The American Psychological Association’s latest Practitioner Pulse Survey, released in December, sheds light on how psychologists are using AI in clinical and administrative settings — and the ethical and operational challenges that come with it.
The survey, based on responses from 1,742 licensed psychologists, captures evolving practice patterns, technology adoption and clinician well-being. Eligibility criteria for participants included having a doctoral degree, a psychologist license, actively working and treating patients.
Five key takeaways:
- In 2025, 44% of psychologists said they had never used AI tools at work — down from 71% in 2024. Meanwhile, monthly use more than doubled — 29% in 2025 versus 11% in 2024 — and 8% reported using AI daily.
- Among psychologists who use AI, 52% said they use it for writing assistance followed by content generation (33%), summarizing articles or notes (32%) and dictation (22%). Clinical use remains limited: Only 8% reported using AI for diagnostic support.
- Top concerns in 2025 include data breaches (67%), social harm (64%), biased outputs (63%), lack of testing (61%) and hallucinations (60%). Concern over job replacement also rose to 38%, up from 27% the previous year.
- While 42% believe AI can reduce administrative burdens, only 11% view it as useful for clinical decision support, and 18% believe it could improve patient education.
- More than half (51%) of early-career psychologists said they felt burned out, compared with just 16% of late-career practitioners. Average stress levels were also higher among newer clinicians.
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