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Community & Social Services · Updated Aug 2026

Mental Health Counselors

Counsel and advise individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health, with an emphasis on prevention. May help individuals deal with a broad range of mental health issues, such as those associated with addictions and substance abuse; family, parenting, and marital problems; stress management; self-esteem; or aging.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
AI Exposure
61/100
High

How much of this occupation’s work can be materially affected by current AI systems.

Replacement Risk
56/100
Moderate

How likely exposure is to translate into reduced human demand.

Includes provisional estimates for AI adoption pressure and labour-market resilience. How this is measured

Evidence quality
Confidence82/100
Task coverage87%

Confidence reflects task coverage, mapping and capability-evidence quality, and how much of the score rests on provisional inputs.

Task-level evidence

What is driving the score?

Occupation scores are built from the task mix—not a single prediction about a job title.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
TaskImportanceAI impactExposure
Maintain confidentiality of records relating to clients' treatment.High
64
Prepare and maintain all required treatment records and reports.High
71
Encourage clients to express their feelings and discuss what is happening in their lives, helping them to develop insight into themselves or their relationships.High
61
Fill out and maintain client-related paperwork, including federal- and state-mandated forms, client diagnostic records, and progress notes.High
66
Guide clients in the development of skills or strategies for dealing with their problems.High
62
Develop and implement treatment plans based on clinical experience and knowledge.High
70
Evaluate clients' physical or mental condition, based on review of client information.High
66
Collect information about clients through interviews, observation, or tests.High
58
Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.High
42
Modify treatment activities or approaches as needed to comply with changes in clients' status.High
56
Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling programs on clients' progress in resolving identified problems and moving towards defined objectives.High
62
Discuss with individual patients their plans for life after leaving therapy.High
64
Collaborate with mental health professionals and other staff members to perform clinical assessments or develop treatment plans.High
64
Supervise other counselors, social service staff, assistants, or graduate students.High
48
Learn about new developments in counseling by reading professional literature, attending courses and seminars, or establishing and maintaining contact with other social service agencies.Medium
64
Plan, organize, or lead structured programs of counseling, work, study, recreation, or social activities for clients.Medium
60
Refer patients, clients, or family members to community resources or to specialists as necessary.High
51
Gather information about community mental health needs or resources that could be used in conjunction with therapy.Medium
71
Perform crisis interventions to help ensure the safety of the patients and others.High
57
Act as client advocates to coordinate required services or to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations.High
63
Counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, or supporting clients or patients.Medium
48
Most exposed

Where AI can do more

Routine, digitized, and highly repeatable tasks face the greatest pressure.

  1. Prepare and maintain all required treatment records and reports.71
  2. Gather information about community mental health needs or resources that could be used in conjunction with therapy.71
  3. Develop and implement treatment plans based on clinical experience and knowledge.70
  4. Fill out and maintain client-related paperwork, including federal- and state-mandated forms, client diagnostic records, and progress notes.66
Hardest to automate

Where people still matter

These tasks score lowest on automation feasibility—physical presence, judgement, accountability and real-world variability all resist end-to-end automation.

  1. Maintain confidentiality of records relating to clients' treatment.01
  2. Prepare and maintain all required treatment records and reports.02
  3. Encourage clients to express their feelings and discuss what is happening in their lives, helping them to develop insight into themselves or their relationships.03
  4. Fill out and maintain client-related paperwork, including federal- and state-mandated forms, client diagnostic records, and progress notes.04
  5. Guide clients in the development of skills or strategies for dealing with their problems.05
Where else this work leads

Related occupations

Occupations O*NET links to this one. Relatedness reflects shared work, not a claim that these roles are safer.

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Beyond AI capability

Adoption and labour-market outlook

Structural factors are kept separate from raw capability so you can see what actually resists automation. Adoption pressure and labour-market resilience are still provisional models—25% of this occupation’s replacement-risk weight rests on them.

Human dependency52
Physical dependency21
Adoption pressure48
Labour-market resilience63
Methodology & sources

O*NET 30.3 occupational data interpreted through the JobsVsAI capability, automation and structural-constraint models.

Confidence82/100
CalculatedAug 21, 2026
Read methodology →