As with any new technology, artificial intelligence is drawing concern and skepticism from many therapists. It’s also drawing great enthusiasm from therapists who tend to be early adopters of new technologies. For all the promise that AI holds for future implementation, it’s reasonable to ask: What can artificial intelligence do for my therapy practice right now? Here, we look at three different places where AI can have an immediate impact on your therapy work.
Private practice
How to diagnose telehealth connection problems
It’s the most intense, meaningful part of a telehealth therapy session. Your client is on the verge of a profound realization that will change how they relate to others going forward. And then the sound cuts out. Or the video freezes. What do you do when your telehealth connection is interfering with psychotherapy instead of facilitating it? How can you diagnose telehealth connection problems?
California AB1758 signed, making video supervision legal across work settings through 2025
The bill was tagged as urgency legislation, meaning it took effect immediately upon the Governor’s signature. In addition to making video supervision legal across all work settings, it also newly requires supervisors (in all work settings, not just private practice) to assess a supervisee’s appropriateness for video supervision. I’ve created a form for that, modeled after the specific requirements in the bill. It’s available on my Resources page at the Ben Caldwell Labs site.
A therapist directory with the scale — and killer feature — to challenge Psychology Today
A couple of years ago, I wrote about some smaller therapist directories who were trying to take on Psychology Today’s directory. Now, there’s a new therapist directory with the scale — and the killer feature — to challenge PT’s dominance.
How coronavirus is affecting the California BBS [Updated 6/2/20]

I’ve gotten a lot of questions in the past few days about how COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) is affecting the California BBS, or how it is likely to. I’m rounding up those questions here in hopes of making it easier to find the information you need. This post most recently updated on June 2, to include information about new BBS waivers.
Exams
Will license exams be cancelled or postponed?
The BBS-contracted testing provider Pearson VUE closed all of its US and Canada testing centers in March, and has been gradually reopening them since May. All exams scheduled while centers were closed have been cancelled and you will need to reschedule.
If your registration expired or is scheduled to expire between March 31 and June 30, 2020, see the information below on Law & Ethics Exam rule waivers.