ABSTRACT Over the last few years, AI integration has rapidly increased in counseling and counselor education. Given its prevalence, counselor educators have a responsibility to consider AI in their teaching to prepare students to intentionally and critically use AI in their careers. Yet, limited research exists to understand counselor educators’ decisions and meaning making regarding AI in teaching. In this Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis study, we conducted individual interviews and a focus group interview and collected documents (e.g., syllabus statements, assignments) to examine counselor educators’ experiences using AI in their teaching and promote intentional and reflective use of AI. The resulting themes of our data analysis were (a) concerns and risks, (b) navigating complex emotions, (c) responsibility to students and the profession, (d) influence of systems, and (e) application of AI in teaching. Participants shared engaging in a trial‐and‐error process of experimenting with AI in their teaching considering the lack of policies and resources from institutions and counseling organizations which could cause feelings of shame and fear resulting from the lack of open dialogue about AI in counselor education. Implications for counselor educators and institutions include creating continuously updated AI policies and resources and offering spaces where counselor educators can discuss challenges, successes, and feelings and share resources regarding AI in teaching.
Waalkes et al. (2026) studied this question.