WASHINGTON (August 14, 2025) – Illinois has become the latest state to ban the use of artificial intelligence in mental health therapy. Licensed therapists are no longer permitted to use AI to make treatment decisions or communicate with clients. This ban also blocks companies from marketing AI chatbots as therapy tools without licensed professional involvement. Similar restrictions have passed in Nevada and Utah in recent months as a result of growing concerns over safety, privacy, and deceptive marketing practices.
Experts from the George Washington University are available to discuss the implications of this ban.
David Broniatowski, associate professor of engineering management and systems engineering at the George Washington University researches decision-making under risk, behavioral epidemiology, and the use of AI and natural language processing in complex socio-technical systems. He can speak to the potential risks of deploying unregulated AI in mental health settings, the challenges of enforcement, and how AI systems can be designed for safety, transparency, and accountability.
Rebecca Begtrup, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the George Washington University, and attending psychiatrist at Children’s National Hospital, specializes in child and adolescent mental health and has extensive clinical experience treating vulnerable patients. She can discuss the risks of replacing clinicians with AI tools and how technology can be responsibly integrated into mental health care.
Lorenzo Norris, is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and chief wellness officer at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Amir Afkhami, an expert in psychiatry, holds a joint appointment at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Milken Institute School of Public Health.
If you would like to schedule an interview, please contact Claire Sabin at claire [dot] sabin
gwu [dot] edu (claire[dot]sabin[at]gwu[dot]edu).
-GW-