Using ChatGPT to Simulate Therapeutic Interactions and Teach Counseling Skills: A Case Study

Abstract

Instructors’ status quo for the assessment of student learning has been challenged by the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. While training in school psychology has historically begun only in graduate programs, shortages in our field emphasize the need to consider ways to ethically and legally expose undergraduate students to the profession of school psychology. This case study describes a response to these opportunities for pedagogical growth in the context of a school psychology graduate counseling course and an upper-level undergraduate psychology course. Specifically, we describe four assignments in which students were asked to instruct ChatGPT-3.5 to act as simulated clients, so that they could practice assessment and counseling skills. Graduate students (n = 13) engaged in an interaction with ChatGPT that simulated a meeting with teachers following a crisis event. Undergraduate students (n = 22) completed three assignments involving conversations with ChatGPT: an intake interview, a cognitive behavioral thought log, and a motivational interviewing conversation. Students completed reflections on the value of the assignments and provided recommendations for using ChatGPT in the future. This paper presents quantitative and qualitative analyses of student responses to these learning activities, and shares successes, challenges, and recommendations for the use of ChatGPT as a tool for simulating therapeutic interactions in coursework.