- jurisdiction
- US, Rhode Island
- level
- state
- domain
- sectoral
- status
- in-effect
- scope
- Applies to licensed mental health professionals or providers, and to any individual, corporation, or entity that provides, advertises, or offers therapy or psychotherapy services to the public in Rhode Island, including via internet-based AI.
- obligations
- No licensed professional or provider may use AI designed to simulate emotional attachment, bonding, or dependency, or AI companions for mental health/emotional support, to assist in therapy where the session is recorded or transcribed, unless the patient (or guardian) is informed in writing that AI will be used, told its specific purpose, and gives written consent (Sec. 40.1-5.5-3(a)). No individual, corporation, or entity may provide, advertise, or offer therapy or psychotherapy services, including via internet-based AI, unless conducted by a licensed professional (Sec. 40.1-5.5-3(b)). A licensed professional may not allow AI to make independent therapeutic decisions, directly interact with clients in therapeutic communication without active clinical supervision, or determine therapeutic recommendations or treatment plans (Sec. 40.1-5.5-3(c)). Exempts religious counseling, peer support, public self-help materials, FDA-cleared AI tools, and IRB-approved research.
- effectiveDate
- 2026-06-22
- enactedDate
- 2026-06-22
- penalties
- The statute's own penalties section (Sec. 40.1-5.5-5) ties expressly to confidentiality-provision violations only, applying the penalties in R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 5-37.3-9; the Executive Office of Health and Human Services has authority to investigate any actual, alleged, or suspected violation of the chapter. No separate monetary penalty for the AI-use restrictions themselves was found in the text reviewed.
- appliesTo
- licensed mental health professionals/providers and any entity offering therapy or psychotherapy services (including via AI) reaching Rhode Island patients
- notes
- Reported by multiple independent secondary sources (Nixon Peabody client alert, Transparency Coalition, ACLU of Rhode Island, and general news coverage) as signed by Governor Dan McKee on June 22, 2026; this signature date is NOT independently confirmed against a Rhode Island General Assembly or Governor's-office primary status page this round (rilegislature.gov's status-search tool and legiscan's bill-status page both returned errors to automated fetches). The Act's own text confirms it 'shall take effect upon passage' (Section 2), so the 'in-effect' status and effectiveDate field depend entirely on the accuracy of the June 22, 2026 secondary-sourced signature date; if that date is materially wrong, the correct status would be 'enacted-pending' or 'proposed' rather than 'in-effect.' Text and quote confirmed by downloading the enacted Substitute A PDF (LC004017/SUB A) directly from rilegislature.gov and reading its extracted page text. Distinct from the already-tracked, still-proposed ca-sb903 (California's Wellness and Oversight for Psychological Resources Act): this is Rhode Island's own statute with its own definitions (e.g., a specific written-consent trigger tied to recorded/transcribed sessions using emotionally-simulating AI) and its own confidentiality-penalty cross-reference.
