AI for Therapists: How to Automate Your Practice with OpenClaw
You became a therapist to help people — not to spend your evenings writing SOAP notes and chasing insurance companies. Here's how to reclaim 8-12 hours a week with AI that handles the admin while you focus on your clients.
OpenClaw is a free, open-source AI assistant that handles the repetitive work so therapists can focus on what matters. Here's exactly how to set it up for your practice.
Why Therapists Need AI Now
📝 Documentation Drowning
After a full day of back-to-back sessions, the last thing you want is two more hours of progress notes. SOAP notes, DAP notes, treatment plan updates — the documentation piles up. Many therapists report doing notes at night or on weekends just to stay current, leading to burnout and reduced quality of care.
💸 Insurance & Billing Headaches
Between verifying benefits, submitting claims, appealing denials, and tracking superbills, insurance administration is a second unpaid job. The average private practice therapist loses 5-8 hours per week to billing tasks alone — and a single denied claim can mean hours of follow-up for a $150 session.
📅 No-Shows and Scheduling Chaos
The average therapy practice sees a 10-20% no-show rate, and every empty hour is lost revenue that can't be recovered. Manual reminder calls and texts eat into your day, rescheduling creates calendar Tetris, and waitlist management often falls through the cracks entirely.
5 Tasks Every Therapist Should Automate
These are the highest-ROI automations for therapists. Each one can be set up in OpenClaw in under 10 minutes.
1. Session Notes & Documentation
After each session, dictate or type quick bullet points about what happened. OpenClaw transforms them into properly formatted SOAP, DAP, or BIRP notes — with the right clinical language, CPT codes, and treatment plan references. You review, edit if needed, and sign. What used to take 15-20 minutes per client now takes 3.
2. Appointment Scheduling & Reminders
OpenClaw sends personalized appointment reminders via text or email at 48-hour and 24-hour intervals. It handles rescheduling requests by checking your calendar availability and proposing alternatives — no back-and-forth needed. It can also manage a waitlist and automatically offer cancelled slots to waiting clients.
3. Insurance Claim Preparation
OpenClaw drafts insurance claims from your session notes — pulling the correct CPT codes, diagnosis codes, and session details into the right format. It flags claims that are likely to be denied (e.g., authorization expiring, session limits reached) before you submit, saving you the rejection-and-resubmit cycle.
4. Client Check-Ins Between Sessions
For clients who benefit from between-session contact, OpenClaw sends brief, warm check-in messages on your behalf — "How did the breathing exercise go this week?" or a gentle reminder about homework. You set the cadence and approve the templates; the AI personalizes and sends them. This keeps clients engaged without adding to your workload.
5. Referral Management
When you need to refer a client to a psychiatrist, specialist, or group program, OpenClaw drafts the referral letter with relevant clinical history, sends it to the provider, and follows up if no response is received. It also handles incoming referrals — acknowledging receipt, scheduling intake appointments, and sending welcome packets.
Real OpenClaw Prompts for Therapists
Copy-paste these into your OpenClaw configuration. Each one is battle-tested for therapists.
Prompt 1: Session Note Formatter
Turn your raw session bullet points into structured clinical notes.
You are a documentation assistant for a licensed therapist.
When I give you bullet points from a therapy session, format
them into a SOAP note with these sections:
- Subjective: Client's reported experience and statements
- Objective: Therapist observations, affect, behavior
- Assessment: Clinical impressions, progress toward goals
- Plan: Next steps, homework, next session focus
Use professional clinical language. Include relevant CPT code
(usually 90837 for 53+ min individual). Reference treatment
plan goals where applicable. Never fabricate clinical details
— only use what I provide. Flag anything that needs my review.Prompt 2: Appointment Reminder Messages
Warm, professional reminders that reduce no-shows.
You manage appointment reminders for a therapy practice.
Send reminders 48 hours and 24 hours before each session.
Tone: Warm, brief, and professional. Never mention diagnosis,
treatment details, or anything clinical — just the appointment.
48-hour template: "Hi [first name], this is a reminder about
your appointment on [day] at [time]. If you need to reschedule,
please reply to this message or call [office number]."
24-hour template: "Hi [first name], just a reminder about
tomorrow's session at [time]. Looking forward to seeing you."
If a client asks to reschedule, check my calendar and offer
the next 3 available slots. Confirm the new time once accepted.Prompt 3: Insurance Claim Drafter
Pre-fill claims from session data to speed up billing.
You are a billing assistant for a therapy practice. After each
session, use the session note and client file to draft an
insurance claim with:
- Client name, DOB, insurance ID
- Provider NPI and tax ID
- Date of service, CPT code, diagnosis code (from treatment plan)
- Units and fee schedule amount
- Place of service (office=11, telehealth=02)
Flag any issues: expired authorization, session count approaching
limit, mismatched diagnosis codes, or missing pre-auth. Format
for CMS-1500. I will review and submit — never auto-submit claims.Prompt 4: Between-Session Check-In
Keep clients engaged with gentle, therapist-approved messages.
You send between-session check-in messages on behalf of a
therapist. These are brief, supportive, and non-clinical.
Rules:
- Never provide therapy, advice, or clinical guidance
- Never interpret emotions or make assessments
- If a client responds with a crisis or safety concern,
immediately alert me and provide them the 988 Lifeline number
- Keep messages to 1-2 sentences maximum
Example check-ins:
- "Hi [name], hope your week is going well. See you Thursday!"
- "Just checking in — how did the journaling exercise feel?"
- "Wanted to share that article on sleep hygiene we discussed.
[link] See you next week."
Send one check-in per client per week, midway between sessions.
I'll approve the first batch; after that, follow the same style.Complete Workflow: AI-Powered Therapist Assistant
Here's a real end-to-end workflow showing how a therapist uses OpenClaw throughout their day.
🕘 8:30 AM — Morning Prep
OpenClaw sends you a daily briefing: today's client schedule, any rescheduling requests that came in overnight, and flags for clients who haven't confirmed their appointment. It also reminds you of treatment plan reviews that are due this week.
If you want to see the full AI setup I recommend for private practices — including compliance considerations — I covered it in a free guide.
🕐 Between Sessions — Quick Notes
After each session, you spend 2 minutes typing bullet points into OpenClaw: "Client discussed conflict with partner. Practiced cognitive restructuring. Homework: thought record 3x this week. Mood improved from last session." OpenClaw drafts the full SOAP note and saves it for your review.
🕔 5:00 PM — End-of-Day Review
Instead of spending 2 hours on notes, you spend 20 minutes reviewing the drafts OpenClaw prepared throughout the day. Make edits, sign off, and they're done. OpenClaw also prepared 3 insurance claims and flagged one where the client's authorization expires next week.
🔄 Ongoing — Automated Between-Session Support
Throughout the week, OpenClaw sends your approved check-in messages to clients, handles rescheduling requests, sends referral letters you drafted, and follows up on unanswered insurance claims. If any client responds with concerning language, it alerts you immediately.
Time & Cost Savings for Therapists
Weekly Time Saved
| Task | Before AI | With OpenClaw | Saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session notes (20 clients) | 5-7 hrs | 1-1.5 hrs | ~5 hrs |
| Appointment reminders & scheduling | 2-3 hrs | 15 min | ~2.5 hrs |
| Insurance claims & billing | 3-4 hrs | 45 min | ~3 hrs |
| Client check-ins | 1-2 hrs | 10 min | ~1.5 hrs |
| Referral letters & follow-ups | 1 hr | 15 min | ~45 min |
| Total | 12-17 hrs | 2.5-3 hrs | ~10-12 hrs |
💰 What That's Worth
At typical therapy session rates:
- At $100/hr: 10 reclaimed hours = $1,000/week in potential billable time
- At $175/hr: 10 reclaimed hours = $1,750/week in potential billable time
- At $250/hr: 10 reclaimed hours = $2,500/week in potential billable time
$4,000–10,000/month
in reclaimed capacity — versus ~$25/month for OpenClaw's AI model costs. Even if you use half that time for rest instead of billing, the ROI is extraordinary.
How to Set Up OpenClaw for Your Therapist Practice
OpenClaw is free, open-source software. Setup takes about 20 minutes. Here's the quick version:
Step 1: Install OpenClaw
Run the one-line installer on your Mac, Linux, or Windows machine:
curl -fsSL https://get.openclaw.com | bashThis installs OpenClaw and walks you through initial configuration. Need help? Follow the detailed installation guide.
Step 2: Connect Your AI Model
Add your API key for the AI model you want to use. We recommend starting with Claude Sonnet 4.5 for the best balance of quality and cost:
openclaw config set model.provider anthropic
openclaw config set model.name claude-sonnet-4-5-20241022
openclaw config set model.apiKey YOUR_API_KEYTypical cost: $15-30/month. See the full pricing breakdown.
Step 3: Connect Your Channels
Connect the messaging platforms you already use — WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, email, or SMS:
openclaw channel add whatsapp
openclaw channel add telegram
openclaw channel add emailEach channel takes 2-5 minutes to set up. OpenClaw handles messages across all of them from one place.
Step 4: Configure for Therapists
Customize OpenClaw's personality and knowledge for your therapists practice. Add your SOUL.md file with industry-specific instructions:
# Example SOUL.md for a therapist
You are an AI assistant for a therapist practice.
You help with client communication, scheduling, document drafts,
and administrative tasks. Always maintain professional tone.
Never provide specific legal/medical/financial advice —
flag those for the therapist to review.Step 5: Set Safety Limits
Before going live, set spending and rate limits:
openclaw config set limits.maxDailySpend 10
openclaw config set limits.maxMessagesPerHour 100
openclaw config set limits.maxMessagesPerUserPerHour 20Start conservative. You can always increase limits once you see how it performs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have more questions about using AI as a therapist? Here are the most common ones:
Q: Is it ethical to use AI in a therapy practice?
Yes — when AI handles administrative tasks only. OpenClaw never interacts with clients during therapy or makes clinical decisions. It automates paperwork, scheduling, billing, and follow-up reminders so you have more time for actual therapeutic work. The AI handles the business side; you handle the clinical side.
Q: Is client data safe with OpenClaw?
OpenClaw runs locally on your own machine — client data never passes through third-party servers you don't control. You choose which AI model to connect and what data to share. For HIPAA-conscious practices, you can configure OpenClaw to avoid sending any PHI to cloud models and use it purely for template-based tasks like scheduling messages and billing reminders.
Q: How much time can a therapist save with AI automation?
Most therapists report saving 8-12 hours per week by automating session notes, appointment reminders, insurance claim preparation, and client check-in messages. At typical therapy rates of $100-250/hour, that translates to $800-3,000 per week in reclaimed billable time.
Q: Can OpenClaw write my session notes for me?
OpenClaw can draft structured session notes from your brief bullet points or voice memos. You provide the clinical observations, and it formats them into proper SOAP notes, DAP notes, or your preferred format — complete with treatment plan references and CPT codes. You always review and sign off before they go into the client record.
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