Frequently asked questions by parents
TeenCounseling is an online platform where teens from ages 13-19 can get help from a licensed therapist online. TeenCounseling.com makes affordable, discreet, professional counseling available through a computer, tablet, or smartphone. All teens can benefit from having a professional counselor at their fingertips to discuss issues such as coping skills, anxiety, stress, self-esteem, depression, bullying, anger, eating disorders or any other mental challenges.
After you sign up to the site, you will be matched with a licensed counselor. You can then invite your child and they will receive the invite code via email and text message.
Professional counseling through TeenCounseling.com can help your child to deal and cope with various issues such as anxiety, stress, self-esteem, depression, bullying, eating disorders, relationships, anger, and more. It can help your child be more successful in developing coping skills and it provides them with a resource that is available to help them when they need guidance and support.
TeenCounseling.com is not the right solution for your teen if any of the following is true:
• Your teen has had thoughts of hurting themselves or others
• Your teen is in an urgent crisis or emergency situation
• Your teen has been diagnosed with a severe mental illness or has been advised to be in psychological supervision or psychiatric care
• Your teen was required to undergo therapy or counseling either by a court order or by any other authority
• Your teen does not have a device that can connect to the Internet or your teen cannot access a reliable Internet connection.
Counseling on TeenCounseling,com is based on a flat membership fee that covers both the use of the platform and unlimited counseling for both you and your child.
While face-to-face counseling can cost $150 to $250 for a single session (or about $1,000 per month), the cost of counseling through TeenCounseling ranges from $40 to $70 per week (billed monthly) and includes messaging, chats, phone, and video sessions.
All Counselors on TeenCounseling.com are licensed, trained, experienced Psychologists (Ph.D/Psy.D), Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT), Clinical Social Workers (LCSW), or Professional Counselors (LPC). All of the counselors have a Master’s degree or Doctoral Degree in their field, and have been licensed by their state’s professional board after successfully completing the required education, exams, training, and supervised practice.
The professionals who work through TeenCounseling.com are licensed and credentialed therapists who have been certified by their state's board to provide counseling. However, while the service may have similar benefits in some cases, it is not able to substitute traditional face-to-face therapy in every case. Please note that TeenCounseling.com counselors will not be able to make any official diagnosis, fulfill any court order, or prescribe medication.
Your teen will be assigned the one counselor to work with for as long as they participate with TeenCounseling.com. However, if you wish, you can always switch to another counselor on the platform.
Counseling is done in four ways:
- Exchanging messages with the counselor
- Chatting live with the counselor
- Speaking over the phone with the counselor
- Video conferencing with the counselor
You and your child would each a dedicated "room", which will be your private and secure place to communicate with the counselor. There will be two separate rooms - one for you and one for your teen.
In the counseling room, you and your child can exchange messages with the counselor at any time, from anywhere, using any Internet-connected device. The room is open 24/7 and since messaging is not in real-time it doesn't require scheduling. Instead, you (or your child) can choose whenever you want to write or respond to your counselor. You will get a notification by email when the counselor has sent you a message.
It can be sometimes useful to have a text conversation with your counselor in real-time. This way you can still enjoy the convenience and privacy of messaging but also enjoy a "live" interaction that allows instant response and feedback from the counselor.
To have a live chat session, you will first need to schedule a time with your counselor. At the scheduled time, log in to your account to start typing and chatting with your counselor.
Phone sessions are a great way to conveniently speak with your counselor by simply using your landline or cell phone, no matter where you are.
To talk with your counselor over the phone, you will need to schedule a time with your counselor and log in to your counseling room at that time. The counselor will prompt you to start the phone session and the system will ask you for your phone number. The system will then call you at that number and connect you with your counselor to start the phone session. Please note that the phone number you enter will not be shared with the counselor.
You can also have a video session with your counselor where you will be able to see each other and talk with each other in a virtual face-to-face setting (similar to Skype).
To talk with your counselor via video, you will need to schedule a time with him or her and log in to your counseling room at that time. He or she will then prompt you to start the video session. After you confirm, you will immediately begin video chatting with your counselor.
To talk with your counselor via video, you will need to schedule a time with him or her and log in to your counseling room at that time. He or she will then prompt you to start the video session. After you confirm, you will immediately begin video chatting with your counselor.
- If you're using a computer or laptop: Make sure you are using Chrome or Firefox as your web browser. Video sessions are not currently supported in Internet Explorer and Safari browsers. You can download Chrome for free from here
- If you're using an iPhone or iPad: Make sure you use the TeenCounseling app, which you can download from the App Store
- If you're using an Android phone or tablet: Make sure you use the TeenCounseling app, which you can download from the Google Play Store.
Services offered using this site are generally not covered by health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid.
Coverage and benefits for traditional therapy and counseling services change from one health insurance company to another and from plan to plan, but generally the following rules apply:
Coverage and benefits for traditional therapy and counseling services change from one health insurance company to another and from plan to plan, but generally the following rules apply:
- With many health insurance plans, coverage can be partial or very limited.
- Even if your plan covers all your costs, the co-pay that you would be required to contribute may be higher than the entire cost of Teen Counseling.
- In many cases, before you can get reimbursed by your insurance company, your therapist would have to diagnose you with a mental disorder or issue. This diagnosis would be sent to the insurance company and recorded in your medical file. In some cases the therapist would also have to provide additional clinical information to the insurance company, such as treatment plans, summaries or copies of the entire record.
- Do I have mental health insurance benefits?
- What is my deductible and has it been met?
- How many sessions per year does my health insurance cover?
- What is the coverage amount per therapy session?
- Is approval required from my primary care physician?
You can reset your pin by first logging out of the account on the app in your account settings. Once you log back in, you will be prompted to create a new pin.
The service is provided by independent providers who work directly with their clients. These providers are not employees of Teen Counseling and the site doesn't oversee them professionally. Our mission is to build, maintain, and support a platform that lets users and counselors communicate effectively, and to facilitate this channel so they can get the most out of their interaction.