Study Guide: Alex for Psychology Counselors
Your reference for using Alex in clinical documentation, treatment planning, psychoeducation, case conceptualization, and professional development. Ready-to-run prompts designed around the realities of counseling practice — ethically grounded, clinically rigorous, and strictly de-identified.
What This Guide Is Not
This is not a habit formation guide (see Self-Study Guide for that). This is a counselor’s clinical toolkit — the specific ways Alex can support your practice while you maintain therapeutic judgment, ethical responsibility, and the irreplaceable human presence that therapy requires.
Core Principle for Counselors
The therapeutic relationship is yours. Alex can help with documentation, psychoeducation, treatment planning, and professional development — but every clinical judgment, risk assessment, and therapeutic intervention must reflect your direct clinical relationship with the client.
Critical: Never input identifying client information into any AI tool. De-identify all scenarios. Alex cannot assess risk, establish diagnoses, or substitute for clinical supervision. Your licensure and your clients’ wellbeing depend on your professional judgment remaining primary.
Ethical Foundations in AI-Assisted Practice
Before using Alex in your practice, ground yourself in these principles:
- De-identification is non-negotiable. Use fictional demographics, change ages, alter details. Never use names, dates, or identifying characteristics.
- AI-generated content requires clinical review. Documentation must accurately reflect the actual session, not an idealized version. Review everything.
- Scope of practice applies. Alex cannot diagnose, prescribe, or assess lethality. You can.
- Institutional policies govern use. Know your agency’s or practice’s AI use policies. Some prohibit AI-assisted documentation entirely.
- ACA, APA, and NASW ethics codes apply to how you use AI just as they apply to everything else in your practice.
The Seven Use Cases
1. Session Documentation and Progress Notes
When to use: Writing DAP, SOAP, BIRP, or SIRP notes after sessions; reducing documentation burden; maintaining consistency.
The counselor’s documentation challenge: Notes must be clinically accurate, legally defensible, billable (if applicable), and completed within session-free time — which is often minimal.
Prompt pattern:
Help me structure a progress note:
Format: [DAP / SOAP / BIRP / SIRP]
Session type: [individual / couples / family / group]
Modality: [CBT / DBT / ACT / MI / psychodynamic / SFBT / integrative]
De-identified clinical context:
- Presenting concern this session: [what the client brought]
- Interventions used: [what you did — techniques, exercises, reflections]
- Client response: [how they engaged, affect, insight]
- Plan: [homework, next session focus, referrals, risk monitoring]
Draft the note using the format I specified. Use professional clinical language.
Flag any sections where clinical detail is needed that I haven't provided.
Follow-up prompts:
Make this more specific to the CBT model — reference the cognitive component more explicitly.
The note needs to support a billing code for [CPT code — e.g., 90837]. What elements strengthen medical necessity documentation?
Rewrite the Assessment section to more clearly reflect clinical reasoning.
Write a version appropriate for a client who may request their records.
Mandatory: Every note must accurately reflect your actual clinical encounter. Never submit AI-generated documentation without thorough review and revision.
2. Treatment Planning
When to use: Initial treatment plan development; 90-day reviews; updating plans to reflect therapeutic progress or changing presentation.
The counselor’s treatment planning challenge: Plans must be individualized, evidence-based, measurable, and connected to a diagnosis — while being realistic for the client’s actual life and readiness for change.
Prompt pattern:
Help me develop a treatment plan:
De-identified client profile:
- Age range: [adult / adolescent / child / older adult]
- Diagnosis or presenting concerns: [DSM categories or presenting problems]
- Current functioning: [work, relationships, daily activities]
- Relevant history: [prior treatment, trauma, substance use if relevant]
- Stated goals: [what the client wants]
- Stage of change: [precontemplation / contemplation / preparation / action / maintenance]
- Strengths and protective factors: [what's working for them]
Primary modality I'm using: [CBT / DBT / ACT / MI / psychodynamic / SFBT / trauma-informed / integrative]
Create a treatment plan with:
1. Three to five SMART goals
2. Measurable objectives for each goal
3. Evidence-based interventions aligned to the modality
4. Estimated timeline and review points
5. Discharge criteria
Follow-up prompts:
Make goal 2 more measurable — give me concrete observable indicators.
What are the evidence-based interventions for [presenting concern] in [population]?
The client is in precontemplation. Revise the plan to use motivational enhancement strategies.
Write a 90-day treatment plan update reflecting progress from initial plan to this point: [describe shift].
3. Case Conceptualization
When to use: Organizing your clinical thinking about a complex case; preparing for supervision; identifying patterns across sessions; integrating theory with presentation.
The counselor’s conceptualization challenge: Integrating history, diagnosis, presenting concerns, relational patterns, and theory into a coherent clinical story that guides treatment—without letting your theoretical lens create blind spots.
Prompt pattern:
Help me develop a case conceptualization:
Theoretical framework: [CBT / psychodynamic / attachment / ACT / narrative / trauma-informed / integrative]
De-identified clinical picture:
- Presenting concerns: [what brought them to therapy]
- Developmental history highlights: [early experiences shaping current patterns]
- Core beliefs or schemas (if CBT): [identified cognitive patterns]
- Relational patterns: [how they relate to others, attachment style]
- Precipitating and perpetuating factors: [what triggered and maintains problems]
- Protective factors and resilience: [strengths]
- Diagnostic impression: [DSM categories]
Using the [framework] model, help me:
1. Build a coherent narrative that connects history to present
2. Identify core mechanisms maintaining the difficulties
3. Spot likely treatment-interfering behaviors
4. Identify gaps in my conceptualization
5. Propose where therapy should focus first
Follow-up prompts:
Apply an attachment theory lens to this conceptualization alongside the CBT framework.
What cognitive distortions are most likely operating here?
Where might I be at risk of confirmation bias in how I'm thinking about this case?
How does a trauma-informed lens change the conceptualization?
Write a one-page case formulation I could use in clinical supervision.
4. Psychoeducation Materials
When to use: Creating handouts, worksheets, coping skill summaries, or psychoeducation scripts for clients. Adapting materials for reading level, cultural background, or specific presenting concern.
The counselor’s psychoeducation challenge: Off-the-shelf handouts are generic. Your clients need materials that speak to their specific concerns, at a reading level they can actually engage with, and in a framing that fits your therapeutic approach.
Prompt pattern:
Help me create psychoeducation material:
Topic: [anxiety / depression / trauma / DBT skills / CBT thought records / grief / anger / sleep / relationships / substance use]
Audience: [adult / adolescent / child / couple / group]
Literacy level: [approximate grade level or "plain language"]
Therapeutic modality this is embedded in: [CBT / DBT / ACT / MI / other]
Format: [handout / worksheet / script I'll read aloud / session exercise]
Cultural considerations: [any specific context to adapt for]
Create material that:
1. Explains the concept in plain, non-stigmatizing language
2. Connects conceptually to the client's experience
3. Includes a practical exercise or reflection questions
4. Is brief enough to use in session or as between-session homework
5. Avoids clinical jargon without being condescending
Follow-up prompts:
Simplify this for a 6th-grade reading level.
Add a brief psychoeducation intro I can read aloud before giving them the worksheet.
Create a 3-step thought record worksheet for [concern — e.g., social anxiety].
Write the TIPP skill explanation from DBT in a way that feels relatable for [population].
Create a values clarification exercise in the ACT framework.
Make a coping strategies menu the client can keep on their phone.
5. Clinical Supervision Preparation
When to use: Organizing your thinking before supervision; articulating the clinical question you’re stuck on; identifying countertransference patterns; presenting a case systematically.
The counselor’s supervision challenge: Making the most of limited supervision time. Coming prepared with a focused question, a clear case summary, and honest reflection on your own reactions is what separates supervision that transforms practice from supervision that just checks a box.
Prompt pattern:
Help me prepare for clinical supervision:
De-identified case summary:
- Presenting concern and diagnosis: [brief overview]
- Phase of treatment: [early / middle / termination]
- What's working: [progress areas]
- What I'm stuck on: [the clinical challenge]
- My current hypothesis: [what I think is happening]
- My emotional reaction to this client: [honest reflection]
- What I want from supervision: [insight / consultation / technique / challenge]
Help me:
1. Articulate my primary clinical question in one sentence
2. Identify what theoretical frameworks are relevant
3. Surface potential countertransference I should explore
4. List three questions I should bring to my supervisor
5. Prepare a one-paragraph case presentation
Follow-up prompts:
I'm feeling [stuck / frustrated / overly attached / avoidant] with this client. Help me think through what that might be about clinically.
What are the differential diagnoses I should consider given this presentation?
I think I made a clinical error in this session: [describe — de-identified]. How do I present this to my supervisor?
What questions from my supervisor would push my clinical thinking the furthest?
6. Crisis Response and Safety Planning
When to use: Documenting safety planning conversations; reviewing risk factors; drafting no-harm agreements; communicating with collateral contacts or emergency services.
The counselor’s crisis challenge: Crisis situations are high-stakes, time-pressured, and emotionally intense. Clear documentation and structured thinking are essential — both for client safety and for your professional protection.
Critical disclaimer: Alex cannot assess suicide risk. Clinical risk assessment — Columbia Protocol, SAD PERSONS, Stanley-Brown Safety Planning, clinical interview — is your responsibility. Use Alex for documentation structure and thinking support, never as a substitute for your clinical assessment.
Prompt pattern:
Help me document a safety planning conversation:
De-identified context:
- Risk factors present: [ideation / intent / plan / means / prior attempts / protective factors]
- Protective factors identified: [reasons for living, support systems, future orientation]
- Safety plan components discussed: [warning signs, coping strategies, support contacts, crisis line, means restriction]
- Client response to safety planning: [engaged / ambivalent / resistant]
- Clinical decision: [continue outpatient / increase frequency / higher level of care / mandatory report]
- Collateral contacts made: [if applicable — de-identified]
Structure the documentation to:
1. Clearly establish the risk assessment was conducted
2. Document clinical reasoning for the level of care decision
3. Record the safety plan components
4. Note follow-up plan and timeline
5. Be defensible in a legal or licensing board review context
Follow-up prompts:
Write the language for a voluntary safety commitment that a client can sign.
I need to document a duty-to-warn situation. What elements must be in this note?
Draft a written communication to a client's emergency contact following a crisis session.
Help me think through the clinical reasoning for [outpatient vs. higher level of care] given: [de-identified factors].
Never use AI to make the clinical determination about level of risk. That is your judgment to make.
7. Professional Development and Self-Care
When to use: Continuing education research; evidence-based practice updates; managing vicarious trauma; career reflection; preparing for licensure exams or specialty certifications.
The counselor’s professional development challenge: The field moves. New research emerges on trauma, attachment, neuroscience, and modality effectiveness. Staying current while managing a full caseload, documentation burden, and your own wellness is genuinely hard.
Prompt pattern:
Help me with professional development:
Area: [evidence-based practice update / vicarious trauma / career planning / licensure prep / supervision skills / specialized population / research literacy]
My current level: [pre-licensed / licensed / supervisor / specialized]
What I want to learn: [specific skill, topic, or concern]
Help me:
1. Summarize the current evidence base for [topic]
2. Identify the most important concepts to understand
3. Find the gaps in my current knowledge
4. Create a structured learning plan
5. Suggest practical ways to apply this in my current work
Follow-up prompts:
Summarize the current evidence for [CBT / DBT / EMDR / ACT / IFS] for [presenting concern] in [population].
I'm experiencing signs of vicarious trauma. What are the evidence-based protective strategies?
Create a study plan for the [NCE / NCMHCE / EPPP / LCSW] exam.
I want to develop a specialty in [trauma / eating disorders / couples / adolescents / substance use]. What's the professional development path?
Help me prepare a self-care plan that I could actually sustain given: [my actual constraints].
Evidence-Based Modality Quick Reference
Use these to ground your prompts in specific frameworks:
CBT (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy) Core: identifying and restructuring maladaptive thoughts → behaviors → emotions Key tools: thought records, behavioral experiments, cognitive restructuring, exposure hierarchies Prompt anchor: “Using a CBT framework, help me…”
DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) Core: biosocial model, dialectics, four skill modules (mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness) Key tools: TIPP, DEARMAN, FAST, GIVE, chain analysis, diary cards Prompt anchor: “Using a DBT skills framework, help me…”
ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) Core: psychological flexibility, defusion, acceptance, values, committed action Key tools: values clarification, defusion exercises, committed action plans, hexaflex Prompt anchor: “Using an ACT framework emphasizing [psychological flexibility / values], help me…”
Motivational Interviewing Core: collaborative, evocative, person-centered approach to ambivalence Key tools: OARS (Open questions, Affirmations, Reflective listening, Summaries), change talk elicitation Prompt anchor: “Using MI principles, help me develop language that evokes change talk for…”
Psychodynamic / Attachment Core: unconscious processes, relational patterns, early attachment, transference Key tools: reflection, interpretation, here-and-now relational work, genograms Prompt anchor: “Using an attachment / psychodynamic lens, help me conceptualize…”
SFBT (Solution-Focused Brief Therapy) Core: exceptions, strengths, client expertise on their own life Key tools: miracle question, scaling questions, exception-finding, compliments Prompt anchor: “Using a solution-focused approach, help me develop questions that…”
Trauma-Informed Care Core: safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, empowerment, cultural humility Key tools: window of tolerance, grounding, titrated exposure, stabilization before processing Prompt anchor: “Using a trauma-informed framework with attention to safety and window of tolerance, help me…”
Practice Progression
Week 1: Write one progress note using the documentation prompt. Compare to your usual process. Notice what Alex gets right and what requires clinical correction.
Week 2: Develop a psychoeducation handout for a skill you teach repeatedly. Customize it with the follow-up prompts.
Week 3: Prepare for supervision using the supervision preparation prompt. Notice whether identifying your countertransference question changes how you show up.
Week 4: Build a complete treatment plan for a new case using the treatment planning prompt. Review it against your clinical picture — use the discrepancies as diagnostic data.
What Great Looks Like
After consistent use, you should notice:
- Documentation is faster — and more consistently structured
- Your psychoeducation materials are tailored rather than generic
- Supervision time is more focused because you arrive with a prepared question
- Case conceptualizations are more theoretically coherent
- You’re building a library of adapted materials for your most common presentations
The goal is not for Alex to be the therapist. It’s for Alex to handle the scaffolding — so you can bring your full clinical presence into the room.
Privacy, Ethics, and Compliance
- No client identifiers. Ever. Not names, dates, employers, family configurations, or any detail that could identify the client.
- Documentation must reflect reality. AI-generated note drafts are starting points. The final note must accurately reflect the session you conducted.
- Clinical decisions remain yours. Risk assessment, diagnostic formulation, level-of-care decisions, mandatory reporting — these are professional judgments that AI cannot and must not make.
- Know your institutional policy. Many agencies and group practices have explicit policies on AI use. Know them before you use Alex.
- Consult your ethics board when in doubt. The ACA, APA, and NASW all offer ethics consultations. If you’re uncertain whether a particular use is appropriate, ask.
Your clients come to you in their most vulnerable moments. Everything about how you practice — including how you use technology — is an expression of your professional ethics and your genuine care for their wellbeing.