AI in Mental Health and Substance Use Health
A tip sheet for leaders and service providers  

For Professionals

As AI-enabled tools continue to expand rapidly across mental health and substance use health services, providers need practical guidance to engage with them responsibly and ethically.  

These tip sheets, developed by Mental Health Research Canada and the Knowledge Institute on Child and Youth Mental Health and Addictions, provide best practices and recommendations to support safer, more responsible AI use. They can help providers protect client confidentiality, preserve human oversight, review AI outputs critically and have transparent conversations with clients who may already be using AI tools for emotional support, reflection or decision-making. 

AI can support some administrative or preparatory tasks, but it cannot replace professional assessment, diagnosis, treatment, risk evaluation or clinical judgment. 

Download the tip sheets and use them as a practical reference for safer, more responsible conversations about AI in mental health and substance use services:

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For Professionals | For Managers and Supervisors

AI in Mental Health and Substance Use Health

This resource outlines key principles around confidentiality, human oversight, informed consent, disclosure, alternatives for clients and the importance of reviewing AI outputs before using them. 

Best Practices in Prompting AI Tools 

A companion resource that explains how to write clearer, more effective prompts for AI tools while protecting sensitive information. 

Why it matters

Approximately 6 million people living in Canada have used AI-enabled tools for mental health support in the past year. This means providers may already be encountering clients who use AI for emotional support, reflection or decision-making, whether or not AI is being used within their own organization. 

As these tools evolve, service providers need to understand both the potential benefits and the risks. People living in Canada have identified human involvement, privacy, data protection, informed consent and regular safety checks as key priorities for safer AI use in mental health support. Responsible use requires clear practices around privacy, confidentiality, informed consent, disclosure, human review of AI outputs and alternatives for clients who are not comfortable with AI use. 

These tip sheets give teams a practical starting point for safer conversations about AI use, while keeping professional judgment, client safety and the care relationship at the centre. 

Related Links

For Managers and Supervisors

Why it matters

Approximately 6 million people living in Canada have used AI-enabled tools for mental health support in the past year. This means providers may already be encountering clients who use AI for emotional support, reflection or decision-making, whether or not AI is being used within their own organization. 

As these tools evolve, service providers need to understand both the potential benefits and the risks. People living in Canada have identified human involvement, privacy, data protection, informed consent and regular safety checks as key priorities for safer AI use in mental health support. Responsible use requires clear practices around privacy, confidentiality, informed consent, disclosure, human review of AI outputs and alternatives for clients who are not comfortable with AI use. 

These tip sheets give teams a practical starting point for safer conversations about AI use, while keeping professional judgment, client safety and the care relationship at the centre. 

Related Links