Morgan E. Wallbrown's Doctoral Dissertation
Understanding Artificial Intelligence in the Counseling Profession: A Delphi Study
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into mental healthcare through tools that support documentation, decision-making, supervision, and training. However, empirical research and structured guidance specific to the counseling profession remain limited. Counseling currently lacks a profession-specific framework for understanding AI’s implications or for developing measurable AI competencies aligned with its ethical commitments and relational identity. This study drew on the collective expertise of counselors with demonstrated AI expertise to identify the professionally relevant benefits and risks of AI integration in counseling and to develop a set of counseling-specific AI competencies grounded in expert consensus.
This study used a three-round Delphi method. Round one generated 58 candidate themes from open-ended responses. Round two used descriptive statistics to narrow the list. Round three tested the remaining themes for consensus, defined as agreement from at least 70% of the panel on both importance and relevance. Five participants completed all three rounds.
The findings showed that eight themes reached consensus: two risk-related implications and six competencies. These results took shape in three ways. First, panelists agreed on two risks of AI integration: biased or inaccurate AI outputs and breaches of client privacy and data security. Second, panelists agreed on six competencies, five knowledge and one skill, centered on protecting client data, disclosing AI use in informed consent, retaining clinical judgment over AI output, and critically evaluating AI outputs before use. Third, no benefit theme and no dispositional theme reached consensus, indicating that expert agreement concentrated on risk mitigation and ethical safeguards.
The results affirm and prioritize the counseling profession’s existing ethical obligations. Counselor educators can use these competencies as a profession-specific starting point for curriculum development. Supervisors, accrediting bodies, and researchers can draw on them to inform ethical decision-making, accreditation standards, and future research on AI integration in counseling practice.
Morgan E. Wallbrown
M.A. Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Heidelberg University, 2020
B.A., English
Wheeling Jesuit University, 2017
Morgan has been a Clinical Instructor in the Counseling Program at the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) for three years, where she teaches Theories of Counseling, Introduction to the Counseling Profession, Group Counseling, and AI in Counseling. She has also taught courses at Kent State University and Heidelberg University. Morgan is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in Ohio and Alaska and the founder of Cura Counseling & Consulting LLC based in Eagle River, Alaska. Through Cura, she provides counseling for neurodivergent adults, athletes, and entrepreneurs as well as consultation on the ethical integration of artificial intelligence into mental health settings.
Academically, Morgan has presented at state, regional, and national conferences including the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, the Western and North Central Associations for Counselor Education and Supervision, the Association for Specialists in Group Work, and the All-Ohio Counselors Conference. Her recent work addresses AI literacy for clinical supervisors and AI in counselor education. She was recently published in the Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences and by the National Down Syndrome Society.
In addition to her academic work, Morgan provides professional development, continuing education, and guest speaking on topics including artificial intelligence, eco-therapy, and emotional intelligence. She recently presented Emotional Intelligence for Entrepreneurs in partnership with the Small Business Development Center in Anchorage, Alaska. She has served as President of the Ohio Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling, and as Research Co-Coordinator for Ohio Counselors for Social Justice, and is currently the AI Committee Chair and the faculty advisor of the International Counseling Society, a student-run organization housed in the ULM counseling program.
Doctoral Dissertation Committee
Co-Directors
Martin Jencius, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences
College of Education and Human Services
Lena Salpietro, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences
College of Education and Human Services
Member
Jason Schenker, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences
College of Education and Human Services
Graduate Faculty Representative
Andrew Wiley, Ph.D.
Professor
School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences
College of Education and Human Services
