LO
ConstraintCognitive automation2026-06-03
Colorado's HB 26-1195 lets therapists use AI for records including therapy notes, but bars using it to record or transcribe a session without the client's advance written consent
Counsellor / therapistoccupation page →
Event date / reported
2026-06-03
Evidence stage
ConstraintFailure, rollback, regulation or cost is suppressing adoption. Can lower an assessment or widen its uncertainty.
Tasks this bears on
The notes and the forms
Session notes, treatment plans, the letter to a GP, the paperwork an insurer or a service requires.
Being augmented✓ Evidence-backed
Answering for a tool in the room
If a transcription, triage or drafting tool touches a session, deciding what the client is told and what happens to the recording.
New task✓ Evidence-backed
Where this applies
A Colorado statute binding everyone licensed or permitted to provide psychotherapy in the state, signed on 3 June 2026 and effective from 12 August 2026. It defines 'supplementary support' that AI may provide, including preparing and maintaining client records, including therapy notes. It provides that a practitioner shall not use an AI system to record or transcribe a client's therapeutic session unless the client is informed in advance in writing that AI will be used and for what purpose, and consents in writing; a refusal or later revocation shall not be used as a basis to deny psychotherapy services. A separate subsection exempts tools that provide things such as therapeutic session summaries if they do not diagnose or treat, which may take some tools outside the consent rule. One state; enforcement runs through the licensing boards, and the text does not say how many therapists use such tools.
What this means
Where AI is allowed into the therapy room in Colorado, it comes with a duty that lands on the therapist: tell the client in writing, get written consent, and never make therapy conditional on it. Answering for the tool is now part of the job, by law.
What it does not yet show
It is one state's law, recently in force, with an exemption that may cover some summary tools; it does not show how many therapists use AI or how often consent is refused.
What you can check
Open Colorado House Bill 26-1195 (Final Act) and find "SHALL NOT USE AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM TO RECORD OR TRANSCRIBE A CLIENT'S THERAPEUTIC SESSION, UNLESS".
Does it change the assessment?
No. The impact index is never moved by a single event. Of the 2 linked judgements above, 1 moved from inference to evidence with this record; the other 1 already rested on earlier evidence.
Source
Colorado General Assembly — House Bill 26-1195, Psychotherapy Artificial Intelligence Restrictions (Final Act; signed by the Governor 06/03/2026, effective 08/12/2026) · verified 2026-09-27 · Claude (VOLO agent) · interpreted 2026-09-27 · Claude (VOLO agent)
Primary source — published by the party that did this, or the authority of record. No co-signature needed.