Enrichment · Wellbeing

Therapy by video,
checked before you book.

Video and app-based care can make it easier to start counseling, but options vary a lot: who you would actually see, whether they are licensed where you live, what it costs, how long the wait is and what happens to your messages. Add each option you are weighing, run the checks, and compare them side by side.

Add an optionWhat you get

Options

The worked example is made up: a local practice with video visits, a therapy app and a campus counseling center. Saved on this device only.

Loading the option form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Enrichment · WellbeingFree

What you finish with
A record per telehealth option: the kind of service, the clinician’s credential, whether they are licensed where you will be, whether they prescribe, how it is paid, cost per session against your limit, days to the first visit, consent for minors and eight privacy and safety checks. Compares cost and wait across options; flags an unconfirmed license, a coach listed as treatment, no emergency plan, an app outside HIPAA, a cost over budget, a long wait and a minor’s consent to ask about.
Who it is for
High school and college students, adults and parents looking for counseling or psychiatric care by video or app; school counselors sharing options with families.
Format
Browser guide with a saved record per option. Prints one option, a comparison table of all of them or a blank sheet to use on the phone; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Wellbeing space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add each option you are considering, one at a time.
  2. Look up the clinician on your state’s licensing board site.
  3. Call or message and ask the safety questions.
  4. Enter cost and wait, then compare in the side panel.
  5. If anything is urgent while you wait, call or text 988.

Add an option

Before your first video visit

Who you might seeClinicianLicensedPrescribesTypical focusPsychiatrist (MD or DO)YesYesDiagnosis and medicinePsychiatric nurse practitionerYesYesDiagnosis and medicinePsychologist (PhD or PsyD)YesRarelyTesting and therapyLCSW, LPC, LMHC or LMFTYesNoTherapyCoach or peer supporterNoNoSupport, not treatmentWho you might seePsychiatrist (MD or DO)Licensed: YesPrescribes: YesTypical focus: Diagnosis and medicinePsychiatric nurse practitionerLicensed: YesPrescribes: YesTypical focus: Diagnosis and medicinePsychologist (PhD or PsyD)Licensed: YesPrescribes: RarelyTypical focus: Testing and therapyLCSW, LPC, LMHC or LMFTLicensed: YesPrescribes: NoTypical focus: TherapyCoach or peer supporterLicensed: NoPrescribes: NoTypical focus: Support, not treatment
Every row except the last needs a state license you can look up. A few states let psychologists with extra training prescribe.

The license follows you

In most cases, a clinician must hold a license in the state where you are physically located during the session, not where they are. Some professions have interstate compacts (PSYPACT for psychologists, the Counseling Compact for counselors) that let licensed clinicians practice across member states.

Apps and privacy

HIPAA covers health care providers, health plans and their business partners. Some wellness and chat apps fall outside it. The Federal Trade Commission has taken action against online mental health services for sharing users’ data with advertisers, so read the privacy policy.

Not for emergencies

Video therapy is for ongoing care. If you are in crisis or might not be safe, call or text 988, or call 911. Find the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s treatment locator at findtreatment.gov.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Telehealth for behavioral health care (telehealth.hhs.gov).
  2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, HIPAA for individuals: covered entities (hhs.gov/hipaa).
  3. Federal Trade Commission (2023). Enforcement action against BetterHelp over sharing consumers’ health data for advertising (ftc.gov).
  4. PSYPACT (psypact.org) and the Counseling Compact (counselingcompact.org): interstate practice for psychologists and counselors.
  5. SAMHSA, FindTreatment.gov; 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (988lifeline.org): call or text 988, 24 hours a day.

The worked example is made up; the app name is invented. This guide helps you compare options; it does not recommend a provider and is not medical or legal advice. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.