The rapid development of generative artificial intelligence technology is profoundly reshaping mental health education in colleges and universities, which has systematically challenged the professional identity, professional practice, and emotional care of mental health teachers. Based on the practice of mental health education in colleges and universities, this paper systematically analyzes the specific application forms of generative AI in the work of mental health teachers in colleges and universities, and deeply discusses its core challenges to the professional development of mental health teachers, including: the professional pressure of teachers’ role transformation, the potential threat of students’ subjective development, the algorithm limitation and cultural deviation of emotional support, and the ethical dilemma of the boundary between data security and man-machine responsibility. Finally, the paper puts forward a coping path based on “AI-assisted and teacher-led”, and constructs a three-dimensional coping framework from the individual level, organizational level and technical level to help mental health teachers realize the role transformation from “passive pressure” to “active adaptation” in the wave of technology, and finally reduce the incidence of students’ psychological crisis and improve the quality of mental health education.