Rula Health Launches Rula CARES, External Council for AI Ethics and Safety in Behavioral Health

New advisory council brings together clinical, academic, and AI experts to help guide the responsible development and evaluation of Rula Health's AI-enabled products.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Rula Health, a nationwide behavioral health provider ("Rula") delivering accessible, high-quality care, today announced the formation of the Rula Clinical AI Review, Ethics, and Safety Council (Rula CARES), an external advisory council of clinical, academic, and AI experts who will provide independent perspectives as Rula moves from concept to development of AI-enabled products.

Rula CARES will provide an additional layer of expert review as Rula advances its technology capabilities, bringing outside perspectives to help inform responsible and ethical implementation and align Rula's approach with emerging industry standards and best practices.

The council will provide guidance across several areas, including:

• Clinical safety and risk mitigation
• AI ethics and responsible development
• Informed consent and transparency
• Applications of AI in clinical care
• Measurement of patient and provider outcomes
• Alignment with emerging AI standards and best practices

Council meetings are planned for a quarterly cadence, with a focus on retrospective case review and prospective guidance on planned development. Individual advisors will also be leveraged to provide guidance on specific projects that align with their given expertise.

Rula's approach to AI is grounded in the belief that technology should strengthen the role of clinicians and enhance the delivery of high-quality mental health care, not replace the human relationship at the center of therapy. Rula CARES puts that philosophy into practice by bringing independent expertise into how AI-enabled products are developed, evaluated, and integrated to administratively support care.

"Our philosophy is that the future of mental health care should be AI and therapy, not AI or therapy," said Dr. Doug Newton, Chief Medical Officer at Rula. "AI can play an important role in supporting care, but clinicians must remain at the center of it. As these technologies evolve, we have a responsibility to ensure they're developed and used with appropriate clinical oversight, and with the same rigor and commitment to patient safety that guide every aspect of our care. This group will help us hold that bar as we explore how AI can best support behavioral health care."

"This council represents deep expertise in all facets of AI clinical development, from how we obtain informed consent to how we demonstrate that our AI-enabled features are safe and effective," said Dr. Tim Campellone, Director of Clinical Product. "Their collaboration and guidance will help us build on the already high clinical care quality foundation that Rula is known for."

The launch of Rula CARES reflects Rula's commitment to bringing diverse perspectives on clinical care and technology to the evolving conversation around AI in behavioral health. By engaging respected authorities across clinical, academic, and technology communities, Rula is creating an ongoing dialogue to help thoughtfully shape how AI can complement clinicians and expand what's possible in mental health care, while bringing the perspectives of leading experts into how these innovations are introduced to providers and the broader field.

Rula CARES Council Members

Tanzeem Choudhury, Cornell Tech
Expertise: AI innovation in clinical measurement

Dr. Tanzeem Choudhury is Chief of Health Innovation and the Roger and Joelle Burnell Professor in Integrated Health and Technology at Cornell Tech. She leads the People-Aware Computing group, which develops AI and wearable technologies to support better health outcomes, including in mental health. Previously, she served as Senior Vice President of Digital Health at Optum Labs and co-founded two mental health AI startups focused on integrating behavioral health into broader health care. Dr. Choudhury's expertise on AI innovation in clinical measurement will be leveraged to help inform ongoing work to better assess clinical outcomes and care quality.

Dori Steinberg, Steinberg Research Consulting
Expertise: AI value assessment, clinical research, and real-world evidence

Dr. Dori Steinberg is the founder of Steinberg Research Consulting, helping health tech companies turn research and real-world data into evidence that supports payer, partner, and growth strategies. She spent nearly a decade directing Duke University's Digital Health Science Center before moving into industry, where she served as VP of Research at Equip Health and later led HEOR at Modern Health. She holds a PhD in Public Health from UNC Chapel Hill and an MPH from Harvard. On Rula's clinical advisory board, she will help design and execute studies demonstrating the effectiveness of its clinical offerings. Dr. Steinberg's expertise on AI value assessment will be leveraged to help inform how we quantify the impact of AI-enabled features on patient care outcomes and provider care delivery.

Camille Nebeker, UC San Diego
Expertise: AI ethics, informed consent, and responsible data use

Dr. Camille Nebeker, EdD, MS, is a Professor at UC San Diego and directs the Research Center for Optimal Digital Ethics in Health (ReCODE Health), where she also teaches Scientific Ethics. Her research focuses on the ethical, legal, and social implications of emerging technologies, including AI and digital health, with an emphasis on informed consent, risk assessment, and responsible data use. She serves on the World Health Organization's Digital Health Roster of Experts and contributed to the IEEE Organizational Governance of AI Working Group. As an advisor to Rula, Dr. Nebeker brings expertise in AI ethics and digital health research to help guide the responsible development and evaluation of AI-assisted features in clinical care. Dr. Nebeker's expertise on AI ethics and consent will be leveraged to inform how we approach disclosure of the use of AI to patients and providers in a way that is clear and transparent.

Nick Jacobson, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Expertise: AI intervention development, AI integration into clinical care

Nick Jacobson, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and associate professor of Biomedical Data Science, Psychiatry, and Computer Science at Dartmouth College's Geisel School of Medicine, where he leads the AI and Mental Health: Innovation in Technology Guided Healthcare (AIM HIGH) Laboratory. His research focuses on using AI, smartphones, and wearable technology to develop scalable, personalized treatments for anxiety and depression. He led the development of Therabot, a generative AI therapy chatbot, and his team conducted the first randomized controlled trial of a fully generative AI therapy chatbot, published in NEJM AI. His digital mental health applications have reached more than 50,000 users across 100 countries. He is also a co-founder of Therabot Labs. Dr. Jacobson serves on the Rula CARES advisory council in his personal capacity, where he will advise on the responsible integration of AI into clinical care.

For more information, visit Rula Health on LinkedIn.

About Rula Health

Rula is a comprehensive behavioral health solution that makes high-quality mental health care more accessible and affordable. With a nationwide network of more than 22,000 licensed providers, Rula offers next-day availability for therapy and psychiatry, 24/7 crisis support, and a seamless digital experience that connects patients to the right care quickly. Patients can match with a provider in minutes, verify insurance coverage and out-of-pocket costs upfront, attend secure telehealth sessions, and track their progress—all within a single, easy-to-use platform. Rula partners with most major insurance networks, including Aetna, Anthem, Cigna, Kaiser, UnitedHealthcare, and many Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, covering more than 200 million lives across the U.S. Learn more at Rula.com.

SOURCE Rula Health