humans respond to AI's imperfections?
- If empathy vs. problem-solving preferences differ by culture, should AI counseling also vary by culture?
Part 2: Ethics, Guest Lectures & Direction
Weeks 5-8
Research Methods in the AI Era — From Verbatim Analysis to Paper Writing
Counseling verbatim AI analysis workshop, paper writing demo + cowork with Claude Code, agile research methodology
- When AI analyzes verbatim transcripts and discovers patterns the counselor missed, how should we process that?
- Is a paper co-written with AI my paper? What is the researcher's unique contribution?
- When AI speeds up the information-to-knowledge conversion, how does the researcher's role change?
- When has AI been most helpful in my research, and when have I felt its limitations?
Guest Lecture: Jeongseok Lee
Guest lecture by Jeongseok Lee — AI suicide prevention and mental health crisis classifier
- When AI detects suicide risk, who has the authority to intervene?
- 95% accuracy in crisis detection — what is the weight of the remaining 5%?
- Is AI a detector of crises, or an intervener?
Guest Lecture: Taeho Oh (Quabble)
Guest lecture by Taeho Oh (Quabble) — AI service development and counseling
Midterm Review + Team Project Proposal Presentations
Review of key questions from weeks 1-7, team project proposal presentations, peer review
- What real problem in the counseling field is our team project trying to solve?
- Where do we draw the boundary between what AI handles and what humans handle?
Part 3: Team Project Build
Weeks 9-12
Team Project Kickoff
Team role assignments, building project skeleton with vibe coding, first demo
- What if a counselor creates an AI persona to counsel multiple clients simultaneously?
- What if a client could receive counseling from counselors around the world simultaneously?
How Much Can We Entrust to AI?
AI API integration basics, designing human/AI role boundaries, first implementation of team core features
- When AI outperforms humans, what remains uniquely human?
- Is imperfection itself human value?
- Is the counselor's new role to educate and facilitate recovery through feeling emotions and direct experience?
When AI Detects a Crisis, Who Intervenes?
Crisis detection/safety mechanism design patterns, team safety mechanism + additional feature implementation
- When AI gives wrong advice, who bears the responsibility?
- When client data passes through AI, where is the boundary of confidentiality?
- Should informed consent disclose the use of AI?
Can We Increase Accessibility 100x Without Losing Depth?
Counseling UX principles, ethics checklist, team UI/UX improvements
- For socially withdrawn youth, is AI counseling a bridge or a substitute?
- Who decides when and how to transition from AI counseling to human counseling?
- As the boundary between in-person and remote blurs, is a conversation with AI also a 'relationship'?
Part 4: Completion & Presentation
Weeks 13-16
How Do Real Users Respond?
Think-aloud methodology, cross-team testing, incorporating feedback
- If a client says 'AI is better than a human,' is that success or failure?
- When AI counseling outperforms human counseling, how do we address counselors' sense of inadequacy?
Does Our Tool Solve a Real Problem in the Field?
Final polishing, presentation preparation, SBI feedback model, team rehearsals
- If trainees become dependent on AI supervision, what kind of counselors will they become?
- How should counselor training programs change in the AI era?
In the AI Era, Who Decides the Future of Counseling?
6-team final presentations, peer evaluation, semester retrospective
- In the AI era, is it technologists or counselors who determine the future of counseling?
- Can a human know me better than AI can?
- What will our profession look like in three years?
Final Exam Period (No Class)
No class
Evaluation
Attendance & Participation
Class attendance, discussion participation, practice engagement
Presentations & Discussion
Literature presentations, ethics discussion participation
Midterm Presentation
MVP prototype presentation (Week 8)
Final Presentation
Project completeness, presentation, documentation (Week 15)
Course Policies
- 3 late arrivals = 1 absence
- 4+ absences results in an F grade
- Excused absences require prior approval
- AI tool use is strongly encouraged; all AI usage must be documented
- Critical review of AI outputs is required
- Unauthorized use of others' code/work is prohibited
Project Guide
This is an individual project. You will develop a prototype that supports a specific stage of the counseling process with AI.
Intake Interview System
Initial interview forms, crisis screening
Psychological Testing Platform
Test administration & result visualization
Treatment Goal Setting Assistant
Treatment goal negotiation support
CBT Self-Management App
Cognitive restructuring, thought records
Session Recording System
Session notes, progress tracking
Follow-up Management
Follow-up scheduling
Deliverables
- Midterm presentation materials (Week 8)
- Final prototype + presentation materials (Week 15)
- README documentation (including usage guide & ethical considerations)
References
Recommended Books
The Counseling Singularity: Empathy & AI in the Art of Healing
Gainer, S. R., Joshi, A. P., & Nelson, A. R. / American Counseling Association, 2025
Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI
Yuval Noah Harari / Random House, 2024
The Coming Wave: AI, Power, and Our Future
Mustafa Suleyman & Michael Bhaskar / Crown, 2023 — NYT Bestseller
AI Lecture 2025 by Taewoong Park
Taewoong Park / Hanbit Biz, 2025 — Comprehensive guide on AI principles, ethics & social impact
AI Counseling Effectiveness · LLM Reviews
- Li, H., Zhang, R., Lee, Y. C., Kraut, R. E., & Mohr, D. C. (2023). Systematic review and meta-analysis of AI-based conversational agents for promoting mental health and well-being. npj Digital Medicine, 6(236).
- Stade, E. C., et al. (2024). Large language models could change the future of behavioral healthcare: A proposal for responsible development and evaluation. npj Mental Health Research, 3(12).
- Xu, X., et al. (2025). A scoping review of large language models for generative tasks in mental health care. npj Digital Medicine.
- Chen, Y., et al. (2025). The applications of large language models in mental health: Scoping review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27(1), e69284.
AI Counseling Ethics
- American Psychological Association. (2023). Guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence in psychology practice.
- Khawaja, Z., & Bélisle-Pipon, J. C. (2023). Your robot therapist is not your therapist: Understanding the role of AI-powered mental health chatbots. Frontiers in Digital Health, 5, 1278186.
- Harari, Y. N. (2024). Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI. Random House. — Autonomous AI decision-making and ethical implications
Prompt Engineering · Tools
- MIND-SAFE Framework. (2025). A prompt engineering framework for large language model-based mental health chatbots. JMIR Mental Health, 12, e75078.
- Priyadarshana, Y. H. P. P., et al. (2024). Prompt engineering for digital mental health: A short review. Frontiers in Digital Health, 6, 1410947.
- Sentio University. (2025). Survey: ChatGPT may be the largest provider of mental health support in the United States. — Current LLM usage in U.S. mental health support
- meeting.tobl.ai — Real-time AI transcription & analysis service. Live speech-to-text for meetings & counseling sessions with automatic speaker identification and AI-powered analysis.
Safety & Ethics Checklist
These items must be verified before submitting your project.
Required Safeguards
- Is the user clearly informed that this is AI?
- Is there a self-harm/suicide keyword detection system?
- Is there a referral guide to professionals for crisis situations?
- Is mentioning diagnostic labels prohibited?
- Is medication-related advice prohibited?
Privacy Protection
- Is the data storage method secure?
- Is there a confidentiality notice?
- Is the data deletion method clearly stated?
Awareness of Limitations
- Are AI limitations clearly stated?
- Is it disclosed that this does not replace professional counseling?
- Is there a plan for handling hallucinations?