The current Special Issue explores counseling psychologists’ work at the crossroads of technology, social media, artificial intelligence (AI), mental health, and counseling psychology. This introduction provides a brief review of the articles in the Special Issue (Technology, Social Media, Artificial Intelligence, and Mental Health: Implications for Counseling Psychology) and highlights the role that counseling psychology can play as we navigate both the challenges and opportunities concerning technological advancements in today’s digital era.
AboujaoudeE.StarcevicV. (Eds.). (2015). Mental health in the digital age: Grave dangers, great promise. Oxford University Press.
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AbreuR. L.KennyM. C. (2018). Cyberbullying and LGBTQ youth: A systematic literature review and recommendations for prevention and intervention. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 11(1), 81–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-017-0175-7
BliucA.-M.FaulknerN.JakubowiczA.McGartyC. (2018). Online networks of racial hate: A systematic review of 10 years of research on cyber-racism. Computers in Human Behavior, 87, 75–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.05.026
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BorghoutsJ.EikeyE.MarkG.De LeonC.SchuellerS. M.SchneiderM.StadnickN.ZhengK.MukamelD.SorkinD. H. (2021). Barriers to and facilitators of user engagement with digital mental health interventions: systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(3), e24387. https://doi.org/10.2196/24387
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DeBlaereC.SinghA. A.WilcoxM. M.CokleyK. O.Delgado-RomeroE. A.ScaliseD. A.ShawahinL. (2019). Social justice in counseling psychology: Then, now, and looking forward. The Counseling Psychologist, 47(6), 938–962. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000019893283
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Del ToroJ.WangM-T. (2023). Online racism and mental health among Black American adolescents in 2020. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 62(1), 25–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2022.07.004
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GrahamS.DeppC.LeeE. E.NebekerC.TuX.KimH.C.JesteD. V. (2019). Artificial intelligence for mental health and mental illnesses: An overview. Current Psychiatry Reports, 21(11), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-1094-0
9.
GrzankaP. R.SantosC. E.MoradiB. (2017). Intersectionality research in counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64(5), 453–457. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000237
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HopkinG.BransonR.CampbellP.CooleH.CopperS.EdelmannF.SalmonM. (2024). Considerations for regulation and evaluation of digital mental health technologies. Digital Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241293313
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JonesA.HoardL.BrownG.DeanM.UnderwoodD.JangH. S.KarademitrouN. A.VacoleA.WashingtonL.HortonA. J.RexfordS.HunterE. (2025). “Racism is not getting worse, it’s getting filmed”: A qualitative investigation of Black college students coping with online vicarious racism. The Counseling Psychologist, 53(4).
12.
KeumB. T.LiX. (2022). Online racism, rumination, and vigilance: Impact on distress, loneliness, and alcohol use. The Counseling Psychologist, 51(3), 422–448. https://doi.org/10.1177/00110000221143521
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KeumB. T.Maurin-WatersE.ChongE. S. K. (2024). The mental health costs of online heterosexism among LGBTQ+ individuals: Development and initial validation of the Perceived Online Heterosexism Scale. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 53(2), 525–541. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02733-0
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KeumB. T.MillerM. J. (2017). Racism in digital era: Development and initial validation of the Perceived Online Racism Scale (PORS v1.0). Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64(3), 310–324. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000205
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KeumB. T.MillerM. J. (2018). Racism on the internet: Conceptualization and recommendations for research. Psychology of Violence, 8(6), 782–791. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000201
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LentR. W. (2025). Career interventions in the digital age: Key challenges and transformative opportunities. The Counseling Psychologist, 53(4).
17.
NaslundJ. A.BondreA.TorousJ.AschbrennerK. A. (2020). Social media and mental health: Benefits, risks, and opportunities for research and practice. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, 5(3), 245–257. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-020-00134-x
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RamirezA.RiveraD. B.CerezoA. (2025). Social media and social connection in sexual and gender minority young adults. The Counseling Psychologist, 53(4).
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SelkieE.AdkinsV.MastersE.BajpaiA.ShumerD. (2020). Transgender adolescents’ uses of social media for social support. Journal of Adolescent Health, 66(3), 275–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.08.011
20.
SpencerM. B.DupreeD.HartmannT. (1997). A phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST): A self-organization perspective in context. Development and Psychopathology, 9(4), 817–833. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579497001454
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StrawI.Callison-BurchC. (2020). Artificial intelligence in mental health and the biases of language based models. PloS One, 15(12), e0240376. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240376
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SulerJ. R. (2016). Psychology of the digital age: Humans become electric. Cambridge University Press.
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ThimmJ. C.KristoffersenA. E.RingbergU. (2020). The prevalence of severe grief reactions after bereavement and their associations with mental health, physical health, and health service utilization: A population-based study. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 11(1), 1844440. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2020.1844440
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TimmonsA. C.DuongJ. B.Simo FialloN.LeeT.VoH. P. Q.AhleM. W.ComerJ. S.BrewerL. C.FrazierS. L.ChaspariT. (2023). A call to action on assessing and mitigating bias in artificial intelligence applications for mental health. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 18(5), 1062–1096. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916221134490
25.
TynesB. M.LozadaF. T.SmithN. A.StewartA. M. (2018). From racial microaggressions to hate crimes: A model of online racism based on the lived experiences of adolescents of color. Microaggression Theory: Influence and Implications, 194–212. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119466642.ch12
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TynesB. M.WillisH. A.Maxie-MoremanA.OrtizS. M.EnglishD. (2024). Online racism and its impact on children, adolescents, and emerging adults of color. In Handbook of children and screens: Digital media, development, and well-being from birth through adolescence (pp. 283–290). SpringerNature Switzerland.
27.
VeraE. M.SpeightS. L. (2003). Multicultural competence, social justice, and counseling psychology: Expanding our roles. The Counseling Psychologist, 31(3), 253–272. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000003031003001
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YangN.JankauskaiteG. (2025). AI and technology in grief support: Clinical implications and ethical considerations. The Counseling Psychologist, 53(4).
