Colorado's AI psychotherapy law, two months in: what it asks of clinicians

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If you provide psychotherapy in Colorado, a state law has applied to how you may use AI since August 12, 2026. Here is what the legislature's own bill page says it requires, who it covers, and what we could not confirm.

What happened

Colorado's HB26-1195, "Psychotherapy Artificial Intelligence Restrictions", was signed by the governor on June 3, 2026. The legislature's page lists its session-law effective date as 08/12/2026 (chapter 358). A joint release from Colorado Senate Democrats also says the law took effect on August 12.

What the bill summary says

The summary on the legislature's page is marked as applying to the bill as enacted. In plain terms:

• Who is covered. The act applies to "individuals lawfully permitted to provide psychotherapy services in the state," which it calls regulated professionals.
• Real-time interaction. A regulated professional may not allow an AI system to interact with clients in any form of therapeutic communication without synchronous, real-time interaction between the professional, the AI system and the client.
• Treatment recommendations. The professional may not let AI generate therapeutic recommendations or treatment plans without the professional's review and approval.
• Providing therapy. Except for educational, administrative, simulation, training or research purposes, a professional may not use AI to provide, direct or guide psychotherapy unless the use meets conditions set out in the act.
• First contact. At initial client contact, the professional must tell clients about the prohibitions on AI use in psychotherapy.
• Recording or transcription. If a session will be recorded or transcribed with AI, the professional must disclose this in advance, with its purposes, and obtain written, informed consent from the client.
• Administrative and supplementary support. AI may assist with administrative or supplementary support, as the act defines those terms, if the professional stays responsible for reviewing the outputs.
• Enforcement. Regulated professionals may be disciplined by the appropriate licensing board in the Department of Regulatory Agencies. Separately, using terms that imply an AI system's outputs are equivalent to a regulated professional's services, or that it provides psychotherapy, is made an unfair or deceptive trade practice under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.

Exemptions. The act does not apply to professionals who use or recommend technology that does not diagnose or treat mental health disorders, clearly discloses that it is not a substitute for clinical care, and either offers self-help, therapeutic homework, coaching, patient navigation, guided meditation, journaling or similar tools, or is regulated by the FDA. Accredited education and training programs and IRB-overseen research not offered to consumers are also addressed. The act does not impose liability on a professional for AI defects attributable to the developer or deployer.

How it sits next to Colorado's broader AI act

Colorado's general AI act is a separate track. The legislature's page for SB26-189 says it repeals and reenacts the 2024 SB 24-205 provisions with new requirements on automated decision-making technology in consequential decisions. A law firm alert from Snell & Wilmer dated June 8, 2026 reports SB 26-189 was signed May 14, 2026, effective January 1, 2027, and that HB 26-1195 is enforced through licensing board discipline and the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, separately from SB 26-189.

What this does not show

• This issue relies on the legislature's bill summary and page, not the full statutory text. The definitions of "administrative support" and "supplementary support," and the conditions for AI-guided psychotherapy, are in the act and are not reproduced here.
• We found no DORA or licensing-board guidance on the law. Absence from our search is not proof none exists.
• We found no reported enforcement actions.
• This is general information, not legal advice. How the law applies to a particular practice or tool is a question for the practice's own counsel or licensing board.

Why a clinician might care (interpretation)

Our reading, not the sources': the most concrete duties are the consent step for AI recording or transcription and the first-contact notice. Those are paperwork a practice can check against its intake documents. The harder questions are where a given tool falls between "administrative or supplementary support" and AI that "guides" therapy, and whether a client-facing app counts as exempt self-help. The bill summary leaves those to the act's definitions.

Sources

• HB26-1195 bill page, Colorado General Assembly
• SB26-189 bill page, Colorado General Assembly
• Joint release, Colorado Senate Democrats
• Snell & Wilmer alert, June 8, 2026

Note: we weren't able to read the bill's PDF text, only the legislature's web page and secondary sources.

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