AI in the Therapy Room, a New PTSD Treatment, and $700M for the Field

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.

HHS Secretary Kennedy announced more than $700 million in new behavioral health funding on June 17, including $238.6 million for the 988 Lifeline, $223.1 million for community behavioral health clinics, and $96 million for new street-based care programs for people experiencing homelessness with serious mental illness.

👉 Why it matters: For practices that refer clients in crisis or without stable housing, this may change what's actually available when you pick up the phone.

→ Read more

CAQH - the credentialing platform most insurance-billing clinicians use - rebranded as DataSpring on June 8. Your login and attestation schedule are unchanged. What changed in January: CAQH converted from nonprofit to for-profit, now owned by a group of major health plan shareholders including UnitedHealth Group, Aetna, Cigna, and Humana.

👉 Why it matters: The system that controls your payer directory listings is now owned by the insurers you contract with - worth knowing as you make panel decisions.

→ Read more

Wave Neuroscience received FDA clearance on June 11 for MeRT - a therapy that uses a patient's own brain data to personalize magnetic stimulation for PTSD. It's the first FDA-cleared treatment of its kind for PTSD, backed by a randomized controlled trial showing significant symptom reductions.

👉 Why it matters: For clients with PTSD who haven't responded to therapy or medication, there's now a cleared, personalized neuromodulation option worth knowing about for referrals.

→ Read more

The APA surveyed more than 1,200 licensed psychologists for its 2026 Chatbots and Mental Health survey. More than three-quarters say patients are bringing up AI in sessions. More than a third say patients are using AI as an additional mental health professional; the same survey found separate groups using chatbots for companionship (22%) and intimate relationships (13%).

👉 Why it matters: Chatbot use is becoming something to ask about at intake - what clients are discussing, and whether it's helping or complicating their care.

→ Read more

A KFF poll published June 17 found 29% of U.S. adults now use AI for health information at least monthly - nearly double from two years ago. For uninsured adults and those without a regular provider, cost and access are a major reason for turning to both AI and social media for health information.

👉 Why it matters: Clients arriving without consistent care access may be arriving with AI-shaped frameworks for what they're experiencing - worth asking about.

→ Read more

A Medical Daily analysis published June 12 rounds up the latest evidence on ambient AI scribes: a Mass General Brigham study found a 21.2% reduction in burnout prevalence, and a separate UCLA randomized trial found approximately 7% improvement in burnout scores - with documentation time reductions confirmed at multiple other health systems.

👉 Why it matters: The evidence is no longer preliminary. If documentation is eating your evenings, this is worth a serious look.

→ Read more

A psychiatrist with forty years of practice published an essay on KevinMD this week about the time a patient attacked him - and the decades of quiet self-blame that followed.

→ Read more

This week, Berries released a podcast episode on how AI is changing how clients find you.

Podcast: Joshua Brummel joins Kym Tolson to break down what AI search engines are actually saying about your therapy practice - how your online presence is being read, summarized, and surfaced by tools your clients are already using before they ever book a session.

→ Listen to our podcast

The data this week confirms what you already knew: people are looking for care in more places than ever, and the relationship you offer is still the one that holds.

As always, thank you for your truly important work.

If you’re reading this but haven’t subscribed, subscribe here. Enjoying the newsletter? Forward it to a friend.

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.