Online therapy sounds simple — and mostly, it is. But if you've never done it, it's fair to wonder how it actually works in practice: Is it a real session? Is it private? What does it cost, with or without insurance? Here's the plain-language version, based on how care works at Mend Counseling.
How a telehealth session actually works
Our sessions happen by secure video through SimplePractice, a HIPAA-compliant system built for health care — the same platform that stores your records privately. There's no app to master and no account maze. Before your appointment, you get a link. At your session time, you click it, and you're face to face with your clinician.
A session itself looks like any therapy session:
- You and your clinician talk, in real time, for the full appointment
- You set goals together and work on them session by session
- Notes and records are kept in the same secure system, just like in-person care
What you need is modest: a phone, tablet, or computer with a camera, a reasonable internet connection, and a private spot where you won't be overheard. Plenty of clients meet from a parked car, a home office, or a quiet bedroom — wherever privacy is.
Who online therapy is for
We serve teenagers and adults anywhere in Wisconsin. Because our clinicians are licensed in Wisconsin, your care can move with you — to college, a new apartment, a work trip — as long as you're in the state. Online therapy tends to fit especially well if:
- You live far from a therapist's office, or your local options have long waitlists
- Your schedule (work, school, kids) makes a commute the hardest part of therapy
- You'd simply feel more comfortable starting from your own space
Some care is also available face to face: select clinicians see clients in person, by appointment only, at our offices in Appleton (101 W. Edison Ave, Suite 211; 4321 W. College Ave, Suite 200; 3121 West Spencer St) and Mequon (11124 N. Cedarburg Rd., Suite 150). Many clients mix the two.
What it costs with insurance
Mend Counseling is in-network with most major Wisconsin plans, including Quartz, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare, Forward Health (Wisconsin Medicaid), Molina, Network Health, Chorus Community Health Plans, UMR, and Centivo, among others. If we take your plan, your cost is whatever your plan sets — typically a copay or coinsurance after any deductible — and we verify your benefits before your first session so there are no surprises.
A note about HMO plans
If your coverage is through an HMO plan, one extra step applies: we need to check your specific plan before your first session. HMO coverage often comes with referral or prior-authorization requirements, and which providers are in-network can vary plan by plan, so being "in-network with the insurer" doesn't always settle it. Call us at 920-234-6842 and we'll verify your exact benefits and any requirements up front.
What it costs without insurance (self-pay)
No insurance, or prefer not to use it? Our self-pay rates are posted openly — no "call for pricing":
- Individual Intake: $145
- Individual Session: $135
- Couples Intake: $165 · Couples Session: $145
- Family Session: $165
- Initial Psychiatric Evaluation: $250
- Established Medication Management Follow-up: $175
(Psychiatric care is a separate service from therapy — details are on our Psychiatric Medication Management page.)
How to start
- Book a free 15-minute consultation at https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule/6d4ae04a — a short conversation with Jonathon Jacobs, our owner, to talk through what you're looking for and get matched with the right clinician. No commitment, no pressure.
- Or call us at 920-234-6842 (Mon–Fri, 8:30am–5:30pm).
- We verify your insurance (if you're using it) before your first full session.
Right now we have immediate availability — no waitlist — for teenagers and adults across Wisconsin. More detail on how statewide online care works is on our Telehealth Therapy in Wisconsin page.
If you are in crisis, call 911 or the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Mend Counseling is not an emergency service.
