Therapists at Grow are committed to delivering high-quality, high-trust, and personalized care while managing the administrative demands of their practices, such as thorough note-taking and sending client summaries. To support this balance, Grow designed AI-assisted tools to foster a greater sense of presence during sessions.
Using ambient listening technology, therapists receive structured drafts of notes to audit, refine, and approve after sessions based on their spoken conversations, and clients get visit summaries that provide a clear explanation of what was covered and remains outstanding in their treatment goals. Both tools have undergone extensive clinical review to inform development and ongoing governance.
Recognizing that every therapist and client has unique preferences, Grow has made both AI tools optional and only available when both parties consent, ensuring clinicians and clients can choose the approach that best supports their therapeutic process and goals.
“We spent months rigorously developing and refining these AI-assisted tools to ensure they are safe, trustworthy, and accurate,” said Alan Ni, Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder of Grow. “These tools have undergone extensive quality reviews and testing, beginning with a small group of 100 therapists and their clients, to evaluate reliability, security, and precision. After receiving positive early feedback, we expanded to over 3,000 therapists and their clients in a second evaluation phase, which then gave us the confidence we needed to roll out to our entire network nationwide.”
Increasing presence in session
Successful therapy relies on trust, connection, and communication. When therapists have the cognitive burden of writing down notes on paper or on a computer during sessions, it becomes harder to display warmth through body language, maintain eye contact, and stay attuned to their clients’ non-verbal cues, which are critical for enhancing responsiveness and effectiveness of care.
There is no substitute for a therapist’s critical thinking, empathy, and life experience. As an accompaniment to these essential skills, Grow’s AI-assisted tools are designed to be aids for accuracy, consistency, and distillation, not shortcuts, ensuring that each therapist’s unique voice and clinical insights remain central to client care.
“This new tool from Grow Therapy is a game changer,” said Lilian Smith, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker formerly with Grow. “First, it lets me be more present during visits and spend less time looking at different tabs on my computer. Second, the notes and summaries are reliably accurate. I can direct my full attention toward my clients because I’m not diverting attention to transcribing the contents of our conversation while I’m in session with my clients.”
Visit summaries impact engagement and transparency
It is a best practice to send clients summaries after their sessions because tracking incremental progress makes small wins tangible, aligns areas of continued focus, and clarifies an action-oriented plan. Grow’s AI-assisted visit summaries propel the therapeutic process forward, but these first drafts do not replace clinical judgment and experience. Each AI-assisted visit summary must be reviewed, edited, and approved by the therapist before it is added to Grow’s secure client portal.
“AI-assisted visit summaries empower people in therapy by delivering consistent, transparent insights into their treatment progress,” said Kevin Ramotar, Psy.D., Director of Clinical Excellence at Grow. “These summaries provide clients with a clearer understanding of their achievements and highlight areas for continued focus, making their mental health journey less ambiguous and more predictable.”
Developing AI tools with therapists and clients
Grow’s therapists hold themselves to high standards, and any tool they integrate into their practices needs to meet or exceed their expectations. Therapists who tested these products appreciated that clinicians on the Grow team were involved in development, resulting in features that anticipate and respond to their needs. There was also agreement and verification through testing that the tool is producing accurate and quality content.
“There are significant benefits to Grow’s new AI tools for me and my clients,” said Wendy Mark, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with Grow. “The very smart, comprehensive session summaries help my clients see clearly what they have uncovered and accomplished, and where to focus next. I worry less about recording what is being covered during sessions and feel more connected to my clients. I appreciate how open to feedback the Grow team has been throughout the testing and evaluation process.”
Grow encrypts data used by the tool to protect client privacy. As an additional security measure, Grow’s system does not retain the raw transcript of any conversations had between therapists and clients long-term. These tools are available exclusively to therapists who use Grow’s full suite of technology solutions.
“During testing and evaluation, we’ve been humbled by therapists regaining energy and focus in their sessions and inspired by clients’ excitement in receiving visit summaries, and we will maintain this momentum when we introduce more care-enhancing products later this year,” said Alan Ni, Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder of Grow. “This successful implementation shows how AI can turn unstructured information into clear, useful insights, enhancing the therapy experience.”
About Grow Therapy
Grow Therapy is a provider-centric behavioral health technology company improving access to high-quality mental health care.
Grow Therapy provides therapists and prescribers with a suite of business tools and services, peer community and a pipeline of expertly matched patient referrals so they can set up and grow thriving in-person and virtual private practices within the communities they care about most. As a result, more Americans are accessing a wide variety of providers who not only best match their needs, but who take their insurance.
Grow Therapy’s network includes more than 26,000+ providers and works with major insurers, including Humana, Aetna, Cigna, Florida Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente and UnitedHealthcare. Some of Grow Therapy’s key investors include Sequoia Capital, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Transformation Capital, TCV, SignalFire, and Plus Capital.
Frequently asked questions
Do clients have to use the AI tools if their therapist is on Grow Therapy?
Do clients have to use the AI tools if their therapist is on Grow Therapy?
No — both tools are entirely optional and only active when both the therapist and the client have explicitly consented. Clients who prefer sessions to proceed without ambient listening or AI-generated summaries can let their therapist know at any time. Therapists can also choose not to use either tool regardless of client preference.
What happens to the recording of a session?
What happens to the recording of a session?
Grow Therapy’s system does not retain the raw transcript of any conversation long-term. The ambient listening technology is used only to generate a structured draft note, which the therapist reviews and approves. Once the draft is processed, the raw audio or transcript data is not stored. All data used by the tool is encrypted to protect client privacy.
What is a visit summary and how will clients receive it?
What is a visit summary and how will clients receive it?
A visit summary is a plain-language overview of what was covered in a session and what remains outstanding in treatment goals. After the session, the therapist reviews and approves the AI-generated draft before it is shared with the client through Grow Therapy’s secure client portal. The summary is not sent automatically — it requires the therapist’s review and approval first.
Are these tools available to all Grow Therapy providers?
Are these tools available to all Grow Therapy providers?
Following a two-phase testing process with over 3,000 therapists and their clients, both tools are now available to all therapists using Grow Therapy’s full suite of technology solutions nationwide. Therapists who do not use Grow’s full platform do not have access to these features.
About Grow Therapy
Grow Therapy is an online therapy platform that meets you where you are. With thousands of providers, therapy and medication support, and insurance-covered care, starting therapy is faster, easier, and more affordable.
