A CLINICAL FRAMEWORK BY JEREMY G. SCHNEIDER, LMSW, MFT
Your clients are already using AI. Now there is a framework for it.
The AI Awareness Arc gives clinicians a clear way to understand what happens when clients turn to AI for emotional support: why it feels like a relationship, how to assess it, and how to respond in the room.
WHY NOW
This is already happening in session, and most clinicians have no framework for it.
48%
Turned to AI for support
Of adults with an ongoing mental health condition used AI for psychological support in the past year (2025 study).
35%
Using it weekly
Of adults now use AI for their mental health at least once a week (2026 study).
77%
Already in your caseload
Of therapists have at least one client who uses AI for emotional support (2026 APA survey).
35%
Use AI as a therapist
Of therapists have at least one client who uses AI as an additional therapist (2026 APA survey).
THE FRAMEWORK IN BRIEF
Six ideas that make client AI use workable, not alarming.
The Arc is not built on the premise that AI is good or bad. It is built on the premise that AI is designed, deliberately, to feel like more than a tool. Understanding that design is what lets you work with AI use clearly instead of reactively.
Mechanics of Trust
The four design features that make AI feel like a relationship, and the Engagement Engine underneath them.
The Pendulum Principle
Healthy use is a steady swing between the magic of AI and the reality of what it is. The pendulum never stops moving.
Two Conditions
Self-awareness and directed engagement, the two things that keep the swing steady rather than pulled by design.
Three Risk Tracks
Emotional, cognitive, and social risk, each assessed independently and over time, not once at intake.
Self-Connection
The treatment approach for when use becomes concerning. Reconnect the client to their own signal and the pull of AI eases.
The Relational X-ray
What shows up in a client’s AI use is the same pattern they carry into every relationship that matters to them.
WORK WITH ME
Bring the Arc to your program or practice.
Continuing education, faculty seminars, staff training, and conference sessions, taught in plain language with a live demonstration at the center of every session.
3 hours, CE credit
Continuing Education Course
FOR CLINICIANS
The full framework in depth: the Mechanics of Trust, assessment tools, the treatment approach, ethics, and a live demonstration.
90 minutes
Faculty Seminar
FOR FACULTY AND TEACHING TEAMS
A working seminar to orient your faculty to what AI means for the clinicians you are training, before it shows up in a placement.
Quoted per engagement
Conference and Staff Training
PRACTICES, AGENCIES, CONFERENCES
Sessions built to your audience, from a keynote to a full-day training for a group practice or crisis team.
WHERE THE ARC IS BEING TAUGHT
Rutgers University
3-hour CE course, April 2026, July 2026
Loma Linda University
Guest lecture, March 2026, May 2026
Penn State University
Guest lecture, September 2026
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
Two-part CE course, October/November 2026
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen
3-hour course, October 2026
NACSW National Conference
3-hour session, November 2026
NASW-Texas Conference
3-hour session, November 2026
Jackson State University
Custom course, November 2026
City University of Seattle
Faculty Seminar, December 2026
Ohio State University
Custom course for 988 Lifeline Crisis Workers, February 2027
Psychotherapy Networker Conference
2-hour session, March 2027
WHAT PARTICIPANTS SAY
95%
Rated the CE course extremely or very valuable
98%
Would recommend it to a colleague
73%
Will start asking about AI use at intake
“You are the best guest speaker I have had in all my years of teaching.”
Donna Gallup, Associate Professor, Loma Linda University
THE CLINICAL KIT
Tools you can use right away.
The AI Awareness Arc Clinical Kit is a complete set of assessment tools, clinical reference cards, and a treatment framework for responding to client AI use. Individual and practice licenses.
The AI Use Clinical Assessment Tool with intake screener, the Mechanics of Trust cheat sheet, the Pendulum Principle reference card, the Self-Connection treatment framework, the AI and Technology Use Agreement, and more. The intersection of AI and mental health is changing so quickly so new and updated documents are included with your annual license as they are completed at no additional cost.
STAY WITH THE FRAMEWORK