Rep. Kim Banta, R-Fort Mitchell, on Feb. 18, 2026. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd)
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A Kentucky bill designed to keep mental health therapy between people passed the House 88-7 on Monday.
HB 455 Progress
Kentucky House Bill 455 prohibits the use of artificial intelligence for direct therapy or for making independent therapeutic decisions, including creating treatment plans.
The bill’s sponsor, Kim Banta, R-Fort Mitchell, has said she wants “a human to interact with other humans when we are dealing with mental illness.” She also introduced the measure to prevent chatbots from encouraging people to take their own lives — incidents that have occurred in other states.
An earlier version of the legislation barred AI from detecting emotions or mental states and from directly interacting with clients. The Kentucky Psychological Association opposed those provisions, arguing they would eliminate valuable teaching tools and therapy homework support.
Amendment Eases Concerns
A floor amendment removed those restrictions, addressing the association’s concerns. The revised bill states that AI cannot make independent therapeutic decisions or generate treatment recommendations or plans “without review and approval by the licensed professional.”
The amendment came from Lisa Willner, D-Louisville. Speaking on the House floor, she said the revision “still allows therapists the flexibility to use AI as useful clinical tools. It’s still them using it as a tool, not relegating the therapeutic process to an AI bot.”
Willner, who is also a psychologist, said the legislation aims to preserve the therapist-client relationship. “How critically important that is for the therapeutic process. We know how important these guardrails are. We’ve all seen and heard and read horror stories where therapy bots have led clients to some very dark — and sometimes deadly — places.”
The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration. If Kentucky enacts the measure, it would join other states that have banned or regulated how artificial intelligence can be used in mental health care.
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