Therapy and psychotherapy

AN ACT Relating to protecting the integrity of therapy and 1
psychotherapy services; adding a new section to chapter 18.130 RCW; 2
adding a new chapter to Title 19 RCW; and creating a new section.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that artificial 5
intelligence systems are increasingly deployed to provide mental and 6
behavioral health services to Washington residents, including 7
vulnerable populations such as minors and individuals in crisis. 8
These artificial intelligence systems pose significant risks when 9
deployed without appropriate human oversight, clinical validation, 10
and regulatory safeguards.11
Artificial intelligence systems cannot replicate the clinical 12
judgment, ethical obligations, and therapeutic relationship essential 13
to licensed mental health practice. Consumers are often unaware when 14
interacting with artificial intelligence rather than licensed 15
professionals. Artificial intelligence companies have used protected 16
professional titles and clinical terminology, misleading consumers 17
about system qualifications and capabilities. Minors and vulnerable 18
populations are particularly susceptible to harm from unregulated 19
artificial intelligence mental health tools. 20
H-3022.1
HOUSE BILL 2599
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Kloba, Dent, Fosse, Simmons, Duerr, Stearns, Rule,
Goodman, Ryu, and Pollet
Read first time 01/21/26. Referred to Committee on Health Care &
Wellness.
p. 1 HB 2599
The legislature intends to prohibit artificial intelligence 1
systems from independently providing mental or behavioral health 2
services while preserving appropriate use of artificial intelligence 3
as an assistive tool by licensed professionals under direct 4
supervision. 5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 18.130 6
RCW to read as follows: 7
(1) A licensed professional may not use artificial intelligence 8
in such a way that allows it to do any of the following:9
(a) Make independent therapeutic decisions; 10
(b) Directly interact with clients in any form of therapeutic 11
communication; 12
(c) Generate therapeutic recommendations or treatment plans 13
without review and approval by the licensed professional; or14
(d) Detect emotions or mental states of clients.15
(2) A licensed professional may not use artificial intelligence 16
to assist in providing supplementary support in therapy or 17
psychotherapy where the client's therapeutic session is recorded or 18
transcribed unless: 19
(a) The patient or the patient's legally authorized 20
representative is informed in writing of the following: (i) That 21
artificial intelligence will be used; and (ii) the specific purpose 22
of the artificial intelligence tool or system that will be used; and23
(b) The patient or the patient's legally authorized 24
representative provides consent to the permitted use of artificial 25
intelligence. 26
(3) A licensed professional who violates subsection (1) or (2) of 27
this section is subject to discipline pursuant to this chapter, the 28
uniform disciplinary act. 29
(4) For purposes of this section, the following definitions 30
apply: 31
(a)(i) "Administrative support" means tasks performed to assist a 32
licensed professional in the delivery of therapy or psychotherapy 33
services that do not involve communication. 34
(ii) "Administrative support" includes, but is not limited to, 35
the following: 36
(A) Managing appointment scheduling and reminders;37
(B) Processing billing and insurance claims; and38
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(C) Drafting general communications related to therapy logistics 1
that do not include therapeutic advice. 2
(b) "Artificial intelligence" means the use of machine learning 3
and related technologies that use data to train statistical models 4
for the purpose of enabling computer systems to perform tasks 5
normally associated with human intelligence or perception, such as 6
computer vision, speech or natural language processing, and content 7
generation. 8
(c)(i) "Consent" means a clear, explicit affirmative act by an 9
individual that: (A) Unambiguously communicates the individual's 10
express, freely given, informed, voluntary, specific, and unambiguous 11
written agreement, including a written agreement provided by 12
electronic means; and (B) is revocable by the individual.13
(ii) "Consent" does not include an agreement that is obtained by 14
the following: (A) The acceptance of a general or broad terms of use 15
agreement or a similar document that contains descriptions of 16
artificial intelligence along with other unrelated information; (B) 17
an individual hovering over, muting, pausing, or closing a given 18
piece of digital content; or (C) an agreement obtained through the 19
use of deceptive actions. 20
(d) "Licensed professional" means an individual who holds a valid 21
license in Washington to provide therapy or psychotherapy services, 22
including a psychologist licensed under chapter 18.83 RCW, a clinical 23
social worker, mental health counselor, or marriage and family 24
therapist licensed under chapter 18.225 RCW, a substance use disorder 25
professional certified under chapter 18.205 RCW, a psychiatrist 26
licensed under chapter 18.57 or 18.71 RCW, a psychiatric nurse or 27
psychiatric advanced practice registered nurse licensed under chapter 28
18.79 RCW, a music therapist licensed under chapter 18.233 RCW, or 29
equivalent. 30
(e) "Permitted use of artificial intelligence" means the use of 31
artificial intelligence tools or systems by a licensed professional 32
to assist in providing administrative support or supplementary 33
support in therapy or psychotherapy services where the licensed 34
professional maintains full responsibility for all interactions, 35
outputs, and data use associated with the system and satisfies the 36
requirements of subsections (1) and (2) of this section.37
(f) "Practice of peer support services" has the same meaning as 38
in RCW 18.420.010. 39
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(g) "Religious counseling" means counseling provided by clergy 1
members, pastoral counselors, or other religious leaders acting 2
within the scope of their religious duties if the services are 3
explicitly faith-based and are not represented as clinical mental 4
health services or therapy or psychotherapy services.5
(h)(i) "Supplementary support" means tasks performed to assist a 6
licensed professional in the delivery of therapy or psychotherapy 7
services that do not involve therapeutic communication and that are 8
not administrative support. 9
(ii) "Supplementary support" includes, but is not limited to, the 10
following: (A) Preparing and maintaining client records, including 11
therapy notes; (B) analyzing anonymized data to track client progress 12
or identify trends, subject to review by a licensed professional; and 13
(C) identifying and organizing external resources or referrals for 14
client use. 15
(i)(i) "Therapeutic communication" means any verbal, nonverbal, 16
or written interaction conducted in a clinical or professional 17
setting that is intended to diagnose, treat, or manage an 18
individual's mental, emotional, or behavioral health concerns.19
(ii) "Therapeutic communication" includes, but is not limited to: 20
(A) Direct interactions with clients for the purpose of understanding 21
or reflecting their thoughts, emotions, or experiences; (B) providing 22
guidance, therapeutic strategies, or interventions designed to 23
achieve mental health outcomes; (C) offering emotional support, 24
reassurance, or empathy in response to psychological or emotional 25
distress; (D) collaborating with clients to develop or modify 26
therapeutic goals or treatment plans; and (E) offering behavioral 27
feedback intended to promote psychological growth or address mental 28
health conditions. 29
(j)(i) "Therapy or psychotherapy services" means services 30
provided to diagnose, treat, or improve an individual's mental health 31
or behavioral health. 32
(ii) "Therapy or psychotherapy services" does not include 33
religious counseling, the practice of peer support services, or self-34
help materials and educational resources that are available to the 35
public and do not purport to offer therapy or psychotherapy services.36
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The definitions in this section apply 37
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires 38
otherwise.39
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(1) "Artificial intelligence" means the use of machine learning 1
and related technologies that use data to train statistical models 2
for the purpose of enabling computer systems to perform tasks 3
normally associated with human intelligence or perception, such as 4
computer vision, speech or natural language processing, and content 5
generation. 6
(2) "Licensed professional" means an individual who holds a valid 7
license in Washington to provide therapy or psychotherapy services, 8
including a psychologist licensed under chapter 18.83 RCW, a clinical 9
social worker, mental health counselor, or marriage and family 10
therapist licensed under chapter 18.225 RCW, a substance use disorder 11
professional certified under chapter 18.205 RCW, a psychiatrist 12
licensed under chapter 18.57 or 18.71 RCW, a psychiatric nurse or 13
psychiatric advanced practice registered nurse licensed under chapter 14
18.79 RCW, a music therapist licensed under chapter 18.233 RCW, or 15
equivalent. 16
(3) "Practice of peer support services" has the same meaning as 17
in RCW 18.420.010. 18
(4) "Religious counseling" means counseling provided by clergy 19
members, pastoral counselors, or other religious leaders acting 20
within the scope of their religious duties if the services are 21
explicitly faith-based and are not represented as clinical mental 22
health services or therapy or psychotherapy services.23
(5)(a) "Therapy or psychotherapy services" means services 24
provided to diagnose, treat, or improve an individual's mental health 25
or behavioral health. 26
(b) "Therapy or psychotherapy services" does not include 27
religious counseling, the practice of peer support services, or self-28
help materials and educational resources that are available to the 29
public and do not purport to offer therapy or psychotherapy services.30
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. An individual, corporation, or entity may 31
not provide, advertise, or otherwise offer therapy or psychotherapy 32
services, including through the use of internet-based artificial 33
intelligence, to the public in Washington unless the therapy or 34
psychotherapy services are conducted by an individual who is a 35
licensed professional.36
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The legislature finds that the practices 37
covered by this chapter are matters vitally affecting the public 38
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interest for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, 1
chapter 19.86 RCW. A violation of this chapter is not reasonable in 2
relation to the development and preservation of business and is an 3
unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce and an unfair method of 4
competition for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, 5
chapter 19.86 RCW. 6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Sections 3 through 5 of this act 7
constitute a new chapter in Title 19 RCW.8
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. If any provision of this act or its 9
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 10
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other 11
persons or circumstances is not affected.12
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