AI Oversight, Data Privacy, and Physical Health

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.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' SAMHSA awarded $96.7 million on August 17 for behavioral health services, including homelessness outreach, suicide prevention, substance use treatment, and disaster support.

👉 Why it matters: This funding supports the safety net many of your clients rely on, and it's worth checking which programs reach your state or referral network.

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LifeStance Health Group agreed to a $3.03 million settlement over claims that website tracking pixels shared patient data, including appointment bookings, with Meta and Google without consent.

👉 Why it matters: If your practice site uses analytics or ad pixels, it's worth checking what they can see and using consent-based, HIPAA-compliant tracking only.

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A 24-year Queensland hospital study found that people with schizophrenia-spectrum or bipolar disorder develop chronic physical illness sooner and more often than matched peers, with the gap widening as more body systems are affected.

👉 Why it matters: The findings support routine physical health screening for clients with severe mental illness, rather than treating it as a separate concern.

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Bioethicists this week examined a Pennsylvania lawsuit against a Character.AI chatbot, "Emilie," which claimed to be a psychiatrist with a fabricated license number, arguing this kind of overt impersonation is likely to become the exception, not the rule.

👉 Why it matters: Most chatbots use disclaimers, not false credentials, so the harder question ahead is when an ordinary AI conversation quietly becomes therapy.

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Jake Collective and The Jed Foundation launched a multiyear partnership to build a research-based framework for neurodivergent students' mental health, citing data that nearly a third of Americans under 30 self-identify as neurodivergent.

👉 Why it matters: As more clients bring neurodivergence into the conversation alongside anxiety or depression, frameworks like this one may shape what language and referral options become standard.

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A behavioral health tech founder's analysis of search behavior finds people search for care by insurance first, not last, citing a 2023 Senate Finance Committee study in which only 18% of calls to "in-network" Medicare Advantage providers led to an appointment.

👉 Why it matters: A plain, dated note on your site listing accepted plans and openings answers the question clients are actually asking, and spares them an unanswered call.

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Turns out we're more honest with an algorithm than with our own boss, a new study found, at least until the conversation turns emotional, when the machine's edge disappears completely.

If clients are turning to chatbots for things they won't say to a person, the reasons may say more about trust and safety than about AI itself.

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This week, Berries shared a podcast on handing off the parts of practice that don't need to be yours, plus a blog on putting the CBT triangle to work with clients.

Podcast: Kym Tolson talks with Nicole Lacherza-Drew, PsyD, founder of CouchSide Coordinators, about the overwhelm she now helps other clinicians solve, covering what to delegate first, where automation earns its place, and how to build SOPs from scratch.

→ Listen to our podcast

Blog: A practical breakdown of the CBT triangle, the thought-feeling-behavior model at the center of most CBT work, with tips for introducing it in session and a free worksheet you can use with clients right away.

→ Read our blog

Whether it's a regulator, a researcher, or a colleague building a better referral system, this week shows how many people are working, in their own way, toward the same thing you show up for every day.

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.