The Mental Health Evolution

Hosted by Rachel Harrison

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Episodes

103

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

The Mental Health Entrepreneur podcast is back—with a slightly new name and an expanded focus. We're excited to introduce The Mental Health Evolution, where we'll continue the journey of exploring what's changing in the mental health field, and we're so glad to have you with us as a listener. Explore the rapidly changing world of mental health with The Mental Health Evolution, hosted by Rachel Harrison. Each episode brings honest conversations with clinicians, tech founders, investors, insurance companies, and other key voices shaping the industry. We dive into what's working, what's not, and what's next—from innovative startups and ethical considerations in tech-driven therapy to policy changes, access to care, and the human connections that remain at the heart of mental health services. Whether you're a professional in the field, someone seeking care, or simply curious about the evolution of mental health, this podcast provides insights, perspectives, and practical information to help you navigate a complex and fast-moving landscape. Join us to stay informed, challenge assumptions, and be part of the conversation shaping the future of mental health.

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August 13, 2026Episode 5126 min

Ep 51: 10 Years of Trauma Specialists - a Live Episode

This week's episode is something a little different. Recorded live at the 10-year anniversary celebration of Trauma Specialists of Maryland, this episode turns the tables on Rachel — instead of hosting, she is interviewed by two of her longtime friends and supporters from the Frederick community, Tom Lynch and Karlys Kline. Tom Lynch spent more than 45 years practicing law in Maryland, most recently with Miles and Stockbridge in Frederick, and has served as chair of the Community Foundation, Frederick Community College, and the Frederick Chamber of Commerce. By his own account, his most important role is supporting the work of his wife, Karlys. Karlys Kline is a community leader and philanthropist who founded the Women's Giving Circle and has served on the boards of more than 42 local nonprofits and businesses. Together they bring a community perspective to a conversation about what it means to build something meaningful in mental health care over ten years. The conversation covers how Trauma Specialists of Maryland grew from a single practice to seven locations, what Rachel has learned about building a team of clinicians who are genuinely committed to trauma work, and what the next chapter looks like. Tom also shares something personal about his own experience as a patient at Trauma Specialists — a candid and moving reflection on what seeking help looked like for him and what it made possible. It is one of the most powerful moments we have recorded on the podcast. Foundations of Trauma Therapy — Trauma Specialist Training Institute: Course starts: October 20, 2026 Format: Eight-week live remote training on Zoom Early bird pricing through: October 6, 2026 Group rates for teams of five or more: info@traumaspecialiststraining.com More information: https://www.traumaspecialiststraining.com/trainings/foundations-trauma-therapy Connect with Trauma Specialists of Maryland: Website: https://www.traumaspecialiststraining.com Connect with The Mental Health Evolution: Website: https://www.traumaspecialiststraining.com/mental-health-evolution-podcast Instagram: /thementalhealthevolution/ LinkedIn: /the-mental-health-evolution Facebook: /TheMentalHealthEvolution Music by Zach Harrison

August 6, 2026Episode 5021 min

Ep 50: When Child Care Can't Wait for Nine to Five with Sara Bradley

Rachel speaks with Sara Bradley, Executive Director of York Day Early Learning in York, Pennsylvania, about a problem most people in the mental health field have never thought about — and that affects millions of the patients they see every day. The American child care system was built around a standard workday. For the nearly 20 percent of workers who work nonstandard hours — overnight shift workers, first responders, healthcare workers, contract workers, and others — that system simply does not work. York Day is one of the very few organizations in the country trying to change that. Founded more than 90 years ago, York Day has spent the last six months piloting a 24-hour early learning program that meets families where they actually are rather than where the system assumed they would be. Sara walks Rachel through what building that program has actually looked like — the surveys, the pivots, the assumptions that turned out to be wrong, and the ones that turned out to be right. What started as an attempt to run a clean second shift became a fully fluid 24-hour model because the community did not need a program with a clean start and stop — it needed one that could absorb the reality of shift work schedules. York Day is now 18 months into a pilot designed to produce a replicable blueprint that other organizations across the country can use. The conversation also covers the behavioral health dimensions of child care access — the chronic stress, anxiety, and depression that parents experience when reliable care is unavailable, the six million children in the United States living with a parent with co-occurring substance use disorder and mental illness, and why for families in recovery, child care is not a peripheral issue but often a direct factor in whether a parent can sustain sobriety. For clinicians, the message is direct: the parents sitting across from you in your office are being shaped by forces that start well before they walk through your door. Resources Mentioned Articles Referenced: When Work Isn't 9-to-5, Child Care Can't Be Either — The 74 Million: https://www.the74million.org/zero2eight/when-work-isnt-9-to-5-child-care-cant-be-either/ How Inaccessible Child Care Affects Families and Early Childhood Educators — University of Michigan School of Public Health: https://sph.umich.edu/pursuit/2025posts/how-inaccessible-childcare-affects-families-and-early-childhood-educators.html U.S. Children Living with a Parent with Substance Use Disorder — JAMA Pediatrics (2025): https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2833575 Connect with Sara Bradley: York Day Early Learning: https://www.yorkday.org Connect with The Mental Health Evolution: Website: https://www.traumaspecialiststraining.com/mental-health-evolution-podcast Instagram: /thementalhealthevolution/ LinkedIn: /the-mental-health-evolution Facebook: /TheMentalHealthEvolution Music by Zach Harrison

July 30, 2026Episode 4933 min

Ep 49: What Happens When You Replace the Fax Machine with Shana Palmieri

Rachel speaks with Shana Palmieri, Chief Clinical Officer and co-founder of XFERALL (pronounced Transfer-all) , a real-time patient transfer and care coordination platform that is replacing one of the most broken processes in behavioral health — the psychiatric placement referral. Shana spent years as the Director of Behavioral Health Services at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., where she watched something that would change the direction of her career. Patients in psychiatric crisis sitting in overwhelmed emergency departments for hours, sometimes days, while her team of highly trained clinical social workers spent the majority of their time making phone calls and sending faxes trying to find them a placement. She co-founded XFERALL to solve that problem directly. The platform works by replacing the fragmented, paper-based referral process with a real-time digital system. A clinician enters basic patient information, the platform geolocates available, clinically matched facilities across the continuum of care, and within seconds the clinician knows which facilities have a bed and can accept the patient. XFERALL's median response time across the platform is 15 seconds. One county in California cut its average psychiatric wait time from more than two hours to 17 minutes. The national average for psychiatric placement is seven to eight hours or more. The conversation also goes deep on AI — specifically where Shana believes it belongs in behavioral health and where it does not. She draws a clear line between using AI as an operational tool to reduce administrative burden, surface critical clinical information, and connect a fragmented system, versus using it to make clinical decisions or predict risk in ways that could strip patients of their rights. Her framework is one of the clearest articulations of responsible AI use in behavioral health we have heard on this show. Resources Mentioned: Articles Referenced: Children in a Mental Health Crisis Can Spend Days in the ER Waiting for Treatment — NPR (August 2025): https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/08/15/nx-s1-5502689/pediatric-mental-health-er-boarding-jama-health-forum AI in the Mental Health Care Workforce Is Met with Fear, Pushback, and Enthusiasm — NPR (April 2026): https://www.npr.org/2026/04/07/nx-s1-5771707/mental-health-care-workforce-artificial-intelligence-ai XFERALL Expands Real-Time Patient Transfer Platform in Southern California — PR Newswire (February 2026): https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/xferall-officially-expands-real-time-patient-transfer-platform-in-southern-california-after-already-seeing-success-in-the-state-302689675.html Connect with Shana Palmieri: XFERALL: https://www.xferall.com Connect with The Mental Health Evolution: Website: https://www.traumaspecialiststraining.com/mental-health-evolution-podcast Instagram: /thementalhealthevolution/ LinkedIn: /the-mental-health-evolution Facebook: /TheMentalHealthEvolution Music by Zach Harrison

July 23, 2026Episode 4828 min

Ep 48: Everybody's Talking About Mental Health But Nobody's Funding It with Stephanie Slowly Little

Rachel speaks with Stephanie Slowly Little, Executive Director of NAMI Maryland, about the state of mental health care access in Maryland, the funding landscape facing nonprofit behavioral health organizations, and what it actually takes to keep showing up for communities when every turn is making it harder. NAMI Maryland represents over 60,000 advocates, people living with mental illness, and supporters across the state. Stephanie, a licensed clinical social worker and public health executive with more than 17 years of experience, stepped into the Executive Director role in October 2025 and immediately began navigating one of the most challenging funding and policy environments the behavioral health sector has seen in years. The conversation covers the urban and rural access divide in Maryland, why different reports tell different stories about how well the state is meeting mental health needs, and what telehealth can and cannot solve for communities where geography and provider shortages compound each other. The most striking part of the conversation is Stephanie's candid assessment of the funding landscape. Everybody is talking about mental health, she says, but nobody is funding it. Every facet of grant and fundraising is challenging right now — philanthropic, foundational, state, and federal. NAMI provides free programs to every person it serves, and yet the organization, like every affiliate across the country, is struggling. She also flags a federal Office of Management and Budget proposal that could give the federal government unilateral discretion to cancel nonprofit grants — a development every behavioral health organization needs to be watching. Despite all of it, Stephanie's message is clear: it is not in times of feast that we do our greatest work. Resources Mentioned: Articles Referenced: Mental Healthcare Gaps Persist in MD Rural, Urban Areas — NAMI Metro Baltimore: https://namibaltimore.org/mental-healthcare-gaps-persist-in-md-rural-urban-areas/ The Workforce Report: Bridging the Mental Health Care Gap — Maryland State Snapshot — Inseparable (March 2026): https://www.inseparable.us/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2026/03/Inseparable-2026WFDevReport-MD-1.pdf Barriers to Health Care for Rural Americans — Rural Minds: https://www.ruralminds.org/rural-minds-in-the-news/barriers-to-health-care-for-rural-americans Community Resources and Hazards Across the Rural-Urban Continuum — JAMA Network Open (April 2026): https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2847289 Additional Resource: OMB Proposed Changes to the Uniform Guidance (Federal Grant Rules) — National Council of Nonprofits: https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/trends-and-policy-issues/omb-uniform-guidance Connect with Stephanie Slowly Little: NAMI Maryland: https://namimd.org Connect with The Mental Health Evolution: Website: https://www.traumaspecialiststraining.com/mental-health-evolution-podcast Instagram: /thementalhealthevolution/ LinkedIn: /the-mental-health-evolution Facebook: /TheMentalHealthEvolution Music by Zach Harrison

July 16, 2026Episode 4720 min

EP 47: What the Research Actually Shows About AI Therapy with Dr. Nick Jacobson

Rachel speaks with Dr. Nick Jacobson, associate professor of biomedical data science, psychiatry, and computer science at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine and director of the AIM HIGH Laboratory, about the first clinical trial of a fully generative AI therapy chatbot — and what the results actually show. The access crisis in mental health care is the starting point for understanding why Dr. Jacobson's team built Therabot. In the most well-resourced mental health settings in the United States, there are approximately 35 providers per 100,000 people. In any given year, roughly one in three people will experience a mental health disorder. That means 35 people trying to treat 33,000 — and that is the best case scenario. In low-resource settings and rural areas, the numbers are worse. The result is wait lists that stretch for months, people seeking care at 2am with nowhere to turn, and millions of people who simply go without. Therabot was built over six years by a team of more than 100 people, involving over 100,000 hours of human effort, to deliver evidence-based therapy in a clinically rigorous way. The trial, published in NEJM AI, found significant reductions in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders — with effect sizes that mirror what you would see in the best evidence-based trials of human-delivered psychotherapy. Participants also formed a genuine therapeutic alliance with the software, a finding that surprised even the research team. Dr. Jacobson walks Rachel through what that means clinically, how Therabot differs from general-purpose AI tools like ChatGPT, and how the team continuously stress-tests the system to identify and eliminate harmful responses before they reach users. The conversation also covers the policy landscape — specifically a New Hampshire bill that Dr. Jacobson testified against, which he argues would regulate the wrong targets entirely. The bill would impose burdensome review requirements on clinically validated AI tools while leaving general-purpose chatbots — which have no crisis protocols, no outcome tracking, and no accountability — completely untouched. He and Rachel discuss what thoughtful AI regulation in mental health should actually look like, and what clinicians and practice owners should be thinking about as these tools become more widely available. Resources Mentioned Articles Referenced: Many People Now Trust AI with Their Feelings, and Therapists Want to Talk About It — WBUR (May 2026): https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/05/07/artificial-intelligence-therapy-mental-health-care Bill Doesn't Protect NH from AI Harm, It Assures It — Union Leader (January 2026): https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/nicholas-c-jacobson-michael-v-heinz-bill-doesnt-protect-nh-from-ai-harm-it-assures/article_b2c5bdf4-aca7-413a-a218-35e6a09de06f.html First Therapy Chatbot Trial Yields Mental Health Benefits — Dartmouth News (March 2025): https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/03/first-therapy-chatbot-trial-yields-mental-health-benefits Connect with Dr. Nick Jacobson / Additional Resources: This Therapist Helped Clients Feel Better. It Was A.I. — New York Times (syndicated): https://onehealthsociety.com/this-therapist-helped-clients-feel-better-it-was-a-i/ How to Build a Therapeutic Chatbot — Psychiatric News: https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2025.09.9.23 AI, Neuroscience, and Data Are Fueling Personalized Mental Health Care — APA Monitor on Psychology: https://www.apa.org/monitor/2026/01-02/trends-personalized-mental-health-care Can 'AI Therapists' Help Save LGBTQ+ People? — Out Magazine: https://www.out.com/health/ai-therapy-for-queer-people AIM High Laboratory at Dartmouth: https://www.nicholasjacobson.com Connect with The Mental Health Evolution: Website: https://www.traumaspecialiststraining.com/mental-health-evolution-podcast Instagram: /thementalhealthevolution/ LinkedIn: /the-mental-health-evolution Facebook: /TheMentalHealthEvolution Music by Zach Harrison

July 9, 202626 min

Ep 46: The Crisis Text Line with Dr. Shairi Turner

Rachel speaks with Dr. Shairi Turner, Chief Health Officer at Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit that provides free, 24/7 text-based mental health support and crisis intervention through a community of trained volunteer counselors. In 2025, Crisis Text Line had more conversations than any year since its founding — over 1.5 million — and the data from those conversations tells a story that every clinician and practice owner needs to hear. Dr. Turner walks Rachel through how Crisis Text Line actually works: what happens from the moment someone texts HOME to 741741, how volunteer counselors are trained and supervised, and how the organization handles the rare cases — just one percent — where a conversation cannot be de-escalated. She also shares the founding story of Crisis Text Line, born from a moment when a young person reached out for help through a volunteer platform with nowhere else to turn. The conversation covers what the 2025 data reveals about who is reaching out — rural communities, young people, and boys under 14 reporting suicidal thoughts at striking rates — and ends with a direct call to action for clinicians: ask young men and boys how they are doing, and ask clearly. If you or someone you know needs support, text HOME to 741741 to connect with a live volunteer Crisis Counselor. Resources Mentioned: Articles Referenced: 988 Mental Health Help Lifeline Helps Five Million in First Year — NPR (July 2023): https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/15/1187862144/988-mental-health-crisis-line-gets-5-million-calls-texts-and-chats-in-first-year Why Depression Goes Undetected in Teen Boys — NBC News (June 2024): https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/depression-anxiety-teen-boys-diagnosis-undetected-rcna141649 Annual Trends 2025 — Crisis Text Line: https://www.crisistextline.org/annual-trends/ Additional resource - Crisis Text line Terms and Conditions: https://www.crisistextline. org/terms-of-service/ Connect with Dr. Shairi Turner: Crisis Text Line: https://www.crisistextline.org Text HOME to 741741 Connect with The Mental Health Evolution: Website: https://www.traumaspecialiststraining.com/mental-health-evolution-podcast Instagram: /thementalhealthevolution/ LinkedIn: /the-mental-health-evolution Facebook: /TheMentalHealthEvolution Music by Zach Harrison

July 2, 202625 min

Ep 45: Stop Doing What Worked Ten Years Ago with Dr. Elizabeth Carr

Rachel speaks with Dr. Elizabeth Carr, a clinical psychologist and the founder and CEO of Kentlands Psychotherapy in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Elizabeth leads a team of 20 doctoral and master's-level clinicians and has spent over two decades building a community-focused, financially sustainable practice through some of the most disruptive periods in the history of mental health care. A former Navy psychologist and sought-after speaker on practice management, she recently published a piece on strategic positioning during industry upheaval that is the centerpiece of this conversation. The mental health practice landscape is shifting in ways that are affecting practices at every size — but not all in the same direction. Elizabeth describes what she calls the barbell effect: solo practitioners, particularly those operating fully virtual, are being squeezed out by venture capital-backed platforms with enormous marketing budgets and SEO dominance, while large practices that over-expanded during the COVID telehealth boom are now sitting on overhead they cannot fill. Mid-sized, community-rooted practices that stayed nimble are finding themselves in a stronger position — but only if their leaders are paying attention to what's actually happening in the market and willing to respond. Elizabeth and Rachel dig into what that looks like in practice: how to read referral data, when to pivot your service offerings, what AI can and cannot replace in clinical work, and why hyperlocal, in-person, relationship-based care may be the most durable competitive advantage a practice owner has right now. Resources Mentioned Articles Referenced: A Workforce Under Pressure: Preparing the Behavioral Health Workforce for Today and Tomorrow — National Council for Mental Wellbeing (2025): https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/behavioral-health-workforce-under-pressure-preparing-today-tomorrow/ Telehealth and Hybrid Practice Are Here to Stay — APA Monitor on Psychology (2024): https://www.apa.org/monitor/2024/09/telehealth-hybrid-practice Strategic Positioning During Industry Upheaval — Dr. Elizabeth Carr, Kentlands Psychotherapy (January 2026): https://www.kentlandspsychotherapy.com/mental-health-professional/strategic-positioning-during-industry-upheaval/ Connect with Dr. Elizabeth Carr: Kentlands Psychotherapy: https://www.kentlandspsychotherapy.com Connect with The Mental Health Evolution: Website: https://www.traumaspecialiststraining.com/mental-health-evolution-podcast Instagram: /thementalhealthevolution/ LinkedIn: /the-mental-health-evolution Facebook: /TheMentalHealthEvolution Music by Zach Harrison

June 25, 2026Episode 4423 min

Ep 44: They Knew and They Profited Anyway with Matthew Bergman

Rachel speaks with Matthew Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center, about the landmark KGM verdict — the first social media addiction case in the United States to reach a jury. In March 2026, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube negligent in the design of their platforms and awarded $6 million in damages to a young woman whose mental health was seriously harmed by her use of Instagram and YouTube beginning at age six. Matthew has spent four years building the legal case that made this moment possible, and the theory at its center is straightforward: this was never about content. It was about a product engineered to be addictive — one that shows kids not what they want to see, but what they cannot look away from. The conversation covers Section 230 and how the product liability approach found a path around it, the eggshell plaintiff doctrine and why blaming the victim failed in court, and what the verdict actually changes for the thousands of similar cases still working through the courts. Matthew also speaks directly to clinicians: ask about social media. When you see anxiety, depression, eating disorders, or suicidality in young patients, social media needs to be part of the assessment. The youth mental health crisis started in 2012 — when content began being fed to kids algorithmically — and the research establishing a causal relationship has only grown stronger since. Resources Mentioned: Articles Referenced: Research Points to How Companies Could Make Social Media Less Addictive for Teens — NPR (March 2026): https://www.npr.org/2026/03/27/nx-s1-5763017/social-media-teens-addictive-design Jury Finds Meta and YouTube Negligent in Landmark Lawsuit on Social Media Safety — NBC News (March 2026): https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/verdict-reached-landmark-social-media-addiction-trial-rcna263421 Social Media Addiction Lawsuit Update — Social Media Victims Law Center: https://socialmediavictims.org/social-media-lawsuits/ Connect with Matthew Bergman: Social Media Victims Law Center: https://socialmediavictims.org Connect with The Mental Health Evolution: Website: https://www.traumaspecialiststraining.com/mental-health-evolution-podcast Instagram: /thementalhealthevolution/ LinkedIn: /the-mental-health-evolution Facebook: /TheMentalHealthEvolution Music by Zach Harrison

June 18, 2026Episode 4314 min

Ep 43: When Payers Own the Data: What the CAQH Rebrand Means for Providers

In this solo episode, Rachel Harrison takes a break from her usual guest conversations to address something that has been generating a lot of discussion in the mental health community this week: the rebranding of CAQH as DataSpring. If you have been in mental health practice for any amount of time, you know CAQH. It is the credentialing portal most clinicians and practice owners have relied on for years to maintain licensing, training history, liability insurance, and practice information for insurance credentialing — a system designed so that providers enter their data once and it flows out to multiple payers rather than filling out the same paperwork over and over again for each insurance company. But CAQH is no longer the nonprofit utility it once was. In January 2026, the organization converted from a nonprofit and became owned by a consortium of 12 of the nation's largest health plans, including UnitedHealth Group, Cigna, Aetna, Humana, Centene, Elevance Health, and several Blue Cross Blue Shield plans. And this past week, the organization rebranded as DataSpring, powered by CAQH — a change timed to coincide with the AHIP 2026 conference, a major gathering for health insurance executives. Rachel walks through what the rebrand actually means, why the ownership shift matters, and what questions every clinician and practice owner should be asking right now. She covers the concerns being raised in the field — including whether payers will use this platform in ways that benefit their own administrative processes at the expense of providers, whether incomplete data could be used to slow credentialing or delay directory listings, and what oversight exists when the governing board is made up of representatives from the very insurers pulling the data. She is also clear about what we do not yet know: this is a developing situation, independent reporting has not fully caught up, and there is no confirmed evidence yet that providers are being harmed. But the structural shift is significant, and Rachel makes the case that awareness matters even when we do not have all the answers. Resources Mentioned CAQH Rebrands as DataSpring to Power the Next Era of Healthcare Data — Globe Newswire: https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/healthcare/articles/caqh-rebrands-dataspring-power-next-110700451.html Leading Health Plans Become CAQH Owners to Shape the Future of Healthcare Data — Becker's Payer Issues: https://www.beckerspayer.com/m-and-a/major-insurers-take-ownership-of-former-nonprofit-healthcare-data-organization/ Insurer-Owned CAQH Rebrands to DataSpring — Becker's Payer Issues: https://www.beckerspayer.com/leadership/insurer-owned-caqh-rebrands-to-dataspring/ When Payers Own the Data: What CAQH's New Structure Means for Provider Revenue and Credentialing — Ventra Health (private company blog; read with that context in mind): https://ventrahealth.com/blog/when-payers-own-the-data-what-caqhs-new-structure-means-for-provider-revenue-credentialing/ Connect with The Mental Health Evolution Website: https://www.traumaspecialiststraining.com/mental-health-evolution-podcast Instagram: /thementalhealthevolution/ LinkedIn: /the-mental-health-evolution Facebook: /TheMentalHealthEvolution Music by Zach Harrison

June 11, 2026Episode 4232 min

Ep 42: What Clinicians Need to Know About AI Law with Dr. Nick Shumate

Rachel Harrison speaks with Dr. Nick Shumate, a psychiatrist at the Division of Digital Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, whose background is as rare as it is relevant: before medicine, he was a regulatory attorney practicing before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. That combination of clinical training and legal expertise is exactly what drove him to lead a sweeping 50-state review of how the United States is governing artificial intelligence in mental health — research that produced findings every clinician and practice owner needs to understand. The conversation covers what that legislative review actually found: 793 state bills reviewed, 143 with direct or indirect implications for AI in mental health, and just 20 enacted into law across 11 states. Dr. Shumate walks through the four major categories of governance that emerged from the research, explains why the near-total absence of clinicians from the policy-making process is one of the study's most striking findings, and makes the case that the rules being written right now will shape the conditions under which mental health care is delivered for years to come. He and Rachel also dig into the practical questions clinicians face today: what disclosure and informed consent look like when AI is part of the care equation, and why eighty percent of high-acuity patients using AI for mental health support have not told their providers about it. Resources Mentioned: Articles Referenced: AI Chatbots Systematically Violate Mental Health Ethics Standards — Brown University (October 2025): https://www.brown.edu/news/2025-10-21/ai-mental-health-ethics Pennsylvania Sues Character AI over Chatbot Allegedly Posing as a Doctor — NPR (May 2026): https://www.npr.org/2026/05/05/nx-s1-5812861/characterai-chatbot-medical-advice-pennsylvania-lawsuit Governing AI in Mental Health: 50-State Legislative Review — Dr. Nick Shumate et al., JMIR Mental Health: https://mental.jmir.org/2025/1/e80739 Connect with Dr. Nick Shumate: Division of Digital Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center / Harvard Medical School Connect with The Mental Health Evolution: Website: https://www.traumaspecialiststraining.com/mental-health-evolution-podcast Instagram: /thementalhealthevolution/ LinkedIn: /the-mental-health-evolution Facebook: /TheMentalHealthEvolution Music Credit: Music by Zach Harrison