AI and Mental Health Support: Navigating Promise and Pitfalls in the Age of Digital Care

By Susan Rathmell, Ph.D., ABPP

AI Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Telehealth, Virtual, Psychotherapy

Posted: May 4, 2026

Imagine this: A college student named Maya is struggling with anxiety before finals. It’s 2 a.m., and her therapist’s office is closed. She opens her phone and starts chatting with an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered app that walks her through a breathing exercise and offers words of encouragement. Across town, her psychologist, Dr. Lee, uses AI to transcribe session notes and flag potential risk factors in client language, freeing up time to focus on the therapeutic relationship. These snapshots capture the dual reality of AI in mental health—its capacity to support both clients and clinicians, and the questions it raises about safety, effectiveness, and clinical judgment.

Tending the Shepherd: Why Clergy Must Embrace Evidence-Based Psychotherapy

By Courtney Worley, Ph.D.

Clergy

Treatment

Posted: April 10, 2026

Clergy — whether they serve as priests, pastors, imams, rabbis, ministers, or in any of the countless other roles that constitute religious leadership — are professionals uniquely positioned at the intersection of human suffering and spiritual hope. They sit with the dying. They counsel the divorcing. They bear witness to addiction, abuse, grief, and despair, often without the protective frameworks that guide social workers, psychologists, or physicians. And yet, when it comes to seeking structured professional psychological support for themselves, many clergy remain deeply reluctant.

Navigating the Transition from High School to College with 504 Accommodation Plans: A Guide for Alabama Families

By Virginia Rediker, MSW, MPH, LICSW-S

504 and IEP Plans

Autism ADHD Treatment

Posted: April 7, 2026

For many Alabama families, the transition from high school to college is a time of excitement and anticipation. For students with disabilities—including neurodiverse young adults with ADHD, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), learning disabilities, and related conditions—this transition also brings new challenges and opportunities. Understanding how educational accommodation plans change after high school is essential for students and parents in Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, and across the state.

Neurodiversity and PTSD in Adults: When Trauma Looks Different & Why Specialty Care Matters

By Megan Keyes, Ph.D.

PTSD

Autism ADHD Treatment

Posted: April 6, 2026

What distinguishes effective care for neurodivergent adults is not abandoning evidence-based treatments, but how those treatments are conceptualized, paced, and delivered. Clinicians with expertise in both PTSD and neurodivergent presentation approach CPT and PE with a deep understanding of sensory processing, executive functioning, communication style, and nervous-system regulation. This allows treatment to remain evidence-based while also being accessible, tolerable, and effective for the individual.