AI has quickly moved from a curiosity to an everyday tool in many mental health practices. To understand how clinicians are actually using it, we surveyed 343 mental health professionals between July and September 2026. The 2026 State of AI in Mental Health Practice Report shares what we learned about time savings, wellbeing, client and patient consent, and the parts of care clinicians want to keep human.
Key Takeaways
AI use is now the norm, not the exception. 79.3% of clinicians surveyed currently use AI in their practice, and 93% of those users rely on it for session notes.
Documentation time dropped sharply. AI users reported spending 3.1 hours a week on documentation, down from 7.7 hours before adopting AI. That's 4.6 hours back each week, and 96.7% of AI users report improved professional wellbeing.
Transparency and human judgment still matter. 76% of AI users say clients and patients usually or almost always agree when AI use is disclosed. At the same time, 68.4% of respondents say the therapeutic relationship should remain entirely clinician-led.
Want the complete findings? Download the full 2026 State of AI in Mental Health Practice Report.
Who We Heard From
The report is based on responses from 343 mental health clinicians across a range of professional roles and practice settings. Of those, 272 currently use AI in their practice. All findings are reported in aggregate.
Respondents included:
Licensed professional counselors (35%)
Clinical social workers (29%)
Marriage and family therapists (13%)
Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) (10%)
Psychologists (6%)
Other professions (7%)
Together, these roles reflect a range of specialties across mental health care, from counseling and social work to psychiatry and psychology.
AI Has Become Part of Everyday Practice
Nearly four in five clinicians surveyed (79.3%) currently use AI in their practice. That's a big shift for a field that has historically been careful with new technology, and for good reason.
Our findings line up with a broader trend. The American Psychological Association's 2025 Practitioner Pulse Survey found that 56% of psychologists had used AI tools at least once in the past year, up from 29% in 2024. Each survey uses a different sample and different questions, so the numbers aren't directly comparable. Still, the direction is clear: adoption is growing fast.
Session Notes Lead the Way
Documentation is by far the most common use. 93% of AI users rely on AI for session notes, making it the top use case in the report.
This matches what other research has found. Clinicians tend to start with administrative work rather than clinical decisions. According to NPR's coverage of the APA survey, psychologists most often use AI for emails, report writing, and AI scribes for documentation. A survey of American Psychiatric Association members found a similar pattern, with AI used mostly for workflow support like note-taking rather than direct clinical care.
Documentation Time Fell by 4.6 Hours a Week
The headline number is simple. Weekly documentation time fell from 7.7 hours before AI to 3.1 hours after adopting it. That's 4.6 hours back every week, or close to 20 hours over a typical month.
These are self-reported numbers, so individual results will vary with caseload, note type, and workflow. But they echo other research. A National Register of Health Service Psychologists survey found that psychologists using AI reported saving an average of about 3.9 hours a week on administrative work.
Why does this matter so much? Paperwork is one of the most common complaints in the profession. When releasing its 2025 survey, APA leadership noted that psychologists can lose hours each day to paperwork and insurance requirements. Time spent on notes is time not spent with clients and patients, on clinical thinking, or on rest.
Curious how clinicians use the hours they get back? See the full breakdown in the report.
Clinicians Report Better Professional Wellbeing
Time savings are only part of the story. 96.7% of AI users report improved professional wellbeing. When notes take less time, clinicians may have more room to prepare for sessions, catch their breath between sessions, or simply leave work at work.
It's worth reading this number with care. Self-reported wellbeing isn't the same as a formal burnout measure. Clinicians who choose to answer an AI survey may also feel more positively about AI than the field as a whole. These findings are best seen as a snapshot of clinician experience, not proof of cause and effect.
The full report goes deeper here, including how often clinicians use AI and how they spend the time it saves.
Clients and Patients Usually Say Yes When AI Use Is Disclosed
One of the most common worries about AI is how clients and patients will feel about it. The data offers some reassurance. 76% of AI users say clients and patients almost always or usually agree when AI use is disclosed. Only 4% say clients and patients usually or almost always decline.
Acceptance is high, but trust still matters. Disclosure isn't just good manners. It's part of professional guidance. The American Counseling Association recommends that counselors clearly inform clients and patients about AI tools, including their purpose and potential benefits. The APA's survey release also lists informed consent, with clear communication about use, benefits, and risks, among its recommendations.
Disclosure can also be a legal requirement. Some states require clinicians to notify clients and patients, or get their consent, before AI is used to record, transcribe, or document a session, and these rules are changing quickly. Check the requirements that apply where you practice, and get consent in line with applicable law. Berries also offers a downloadable patient/client consent form you can adapt for your practice.
What to Cover When You Disclose AI Use
A clear, simple conversation tends to work best. Consider covering:
What the tool does. Explain in plain words that it helps you write session notes.
Why you use it. Many clients and patients appreciate hearing that it lets you focus on them during the session.
Benefits and risks. Be honest about both, as professional guidance recommends.
How their information is protected. Share how data is stored and secured.
Who stays in charge. Let clients and patients know you review and finalize every note.
What happens if they say no. Make it clear that declining won't affect their care.
Some Things Should Stay Human
Clinicians are welcoming AI for paperwork, but they're drawing a clear line around the heart of therapy. 68.4% of respondents say the therapeutic relationship should remain entirely clinician-led.
Professional organizations share this view. The ACA's recommendations describe AI as a supportive tool that should not replace a counselor's professional judgment. Practice patterns reflect this too. In the APA's 2025 survey, only 8% of psychologists who used AI said they used it to help with clinical diagnosis.
The full report also explores the top concerns among AI users and why some clinicians haven't adopted AI at all. Those concerns deserve real attention. As the Berries team put it in the report, the future should protect what matters most: privacy, clinical judgment, and human connection.
What This Means for Your Practice
Whether you already use AI or are still deciding, these findings point to a few practical steps:
Start with documentation. Session notes are the most common use and where time savings show up most clearly.
Confirm a Business Associate Agreement (BAA). HIPAA rules generally require contracts with business associates that handle protected health information (PHI). This step is easy to miss. The National Register survey found that 13.3% of active AI users reported entering PHI into AI tools, which highlights the need for compliance education.
Build AI disclosure into informed consent. Make it part of intake rather than a surprise later on.
Review every AI-generated note. You're still responsible for the clinical record, so read and edit before you sign.
Track your own time. Compare your weekly documentation hours before and after a few weeks of use to see what's actually changing for you.
Keep the relationship clinician-led. Use AI to clear space for clinical work, not to replace it.
Want to see how your practice compares to 343 of your peers? Download the 2026 State of AI in Mental Health Practice Report.
Reducing Documentation Time With Berries
If documentation is where most clinicians start with AI, it's also where Berries was built to help. Berries is an AI scribe designed specifically for therapists, counselors, social workers, psychiatrists, and PMHNPs.
Berries turns your sessions into clinical notes in the format you already use. Beyond notes, it supports treatment plans, session prep, and client and patient letters, all within one platform. Insights reflects each session back to you, showing the approaches you used and patterns worth another look, while the AI Chat Assistant lets you clarify ideas and ask questions with context from your past notes. Berries offers a Business Associate Agreement and does not store session recordings, so privacy stays front and center.
The goal is the same one reflected throughout this report: less time on paperwork and more time for the clinical work you trained for.
Read the Full Report
This article covers the headline findings, but there's more inside. The full report includes clinicians' top priorities for AI's future, the most valuable uses of time saved, top concerns among AI users, and a closer look at non-adopters.
Download the 2026 State of AI in Mental Health Practice Report to explore the complete findings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who took part in the 2026 State of AI in Mental Health Practice survey?
The survey collected responses from 343 mental health clinicians between July and September 2026. Respondents included licensed professional counselors, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, PMHNPs, psychologists, and other professionals. Of those surveyed, 272 currently use AI in their practice, and all findings are reported in aggregate.
How much time can AI save on therapy documentation?
In this survey, AI users reported that weekly documentation time fell from 7.7 hours to 3.1 hours, an average savings of 4.6 hours a week. Your own results may differ based on caseload, note format, and how you use the tool. Tracking your hours before and after adopting AI is the best way to see your real impact.
Do clients and patients mind when their clinician uses AI?
Based on what clinicians reported, most don't, at least when AI use is disclosed. 76% of AI users say clients and patients almost always or usually agree, while only 4% say they usually or almost always decline. A clear conversation about what the tool does and how data is protected helps build that trust.
Is it ethical to use AI for therapy notes?
Professional organizations like the ACA and APA support careful, transparent use of AI. Their guidance emphasizes informed consent, privacy protections, and keeping the clinician as the final decision-maker. Using a tool that offers a BAA and reviewing every note before signing are important parts of using AI responsibly.
Where can I read the full report?
You can download the full report here. It covers additional findings, including clinicians' priorities for AI's future, top concerns among AI users, and why some clinicians haven't adopted AI yet.
Professional Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional clinical judgment, supervision, or continuing education. Therapists should consult current clinical guidelines and use their professional discretion when applying this information to individual client and patient cases.