AI in School Health: Is It Appropriate for Mental Health Help?

Abstract

The utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is rapidly developing with many unknowns and unforeseen circumstances. With the behavioral healthcare needs of the country rapidly expanding, AI has been integrated into various healthcare settings in hopes of promoting timely and effective care delivery. Therefore, it is essential for school nurses to be aware of the basics of AI to subsequently address appropriateness and safety related to the use of AI for mental health help in school-aged children. Current uses of AI in mental healthcare are explored throughout this article, along with the potential positive aspects and adverse effects. Recommendations are provided for school nurses for the use of AI to address mental health concerns in school-aged children to promote optimal student health and success.

Keywords

school nurse artificial intelligence adolescent mental health mental health school health school-based psychology health technology

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abbas

S. R.

Seol

Abbas

Lee

S. W.

(2025). Exploring the role of artificial intelligence in smart healthcare: A capability and function-oriented review. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 13(14), Article 1642. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13141642

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2021). Mental health tools for pediatrics. https://downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/Mental_Health_Tools_for_Pediatrics.pdf?_gl=1*y1dgrk*_ga*MTc1NTMyMjk3LjE3NDczMjg5OTE.*_ga_FD9D3XZVQQ*czE3NDczMjg5OTEkbzEkZzAkdDE3NDczMjg5OTEkajAkbDAkaDA.*_gcl_au*NTgyNjE2ODUzLjE3NDczMjg5OTE.*_ga_GMZCQS1K47*czE3NDczMjg5OTEkbzEkZzAkdDE3NDczMjg5OTEkajAkbDAkaDA

American Psychological Association. (2025). Ethical guidance for AI in the professional practice of health service psychology. https://www.apa.org/topics/artificial-intelligence-machine-learning/ethical-guidance-professional-practice.pdf

Artificial Intelligence Prompt Repository Manager. (2025). AI statistics 2024. https://www.aiprm.com/ai-statistics/

Bajwa

Munir

Nori

Williams

(2021). Artificial intelligence in healthcare: Transforming the practice of medicine. Future Healthcare Journal, 8(2), e188–e194. https://doi.org/10.7861/fhj.2021-0095

Haque

M. D .R.

Rubya

(2023). An overview of chatbot-based mobile mental health apps: Insights from app description and user reviews. JMIR mHealth uHealth, 11, e44838. https://doi.org/10.2196/44838

Holmes

Tang

Gupta

Venkatesh

Christensen

Whitton

(2025). Applications of large language models in the field of suicide prevention: Scoping review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27, e63126. https://doi.org/10.2196/63126

IBM. (n.d.). Understanding the different types of artificial intelligence. Accessed January 2026. https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/artificial-intelligence-types

Johns Hopkins Medicine. (2024, September 24). Specifically designed video games may benefit mental health of children and teenagers. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/2024/09/specially-designed-video-games-may-benefit-mental-health-of-children-and-teenagers

10.

Kalam

K.T.

Rahman

J.M.

Islam

M. R.

Dewan

S. M. R.

(2024). ChatGPT and mental health: Friends or foes? Health Science Reports, 7(2), e1912. https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.1912

11.

Lekadir

Frangi

A. F.

Porras

A. R.

Glocker

Cintas

Langlotz

C. P.

Weicken

Asselbergs

F. W.

Prior

Collins

G. S.

Kaissis

Tsakou

Buvat

Kalpathy-Cramer

Mongan

Schnabel

J. A.

Kushibar

Riklund

Marias

. . .. Starmans

M. P.A.

(2025). FUTURE-AI: International consensus guideline for trustworthy and deployable artificial intelligence in healthcare. BMJ, 388, e081554. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2024-081554

12.

Microsoft. (2026). Generative AI vs. other AI types. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/ai-101/generative-ai-vs-other-types-of-ai#:~:text=Conversational%20AI%20understands%20natural%20language,%2C%20videos%2C%20and%20product%20designs.

13.

Moore

Herington

Tekin

(2025). The integration of artificial intelligence-powered psychotherapy chatbots in pediatric care: Scaffold or substitute? The Journal of Pediatrics, 280, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2025.114509

14.

National Association of School Nursing. (2025). National Association of School Nurses position brief: Use of artificial intelligence in school health. The Journal of School Nursing, 41(4), 524–525. https://doi.org/10.1177/10598405251335921

15.

Pham

K. T.

Nabizadeh

Selek

(2022). Artificial intelligence and chatbots in psychiatry. Psychiatric Quarterly, 93, 249–253. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-022-09973-8

16.

Saeed

D. K.

Nashwan

A. J.

(2025). Harnessing artificial intelligence in lifestyle medicine: Opportunities, challenges, and future directions. Cureus, 17(6), e85580. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.85580

17.

Singh

Sarkar

Gaur

Grover

Singh

O. P.

(2024). Clinical practice guidelines on using artificial intelligence and gadgets for mental health and well-being. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 66, S414–S419. https://doi.org/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_926_23

18.

Stanford University. (2025, June 11). Exploring the dangers of AI in mental health care. https://hai.stanford.edu/news/exploring-the-dangers-of-ai-in-mental-health-care

19.

Starcevic

(2023). Keeping Dr. Google under control: How to prevent and manage cyberchondria. World Psychiatry: Official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association, 22(2), 233–234. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.21076

20.

Syracuse University. (2025, March 26). Types of AI: Explore key categories and uses. https://ischool.syracuse.edu/types-of-ai/