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
Aetna is cutting reimbursement for the 90837 extended session code to match the rate for shorter sessions for Alma-contracted therapists - and separately, will pay doctoral-level providers the same rate as masters-level providers. Both changes were communicated May 20 and take effect July 15, 2026.
👉 Why it matters: The credential-flattening is the bigger shift - if it spreads beyond this platform, it changes what doctoral training is worth across insurance contracts.
🔒 Regulation & Compliance
A new Psychiatric Times analysis of a 2026 private practice report finds that getting into care is harder than it needs to be - with insurance panels, intake delays, and administrative load named as the main barriers, independent of how many clinicians there are.
👉 Why it matters: It gives you data to name what many practices already feel - this is an infrastructure problem, not just a supply problem.
🧠 Clinical Update
A network meta-analysis of 43 RCTs and nearly 3,900 pregnant women found that aerobic exercise and mind-body exercise both reduced prenatal depression, yoga showed strong effects on anxiety and cortisol, and women with existing depressive symptoms gained the most from aerobic training.
👉 Why it matters: When pregnant clients ask about non-drug options, the type of exercise matters - the data now supports being specific.
🧩 AI & Mental Health
Ksana Health was awarded an ARPA-H contract worth up to $17.9 million to build an AI model for earlier detection of mental health and substance use disorders - pulling from smartphone behavior signals and electronic health records.
👉 Why it matters: Worth knowing as clients increasingly arrive having already been flagged or screened by passive data tools before they reach your office.
💬 In the Room
A Psychology Today piece examines what high-functioning anxiety looks like in adults - clients who appear competent and organized on the outside while running on chronic internal overdrive, and why the pattern rarely gets named in clinical settings.
👉 Why it matters: Clients presenting with stress or vague burnout may be describing something more specific - naming this pattern directly can shift the conversation.
🏥 Practice & Business
Ampa announced new funding this week bringing its total to $25M for the Ampa One - a portable TMS device built for smaller clinics, with demand reportedly doubling every quarter.
👉 Why it matters: TMS referral options are expanding beyond hospital systems - worth knowing what's in your area for clients with treatment-resistant depression.
📖 One Good Read
A Next City op-ed published this week argues that mental health workforce shortages exist in every U.S. state - and that the policy levers to fix them are sitting unused. Worth ten minutes if the staffing conversation has felt abstract.
🫐 From Berries This Week
This week, Berries shared two resources for your practice and wellbeing.
Podcast: Danielle Smith joins Kym Tolson to talk about high-functioning anxiety in motherhood - what it looks like clinically and how to meet clients who are holding everything together on the outside.
Meditation: Julie Ela Grace recorded a guided meditation on sleep after holding others - available as a 13-minute wind-down or a 9-hour full night version - for when you need help setting it down before rest.
🤝 Closing
A week of movement in policy, technology, and reimbursement - your steadiness in the middle of it matters.
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.