{"id":222330,"date":"2026-03-11T08:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T12:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/11\/colorado-lawmakers-look-to-limit-artificial-intelligence-use-in-licensed-therapy\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T09:10:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T13:10:15","slug":"colorado-lawmakers-look-to-limit-artificial-intelligence-use-in-licensed-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/11\/colorado-lawmakers-look-to-limit-artificial-intelligence-use-in-licensed-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado lawmakers look to limit artificial intelligence use in licensed therapy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Colorado lawmakers look to limit artificial intelligence use in licensed therapy<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.denver7.com\/news\/politics\/colorado-lawmakers-look-to-limit-artificial-intelligence-use-in-licensed-therapy<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-03-11 08:26:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.denver7.com<\/a><\/p>\n

DENVER \u2014 Colorado lawmakers want to limit how mental healthcare professionals can use artificial intelligence in psychotherapy.<\/p>\n

HB26-1195 would ban those professionals from using AI to talk with patients or to generate treatment plans and other recommendations without another mental health professional\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n

The bill would also ban mental health professionals from using AI to detect a client or patient\u2019s emotions or mental state, and require informed consent if a client\u2019s therapeutic session is recorded or transcribed by AI.<\/p>\n

Denver7 spoke with Colorado Rep. Gretchen Rydin, D-District 38, one of the bill\u2019s sponsors.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are turning to Open AI or other chat bots to get advice, and sometimes it’s being misconstrued as professional advice,\u201d Rep. Rydin said. \u201cIt looks like that, it sounds like that, and in many ways, clinically, it is that, which we know is not safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Rydin is also a licensed clinical social worker and addiction counselor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve seen some people in my profession want to roll out ways to do therapy and then rolling them back, because [they\u2019re] realizing, \u2018Hey, no, using artificial intelligence to mimic therapy is not safe and not helpful,\u2019\u201d Rep. Rydin said.<\/p>\n

She believes there are still \u201cperfectly appropriate\u201d ways for clinicians to use the technology like for scheduling and taking notes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t want anything to, you know, delay people getting care,\u201d Rep. Rydin said. \u201cAnd I think AI certainly could be helpful for that, but we still got to do it safely\u2026 The actual psychotherapy itself has to be between human to human.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike other AI debates happening at the Colorado Capitol, this bill has bipartisan support. It passed unanimously 13-0 through committee last week. Rep. Rydin attributes that success to the bill\u2019s narrow focus on regulating one small but important piece of AI.<\/p>\n

The bill is expected for debate in the Colorado House of Representatives sometime this week.<\/p>\n

…
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