AI in the mental health care workforce is met with fear, pushback — and enthusiasm

April 8, 2026

(NPR) – “There is a lot of fear and anxiety about AI,” says psychologist Vaile Wright, senior director of health care innovation at the American Psychological Association (APA). “And in particular fear around AI replacing jobs.”

Those concerns were a key issue last month, when 2,400 mental health care providers for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California and the Central Valley went on a 24-hour strike. (Read More)