Each week brings new conversations about mental health, technology, and care. Between Sessions gathers what's worth your attention - so you can stay informed without adding to your workload.
📋 Field Update
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and The Jed Foundation announced plans to merge - which would make the combined organization the nation's largest suicide prevention nonprofit, with a combined annual budget of approximately $75 million. Close is expected by fall 2026, pending New York State Attorney General approval.
👉 Why it matters: A single national organization may carry more weight in federal funding and policy conversations than two separate ones.
🔒 Regulation & Compliance
Connecticut fined all five of its major insurers - Aetna, Anthem, ConnectiCare, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare - for mental health parity violations: unequal reimbursement rates, inadequate networks, lower new patient acceptance, and longer wait times.
👉 Why it matters: This is parity enforcement with real consequences - and it adds to momentum already seen in Georgia this year.
🧠 Clinical Update
A Phase 2 trial published in JAMA Psychiatry found that LB-102, a once-daily oral antipsychotic, significantly reduced symptoms in adults with acute schizophrenia by week one - with fewer movement side effects than many current options. A Phase 3 trial is now underway, with results expected in late 2027.
👉 Why it matters: If Phase 3 holds, this could be a new option for clients who haven't responded well to existing medications - one with a track record in Europe but never before available in the U.S.
🧩 AI & Mental Health
A JAMA study tracking 1,800 clinicians across five health systems over two years found AI scribes cut documentation time by 16 minutes and EHR use by 13 minutes per shift. Clinicians who used the tools most consistently saw the largest gains.
👉 Why it matters: 16 minutes a day is worth knowing about as you decide whether AI scribes belong in your practice.
💬 In the Room
A Psychology Today piece this week names "gas-fogging" - the accumulated weight of rising costs, relentless news, and social fragmentation that makes people feel their distress is a personal failure rather than a reasonable response to real conditions.
👉 Why it matters: Many clients aren't struggling because something is wrong with them - and naming that distinction is increasingly useful work in the room.
🏥 Practice & Business
Tava Health raised $40M and announced Symphony - a free practice management platform for behavioral health clinicians combining an AI scribe, treatment planning, scheduling, telehealth, and billing protection across more than 200 health plans.
👉 Why it matters: Free tools aimed at reducing documentation and billing burden are worth evaluating, especially for solo and small-group practices.
📖 One Good Read
A JAMA study found youth suicide rates were 11% lower than projected since 988 launched - with states that increased call volume the most seeing the steepest declines. Among the strongest evidence yet that crisis infrastructure saves lives.
🫐 From Berries This Week
This week, Berries shared two resources for your practice and wellbeing.
Podcast: Tara Wells joins Kym Tolson on why private practice can feel so isolating - and what clinicians can actually do about it. A candid conversation for anyone building or sustaining independent work.
Meditation: Julie Ela Grace recorded a 12-minute guided meditation on being the container - for the ongoing work of holding space for others without losing your own ground.
🤝 Closing
The organizations you've long worked alongside are consolidating, regulators are acting, and a decade of investment in crisis infrastructure is producing numbers worth knowing - none of which happens without the clinicians doing the daily work behind it.
As always, thank you for your truly important work.
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This newsletter is intended for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute clinical, legal, or regulatory guidance. Clinicians should rely on their professional judgment and applicable standards of care when integrating any technology into practice.