DATE: November 12, 2026 at 01:30PM
SOURCE: PsiAN Psychotherapy Action Network
TITLE: Navigating AI in Your Practice: Free Resources for Therapists
URL: https://www.psian.org/blog/navigating-ai-in-your-practice-free-resources-for-therapists
Less than 24 months ago, most therapists could treat artificial intelligence as something happening somewhere else. Today, that’s not the case.AI note-takers now come built into practice management software. Clients arrive having talked through their situation with a chatbot. And in 2026, a wave of new state laws began to define what AI may and may not do in mental health care. For a clinician running a practice, keeping up with it all could be a second job.
The good news: you don't have to start from scratch. Clinicians who care about the same things Psychotherapy Action Network exists to protect have built free, independent resources to track these developments and help you navigate the next right steps. This post rounds up the tools we know can help.
A note before you dive in: some of these resources are created and maintained by others. Psychotherapy Action Network doesn't endorse specific products or vendors, and nothing here is legal advice.
1. Build a practice on your own terms
Psychotherapy Action Network's Private Practice Hub
Much of the AI showing up in therapy arrives through the companies clinicians rely on to run their practices. Psychotherapy Action Network's Private Practice Hub covers the fundamentals of independent practice, from logistics and billing to ethics and building a practice that reflects your values. It also includes guidance on evaluating practice management companies before you sign with one.
Why it's useful:
The Private Practice Hub grew out of Psychotherapy Action Network’s research survey of 667 therapists about their experiences with practice management companies. Respondents raised concerns about privacy, data, and changing terms, including the introduction of AI tools after they had joined. Knowing your options is the best protection against surprises.
2. Know what's inside your practice management softwareAI Reference Guide: EHR and Practice Management Platforms, by Mary Feamster
Many clinicians don't realize their EHR has added AI features until they see a new button in a session note. Mary Feamster, LPC maintains a free resource that breaks down which EHR and practice management platforms offer AI integrations, along with details on data security, ownership, and other questions clinicians should understand before tying their practice and client data to a platform.
Why it's useful:
Before you can decide how you feel about an AI feature, you need to know it's there. The guide gives you a side-by-side starting point.
Questions it can help you start asking: Does my platform record sessions? Who owns the company? Where does my clients' information go?
3. Understand what AI tools your clients may be usingAI Reference Guide: Chatbots, Mental Health Apps, and Startup Platforms, by Mary Feamster
Feamster's companion guide covers many of the AI tools people are using for mental health support, both those built for that purpose and general-purpose chatbots people are turning to.
Why it's useful:
When a client mentions an app or a chatbot, therapists need to know what it is. Understanding these tools makes it easier to have an open, curious conversation about them, rather than a dismissive one.
4. Follow the laws taking shape in your stateStates are moving quickly. According to Becker's, lawmakers in 47 states introduced more than 250 bills on AI in health care in 2025 alone. Several states have since passed laws that speak directly to mental health, including rules about AI presenting itself as a therapist and about how licensed providers can and cannot use AI in their own work.
Why it's useful:
Becker's summary is a concise overview of recent state laws, with links to the bills themselves. It's a quick way to see whether your state has acted and what that action means for your practice.
What to do with it: Laws vary by state and change often. If your state has passed something that affects your practice, your licensing board, an attorney, or your malpractice insurer's risk management service can tell you what it means for you and what actions you need to take.
5. Learn how policy works, and how to be heardAdvocacy Toolkit for Mental Health Professionals, created by Felecia Powell-Williams, EdD, Psychotherapy Action Network Board Secretary
Policymakers regularly make decisions about mental health care, without hearing from the people who provide it. This free, open-source toolkit, built by a member of Psychotherapy Action Network’s board, gathers what clinicians need to understand about how that process works: how to find your state and federal representatives, how a bill moves through a legislature, where to track legislation, trusted news sources on mental health policy, and data resources to inform your understanding.
Why it's useful:
It brings together dozens of resources that would otherwise take hours to find, all in one place and organized for mental health professionals.
Where to start: The section on finding state-based legislation and representatives is a good place to begin.
The relationship is still the workTechnology will continue to evolve, as it always has. What makes therapy work will not. The relationship between a client and a clinician is the heart of the work, and no tool should be allowed to quietly reshape it without your knowledge.
Staying informed is how you keep those decisions in your hands. In early 2027, PsiAN will share more on AI and clinical practice, including where we stand on AI documentation tools.
Join PsiAN to get those updates first, and to connect with clinicians who are thinking carefully about these questions.
Have a resource you rely on that belongs on this list? Let us know at [email protected].
This post is for general information. Some of the resources listed are maintained by independent creators; Psychotherapy Action Network does not endorse specific products or vendors. Nothing here is legal advice.
Sources
•Psychotherapy Action Network: Private Practice Hub
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•Psychotherapy Action Network: Evaluating Practice Management Companies
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•Psychotherapy Action Network: Practice Management Companies Research Report
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•Mary Feamster: AI Reference Guide, EHR and Practice Management Platforms
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•Mary Feamster: AI Reference Guide, Chatbots, Mental Health Apps, and Startup Platforms
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•Mary Feamster: Human in the Loop
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•Becker's Hospital Review: 13 State Healthcare AI Laws to Know
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•Advocacy Toolkit for Mental Health Professionals
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URL: https://www.psian.org/blog/navigating-ai-in-your-practice-free-resources-for-therapists
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