AI exposure: Marriage and Family Therapists
Diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders, whether cognitive, affective, or behavioral, within the context of marriage and family systems. Apply psychotherapeutic and family systems theories and techniques in the delivery of services to individuals, couples, and families for the purpose of treating such diagnosed nervous and mental disorders.
Reading this score
computedMarriage and Family Therapists is one of the unusual cases where capability and friction are both high. Current systems can produce a great deal of this work, with average capability across its tasks at 2.1 out of 4. Only 23.9% of the weighted task load comes out as exposed, because 27.7% of it runs into something structural. Jobs in this band tend not to disappear. They change shape, and the person stays.
What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 17 tasks it averages 2.49 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.
The most exposed thing this job does is Write evaluations of parents and children for use by courts deciding divorce and custody cases,..., at 73.3%. The least is Provide family counseling and treatment services to inmates participating in substance abuse..., at 4.6%. A gap of 68.8% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within community and social service occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 25.4% across the group's 14 roles, with 9 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.
What would move this score. Of 17 tasks, 5 are currently banded exposed, 6 assisted and 6 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take a change in who is permitted to sign the work, which is a question for regulators rather than for engineers. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 2.09 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 0.60 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 2.03 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.76 | 0-3 |
| Context | 2.49 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.97 | 0-3 |
What this means in practice
Roles in this band tend to change shape rather than disappear. The output gets drafted faster and the person moves toward review, judgment and accountability. The useful question is not whether to use these tools but who is trusted to sign off on what they produce.
Task by task
17 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Write evaluations of parents and children for use by courts deciding divorce and custody cases, testifying in court if necessary. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.45 | exposed |
| Maintain case files that include activities, progress notes, evaluations, and recommendations. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 4.75 | exposed |
| Determine whether clients should be counseled or referred to other specialists in such fields as medicine, psychiatry, or legal aid. | 35.0% | 40.0% | 25.0% | 4.54 | assisted |
| Gather information from doctors, schools, social workers, juvenile counselors, law enforcement personnel, and others to make recommendations to courts for resolution of child custody or visitation disputes. | 31.2% | 31.2% | 37.5% | 3.71 | assisted |
| Develop and implement individualized treatment plans addressing family relationship problems, destructive patterns of behavior, and other personal issues. | 30.0% | 45.0% | 25.0% | 4.76 | assisted |
| Provide public education and consultation to other professionals or groups regarding counseling services, issues, and methods. | 29.8% | 28.5% | 41.7% | 3.46 | exposed |
| Collect information about clients, using techniques such as testing, interviewing, discussion, or observation. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 4.11 | exposed |
| Provide instructions to clients on how to obtain help with legal, financial, and other personal issues. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 3.29 | exposed |
| Diagnose mental and emotional disorders in clients. | 25.2% | 41.5% | 33.3% | 4.21 | assisted |
| Follow up on results of counseling programs and clients' adjustments to determine effectiveness of programs. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 3.45 | assisted |
| Confer with other counselors, doctors, and professionals to analyze individual cases and to coordinate counseling services. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | 4.23 | assisted |
| Encourage individuals and family members to develop and use skills and strategies for confronting their problems in a constructive manner. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.79 | untouched |
| Supervise other counselors, social service staff, and assistants. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.38 | untouched |
| Counsel clients on concerns, such as unsatisfactory relationships, divorce and separation, child rearing, home management, or financial difficulties. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 4.69 | untouched |
| Ask questions that will help clients identify their feelings and behaviors. | 5.0% | 20.0% | 75.0% | 4.79 | untouched |
| Confer with clients to develop plans for posttreatment activities. | 5.0% | 20.0% | 75.0% | 4.14 | untouched |
| Provide family counseling and treatment services to inmates participating in substance abuse programs. | 4.6% | 20.4% | 75.0% | 3.60 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.