Mental Health Counselors
In short: today's best AI models could do about 43% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 57% of the time, stays with people.
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.
$59,350 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work17 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people23 h
Mental Health Counselors, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 17 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 23 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Evaluate counseling outcomes (about 3 h, a person checks); Evaluate clients' condition (about 2 h, a person checks); Develop treatment plans (about 2 h, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 32%
- 10%
- 4%
- 54%
- 0%
Anthropic's data does not cover this job.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 43% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 38%. Today's estimate: 43%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.43% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 57th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 6 of its 27 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.58% to 0.46% (released February and March 2025); 0.45% to 0.65% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.46% to 0.43% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.58% | 31 of 708 | 8 of 27 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.46% | 36 of 703 | 10 of 27 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.45% | 42 of 655 | 9 of 27 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.62% | 31 of 672 | 9 of 27 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.65% | 29 of 677 | 10 of 27 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.46% | 50 of 434 | 6 of 27 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.43% | 57 of 447 | 6 of 27 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates almost none of this job's working time as physical work, so robots do not reach it.
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
56% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Counsel individuals and groups, the in-person work, 12%
- Help clients open up and reflect, the in-person work, 10%
- Teach coping strategies, the in-person work, 9%
- Gather client information, the in-person work, 6%
- Develop treatment plans, the in-person work, 4%
- Run structured client programs, the in-person work, 2%
What becomes checking the machine
41% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it.
- Evaluate counseling outcomes, a licensed person signs, 7%
- Evaluate clients' condition, a licensed person signs, 6%
- Develop treatment plans, a licensed person signs, 6%
- Keep treatment records, severe if wrong, 5%
- Keep client paperwork and notes, severe if wrong, 5%
- Keep client records confidential, severe if wrong, 4%
What to learn
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- Signing off under your license. Some tasks need a licensed, certified or sworn person to do or sign them. The license, and the judgment it stands for, stays with the person.
- The conversations. About 57% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
- Handling protected records. Much of the work touches protected personal records: knowing what may be shared with a model, and how, is part of the job.
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check or sign: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 27 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.Counseling sessions in the room.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 12% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Encourage clients to express their feelings and discuss what is happening in their lives, helping them to develop insight into themselves or their relationships.Counseling in the room.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 10% | 42 min25 min to 1.3 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Develop and implement treatment plans based on clinical experience and knowledge.The plan written and carried out with the client.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 10% | 1.7 h50 min to 2.5 h | Documents 60%, in person 40% | 60%Desk part half by now |
| Guide clients in the development of skills or strategies for dealing with their problems.Counseling in the room.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 9% | 42 min25 min to 1.3 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Collect information about clients through interviews, observation, or tests.Interviews and tests, with the notes.Done several times a day by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 8% | 50 min38 min to 2.1 h | In person 70%, documents 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling programs on clients' progress in resolving identified problems and moving towards defined objectives.Reading the progress against the goals.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 7% | 1.3 h33 min to 2.5 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Evaluate clients' physical or mental condition, based on review of client information.Reading the file and forming the assessment.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Prepare and maintain all required treatment records and reports.Records in the system and reports written.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Systems 60%, documents 40% | 100%Half by now |
| Fill out and maintain client-related paperwork, including federal- and state-mandated forms, client diagnostic records, and progress notes.Forms and progress notes in the record.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Systems 70%, documents 30% | 100%Half by now |
| Modify treatment activities or approaches as needed to comply with changes in clients' status.Rethinking the plan, with the client.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Documents 60%, in person 40% | 60%Desk part half by now |
| Plan, organize, or lead structured programs of counseling, work, study, recreation, or social activities for clients.Leading the program, with the planning.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | In person 60%, documents 40% | 40%Desk part half by now |
| Maintain confidentiality of records relating to clients' treatment.Handling the records to the rules.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers27% now, 43% by 2028
- Marriage and Family Therapists32% now, 35% by 2028
- Healthcare Social Workers32% now, 50% by 2028
- Clinical and Counseling Psychologists34% now, 50% by 2028
- Rehabilitation Counselors64% now, 64% by 2028
- Child, Family, and School Social Workers32% now, 44% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
- Offices of Other Health Practitioners106,780 people
- Outpatient Care Centers98,150 people
- Individual and Family Services80,530 people
- Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities47,510 people
- Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals28,270 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Mental Health Counselors is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 43% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 43% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Mental Health Counselors come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Evaluate counseling outcomes (100% of the task's time now); Evaluate clients' condition (100% of the task's time now); and Develop treatment plans (60% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Mental Health Counselors stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Counsel individuals and groups; Help clients open up and reflect; and Teach coping strategies. Together such tasks are about 37% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Mental Health Counselors learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are judgment where errors are severe; signing off under your license; and the conversations. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 56% of the working time stays with people, 41% becomes checking a model's work and 1% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Mental Health Counselors?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.43% went to this job's tasks, the 57th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 6 of its 27 tasks appeared. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Mental Health Counselors?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds almost none of the working time is physical work, so robots do not reach it.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 27 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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