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Colorado HB26-1195: What Therapists Need to Know About the New AI Psychotherapy Law

Colorado HB26-1195: What Therapists Need to Know About the New AI Psychotherapy Law

By

Berries Editorial Team

8

Min read

•

Colorado’s HB26-1195 is a state law that sets clear rules for how therapists can and can’t use artificial intelligence (AI) in psychotherapy. It took effect on August 12, 2026, and it keeps therapy in human hands while still letting AI help with notes, scheduling, and other support tasks. If you practice in Colorado and use an AI scribe or any AI-powered tool, here’s what the law means for your day-to-day work.


Key Takeaways

  • AI isn’t banned, but its role is limited. Clinicians can use AI for administrative and supplementary support, including therapy notes, as long as they stay responsible for reviewing everything the AI produces.

  • Consent and disclosure are now required. Clients must receive written information about the law’s AI restrictions at initial contact, and clinicians need written, revocable consent before AI records or transcribes a session.

  • The clinician stays in charge of care. AI can’t hold therapeutic conversations with clients on its own, and any AI-generated treatment plan or recommendation needs the clinician’s review and approval before it’s used.


What Is Colorado HB26-1195?

HB26-1195, titled “Psychotherapy Artificial Intelligence Restrictions,” was introduced in the Colorado House on February 11, 2026. Governor Jared Polis signed it on June 3, 2026, and it took effect on August 12, 2026, 90 days after the legislative session ended.

One of the bill’s prime sponsors, Rep. Gretchen Rydin, is also a licensed clinical social worker and addiction counselor, and the bill drew bipartisan support. According to the sponsors’ joint statement, the law doesn’t limit AI for administrative work, but it does require psychotherapy to be delivered by a licensed human provider.

Who the law applies to

The law covers anyone lawfully permitted to provide psychotherapy in Colorado, including:

  • Psychologists and licensed professional counselors

  • Social workers and clinical social workers

  • Marriage and family therapists

  • Addiction counselors

  • Candidates for these credentials and registered unlicensed psychotherapists


What AI Can Still Do in Your Practice

The law sorts acceptable AI use into two categories. Both are allowed only when the clinician stays responsible for reviewing any AI-generated outputs and meets client consent requirements. Any AI use must also comply with state and federal privacy and security laws, including HIPAA.

Administrative support

These tasks help run the practice without involving therapeutic communication. The bill text lists:

  • Scheduling: Managing appointments and reminders

  • Billing: Processing billing and insurance claims

  • Logistics: Drafting general messages about therapy logistics that don’t include therapeutic advice

Supplementary support

These tasks sit closer to clinical work but don’t involve talking with clients:

  • Documentation: Preparing and maintaining client records, including therapy notes

  • Progress tracking: Analyzing client data to track progress or spot trends, with clinician review

  • Resources: Identifying and organizing resources or referrals for clients

AI-assisted documentation fits within the law, but “allowed” doesn’t mean “hands-off.” You still need to read, correct, and sign off on what the tool produces, and your existing ethical duties around AI scribes still apply.


What the Law Restricts

Under the signed law, clinicians may not let AI:

  • Hold therapeutic conversations with clients. The only exception is when the clinician, the AI system, and the client are all taking part in the same real-time interaction, with the clinician actively engaged the whole time.

  • Create unreviewed treatment plans or recommendations. AI-generated plans and therapeutic recommendations must be reviewed and approved by the clinician before they’re used in care.

The law also reaches beyond individual clinicians. Offering or advertising psychotherapy through AI without a regulated professional is a deceptive trade practice. Marketing an AI product as equal to a licensed clinician’s services also falls under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.

What counts as “therapeutic communication”

The bill defines this term broadly, which matters for between-session chatbots and check-ins. It includes:

  • Reflecting a client’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences

  • Offering guidance, therapeutic strategies, or interventions

  • Providing emotional support or reassurance during distress

  • Working with clients on therapeutic goals or treatment plans

  • Giving behavioral feedback meant to address a mental health condition

It does not include general wellness education meant to promote overall health rather than address a specific mental health concern.

Consent and Disclosure Requirements

The law creates two separate client-facing duties.

Written notice at initial contact

Clinicians must give clients written notice of the law’s AI restrictions during initial contact. This applies whether or not you use an AI scribe, so it’s worth adding to your intake process.

Written consent before AI records or transcribes

If an AI tool will record or transcribe a session, Colorado’s consent rules are specific:

  • Tell the client in advance, in writing, that AI will be used and for what specific purpose.

  • Get written consent. Electronic signatures count, but consent can’t be hidden inside broad terms of use or gained through deception.

  • Keep it revocable. Clients can withdraw consent at any time, and refusing or revoking it can’t be used as a reason to deny therapy.

  • Get it once, then revisit when needed. One-time consent is enough unless the purpose or manner of AI use materially changes.

Many clients will sign right away. Others may ask about privacy and confidentiality, so treat consent as a short conversation, not just a form.


Enforcement and Exceptions

Violations can lead to licensing board discipline, administrative fines of up to $5,000 per violation, and civil penalties of up to $20,000 per violation under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. The law also includes a few carve-outs:

  • Education and training: AI used only for training or simulation in accredited programs

  • Research: AI developed or tested under an institutional review board

  • Wellness tools: Self-help, coaching, journaling, mood monitoring, and similar wellness tools that don’t diagnose or treat and clearly say they aren’t a substitute for clinical care


How to Prepare Your Practice

A few focused updates cover most of what the law asks:

  1. List every AI tool you use, including AI features built into your EHR, scheduling, or billing software.

  2. Sort each tool by function: administrative, supplementary, or restricted.

  3. Add the AI notice to your intake packet so every new client receives it at first contact.

  4. Update your AI consent form to name the specific purpose of each tool, and plan a non-AI documentation option for clients who decline.

  5. Build in a review step for every AI-drafted note, treatment plan, or recommendation.

  6. Put it in writing. A clear AI policy keeps solo and group practices consistent.

  7. Watch for vendor updates. A new feature could count as a material change that calls for fresh consent.

If you’re still choosing tools, this guide on how to evaluate AI tools as a therapist walks through the key questions to ask vendors.


How Berries Supports Colorado Clinicians

Berries is an AI scribe built for mental health professionals. It helps with documentation, the record-keeping the law calls supplementary support, while you stay the author of every note. Key features include:


Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need new consent before every session?

No. Colorado requires consent before the first time AI records or transcribes a client’s sessions on or after August 12, 2026. You only need new consent if the purpose or manner of the AI use materially changes.

Does the law apply to me if I don’t use an AI scribe?

Partly, yes. The written notice about the law’s AI restrictions at initial contact applies to all clients. The recording and transcription consent rules only apply if you actually use AI for those tasks.

What happens if a client declines AI documentation?

You can’t deny or limit therapy because a client says no or later changes their mind. For these clients, you’ll need a manual documentation workflow.

Can I still recommend wellness apps to clients?

Generally, yes. The law exempts self-help, coaching, meditation, journaling, and similar wellness tools that don’t diagnose or treat mental health conditions and clearly disclose that they aren’t a substitute for clinical care. Still, check how any app handles client data before recommending it.

Is Colorado the only state with a law like this?

No. Illinois passed the Wellness and Oversight for Psychological Resources Act, which was signed on August 4, 2025 and places similar limits on AI in therapy. Colorado also passed HB26-1139, which bars certain payers from covering psychotherapy conducted by AI.


Conclusion

Colorado’s HB26-1195 draws a clear line: AI can help you with the work around therapy, but it can’t do the therapy. For most clinicians, that means keeping AI tools for notes and admin, adding a written AI notice to intake, getting specific written consent before AI records sessions, and reviewing every AI draft before it reaches the chart.

These steps also reflect good clinical practice: clear consent builds trust, and careful review keeps records accurate.


Sources

Professional Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal advice, clinical judgment, supervision, or continuing education. Therapists should review the signed text of HB26-1195, consult current guidance from their licensing board, and seek qualified legal counsel when applying this information to their own practice.

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