Project 13: Assessing the Current Use of AI by Psychology Practitioners in Europe and its Implications for the Training of Psychology Students
EFPA Purpose contribution
Contribute to society: i. Contribute psychological theory and practice to quality of life including health and wellbeing of people living in Europe and to a democratic and prosperous society;
Background and main issues to be addressed
Due to technical advances and particularly following the release of ChatGPT, recent years have seen a boom in AI use, primarily regarding large language models. While this has sparked intense discussion on the possible applications of artificial intelligence within psychology and actual use is already surging, concerns about associated harm and practitioners’ jobs becoming obsolete are on the rise (APA, 2025), and across disciplines, a skill gap can be observed (Abendroth et al., 2025). In addition, curricula for current psychology students have not been adapted to widespread AI use in academia (Digital Educational Council, 2024) as well as the AI usages they will be confronted with after graduation.
Due to lacking data, especially outside of Anglo-American contexts, it is vital to better understand the exposure to AI that practicing psychologists within different fields face, in order to develop solutions that are grounded in the day-to-day experience of everyday psychologists and how this can be translated into learning experience for students. The findings of this project could inform trainings, discussions and curriculum suggestions to ensure that the psychologists of today and tomorrow feel equipped to deal with the impact of AI on the field.
Specific Objectives
- To understand the current use of AI by psychologists in clinical practice
- To identify some good practises on the use of AI by practitioners across different European countries
- To gain insight into what ethical AI use in psychology can look like
Planned Activities
- Expected starting date: April/May 2026
- Expected delivery date: November 2026
Expected Results
- 3 focus groups with 6 participants each interviewed
- 1 Report on use of AI by psychologists in Europe
- 1 webinar on results and implications
Estimated Resource Needs and Availabilities
1) Two (2) volunteers – researchers with expertise in data analysis on a digitalisation context.
They will be advising EFPSA project coordinator in the following tasks:
- Development of questions for focus groups (based on review recent literature)
- Participate on the interview of the focus groups
- Data analysis using thematic analysis
2) Eighteen (18) volunteers – practitioners willing to share their current use of AI in clinical practice
- They will be invited to participate in a focus group with another experts (May / June) 2026 for 1.5 hrs
- If interested, their contact details will be kept by EFPA in order to be consulted in potential future ad hoc demands linked to EFPA advocacy work at EU level.
European Federation of Psychologists’Associations AISBL