AI Health Questions, Parity Flags, and Teen Progress

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.

A September 24 CMS release announced $13 million in Rural Health Transformation Program funding to create a same-day, 24/7 mobile crisis service in South Dakota, including 12 grants to providers in the state's Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic initiative.

👉 Why it matters: Same-day crisis response can shape where clients get help in a hard moment, which matters if you practice in or refer to rural communities.

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Becker's reports the Labor Department's September 8 parity guidance narrows enforcement to treatment exclusions, medical necessity reviews, and provider networks, naming red flags like prior authorization for nearly all behavioral health care but few medical services.

👉 Why it matters: The stricter 2024 rule is not being enforced, but these red flags still give you concrete reference points when a plan makes therapy harder to reach than medical care.

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A University of Florida-led study of nearly 100,000 young adults found those using AI tools like ChatGPT for health questions had 52% higher odds of screening positive for anxiety and 46% higher odds for depression, an association rather than proof of cause.

👉 Why it matters: Lead researcher Yusen Zhai suggests asking clients how they use AI for health questions, noting that repeated reassurance-seeking could reinforce rumination or health anxiety.

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OpenAI released MentalHealthBench on September 23, a company-built scoring tool, developed with more than 80 licensed psychologists and psychiatrists, that rates how AI models respond in mental health conversations ranging from everyday stress to emergencies.

👉 Why it matters: Scores come from simulated conversations graded by an OpenAI model against expert-written criteria, so they reflect how responses read, not real-world outcomes for clients.

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NPR reports new CDC survey data showing the share of high schoolers reporting persistent sadness or hopelessness fell from 42% in 2021 to 33% in 2025, and seriously considering suicide from 22% to 14%.

👉 Why it matters: These rates are still significant, but the decline since 2021 offers grounded hope to share with worried parents and young clients.

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Oregon's Employment Department reports online job ads for mental health professionals have stayed elevated even as postings economy-wide returned to pre-pandemic levels, with marriage and family therapist jobs projected to grow 24.9% through 2034, versus 6.4% for all occupations.

👉 Why it matters: Oregon is one state, but sustained demand is useful context when you weigh fees, panels, or how much capacity you can offer.

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Seattle therapist Sam Louie, LMHC, spent two decades knowing his story by heart without quite feeling it, and his turn toward sandplay, art, and IFS makes a quiet case for asking clients what they notice inside, not just what happened.

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This week, Berries shared a podcast on what insurance auditors are flagging and four new worksheet guides for clinicians.

Podcast: Kym Tolson talks with Beth Rontal, LICSW, founder of The Documentation Wizard, about why AI is speeding up insurance audits, the language that supports medical necessity for 90837 sessions, and how to tie diagnosis, treatment plan, and progress notes together.

→ Listen to our podcast

Blog: Practical guides to DBT, values, self-esteem, and coping skills worksheets, each covering in-session use, documentation, and a downloadable PDF.

→ Read our DBT worksheet guide

→ Read our values worksheet guide

→ Read our self-esteem worksheet guide

→ Read our coping skills worksheet guide

Some weeks bring genuinely hopeful numbers, and it is worth letting that register alongside everything else you carry.

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.