Something significant happened in April 2026 that I think a lot of therapists haven't heard about yet, and it has a direct bearing on the people sitting across from you. Google added mental health safety tools to Gemini, and in this episode I'm breaking down exactly what that means for your practice, your clients, and your intake process. This isn't a tech episode for its own sake. It's a practice management conversation, because understanding what your clients are doing before they arrive at your door is part of practising well. --- What We Cover We open with the news itself: in April 2026, Google rolled out a mental health safety layer inside Gemini, their AI assistant. When a conversation signals distress, suicidal ideation, or crisis language, Gemini now surfaces a "Help is available" module with one-touch access to crisis support services by phone, text, chat, and web. Google also committed thirty million dollars over three years to supporting global crisis hotlines as part of this move. I explain in plain language what Gemini's mental health tools actually do and, importantly, what they don't do. Gemini is not acting as a therapist. It is detecting signals and signposting to services. That distinction matters enormously for how we talk about it with clients. From there we move into the more confronting conversation: your clients are already using AI for mental health support. Not because anyone recommended it, but because it was available, free, and there at two in the morning. I explore what that looks like in practice and why it's clinically relevant information you probably aren't capturing at intake. We then get practical. I walk through what you might consider adding to your intake form, how to frame a conversation about AI use without judgement, and what a simple informed consent addition could look like. None of it is onerous. It is just staying current. The episode closes with a clear look at the genuine privacy and ethical concerns, not the theoretical ones. AI platforms do not offer clinical confidentiality. Sensitive disclosures made to Gemini are stored under Google's standard data policies, not under any healthcare privacy legislation. Clients deserve to understand that distinction, and it's our role to help them do so. --- ## Episode Timestamps *(Based on approximately 140 words per minute)* 00:00 Introduction: why this matters for your practice right now 03:10 What Google actually added to Gemini in April 2026 08:30 How your clients are already using AI for mental health support 14:00 What this means for your intake process and informed consent 20:00 Privacy, ethics, and what to actually be cautious about 25:30 Closing thoughts and next steps --- Links and Resources Mentioned Therapist AI Resource Hub (community): https://www.skool.com/private-practice-resource-hub Brooklyn's website: https://brooklynstorme.com --- About Dr Brooklyn Storme PhD Dr Brooklyn Storme is a leading business coach for women in the helping professions. She works with counsellors, psychologists, and social workers who want to start, grow, and scale a profitable private practice without burning out. Brooklyn is the host of The Private Practice Podcast, which sits in the top 5% of podcasts globally with over 500 episodes. She is also the creator of Practice Momentum, a 12-month private coaching programme, and the founder of the Etsy store The Happy Practice, with over 1,000 Essential Forms sold internationally. --- Subscribe and Leave a Review If this episode was useful, the best thing you can do is subscribe so you never miss one, and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It genuinely helps other therapists find the show. Subscribe on Podbean: https://brooklynstorme.podbean.com/ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: search "Practice Momentum Private Practice Podcast" Subscribe on Spotify: search "Dr Brooklyn Storme" --- Gemini mental health tools, AI and therapy, Google Gemini 2026, AI mental health support, therapist private practice AI, informed consent AI tools, AI crisis support, mental health chatbot ethics, Gemini crisis hotline feature, private practice intake form, AI for therapists Australia, clients using AI for mental health, AI confidentiality therapy, Google AI mental health 2026, therapy and artificial intelligence, private practice podcast, therapist business podcast, counsellor private practice, AI ethics mental health, Practice Momentum podcast