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Mental Health Match is a user-friendly directory of online, licensed therapists that can be filtered based on an individual’s needs. We recommend Mental Health Match for therapy seekers who are struggling to find the right fit.
Pros and Cons
Free for therapy seekers
Free 60-day trial for therapists
Software algorithm to match therapists and potential clients
Therapists available in all states
Therapists offer services in 30 different languages
Will follow up with therapists for you if they don’t respond to your inquiry
No accessibility features on the website
No information on handling user complaints (although a contact form is available)
No formal requirement for affordable or sliding scale services
No extra support for therapists offering discounted sessions
In This ArticleExpandWhat Is Mental Health Match?States ServedFirst ImpressionsFinding a Therapist at Mental Health MatchMatching FeatureSearch FiltersTherapist Bio PagesHow Useful Is the Directory for Therapy Seekers?How Useful Is the Directory for Therapists?How It ComparesFinal VerdictMethodologySpecs
In This ArticleExpand
Expand
What Is Mental Health Match?
States Served
First Impressions
Finding a Therapist at Mental Health Match
Matching Feature
Search Filters
Therapist Bio Pages
How Useful Is the Directory for Therapy Seekers?
How Useful Is the Directory for Therapists?
How It Compares
Final Verdict
Methodology
Specs
“[Mental Health Match] simplifies the process in a way that is easy to navigate,” saysNic Hardy, licensed clinical social worker and one of the subject matter experts who helped us evaluate the company. “For individuals who are experiencing anxiety about the process, this can ease the tension along the way.”
“I couldn’t navigate endless lists, figure out jargon, or understand complexities like out-of-network billing or having to ask therapists for their fees if they weren’t public,” Schwartz says. “I would ask friends, and they would tell me they gave up the search for a therapist because it was too difficult and overwhelming.”
His eventual inspiration for Mental Health Match came from the most unlikely source: a friend who was setting up a dating profile. While his friend was being matched with potential romantic partners in a matter of minutes, Schwartz hadn’t gotten any closer to finding a therapist who met his needs. It was at this time that he realized the mental healthcare field needed to change drastically—and his work could be a part of the solution.
Schwartz founded Mental Health Match in 2019, and his goal was two-fold: simplify the individual’s search for a therapist and ease the burden of marketing for therapists.
The online directory is designed to have universal relevance, meaning Mental Health Match is not targeted toward a specific population. However, theAboutpage acknowledges the need for access and inclusion in mental health care, and that connecting with a therapist (and subsequent healing) only occurs when we feel seen.
In responding to our questionnaire, the company also told us that 40% of therapists listed on the directory identify as BIPOC. In addition, it offers optional filters for the gender, age, race, religion, and sexual orientation of your desired therapist (more on that below), so you can easily look for a clinician with a particular identity, background, or language if that is important to you.
Therapists listed in the directory offer a wide range of services, including:
Mental Health Match does not include life coaches in its directory, which adds to the credibility of this company, as coaches are not required to go through the same licensing and training as mental health professionals.
The company also does not collect payment from clients or bill insurance–it is not a financial intermediary, just an online tool.
Mental Health Match has therapists listed in all 50 U.S. states plus Washington D.C., giving it an edge over some of the other 24 directories we reviewed. Around 58% of users surveyed rated the availability of therapists in the directory licensed in their state as good or very good, while almost 14% rated it as bad or very bad.
Of the users we surveyed, 39% live in an urban area, 47% live in a suburban area, and 14% live in a rural area (which, coincidentally, is the same percentage as those who rated the availability of therapists poorly). While this correlation doesn’t mean that only those living in rural areas rated the availability of therapists poorly, we found it interesting because many “mental health care deserts” (a term given to areas that have no psychologists, psychiatrists, or counselors available) are also in rural areas.
It’s also worth noting that although Mental Health Match lists therapists in every state, the number of listed therapists in each state varies widely. The largest number of therapists (333) are in Texas, whereas the least—just three—are in North Dakota.
Mental Health America ranks Texas last in its 2022 measure of access to mental healthcare, meaning that access to insurance, access to treatment, quality and cost of insurance, access to special education, and workforce availability are especially low in this state.Texas also has the most counties considered mental health care deserts. It is therefore encouraging that Texas has the largest number of therapists listed on Mental Health Match, suggesting that the company is working towards its goal of making therapy more accessible to those struggling to find it.
As a result, while Mental Health Match is certainly taking strides to make therapy more accessible in certain states where access to mental health care is greatly needed, there are other states where it seems to fall short.
The home page of Mental Health Match features a large image of sunlight falling on a path with the dark shapes of trees on either side. This imagery is evocative of relief coming during a difficult time. Directly below these are the words, “The right therapist makes all the difference. Built on years of research, our matching tool finds you licensed therapists best matched to your needs.”
The users we surveyed seem to agree: 63% of users surveyed rated Mental Health Match as easy or very easy to navigate, with only 9% rating it as difficult or very difficult.
However, unlike some of the other directories we reviewed, the Mental Health Match website doesn’t have any accessibility features, such as color contrast options, on its website.
A caveat is listed at the end of each article: “The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your mental health professional or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding your condition.” This offers credibility and adds to the professionalism of the blog.
The company has a modest following onFacebookandTwitter, but a large presence onInstagram(21,000 followers as of January 2023). Instagram posts range from educational (one type of therapy vs. another, for example) to encouraging (suggestions on navigating therapy) to lists of mental health resources for different communities (see their post onmental health resources for Black people).
You can also subscribe to the company’s monthly mental health tips in the form of an email newsletter. Blog posts are sometimes linked to Mental Health Match’s social media as well.
Mental Health Match seems to have good word of mouth: 56% of users surveyed heard of Mental Health Match from a family member or friend, indicating the directory has positive word of mouth with users.
The process to search for therapists at Mental Health Match is simple and clear: 42% of users surveyed rated the process of finding a therapist to meet their needs as easy or very easy, while 39% rated the process as average.
To start, simply click on “Find a Therapist,” and you will be taken to a page where you can use the match feature, or browse manually through therapists in your area.
If you select the match feature, you’ll be asked to fill out a short questionnaire. First, it will request your zip code, then ask you about yourself, how you identify, what you’re looking for in a therapist, and whether you have a preference for a therapist of a specific gender identity or a preferred racial, ethnic, or cultural background.
You can also select what language you want your therapist to speak; unfortunately, however, selecting a language aside from English does not necessarily mean there will be therapists who speak that language. When I chose Spanish as my preferred language and set my location as Iowa, none of the therapists shown to me actually spoke Spanish.
Next, you’ll be asked if there are any specific concerns you would like to discuss with your therapist, such as how you feel, your identity, your relationship, specific behaviors you’d like to change, or a diagnosis you’d like to treat. Once you select your concern, you’ll be prompted to fill out more information about your therapy goals.
Next, you’ll be asked about the types of therapeutic activities you’re interested in exploring during your therapy sessions, including music or art therapy, hypnosis, or yoga. You’ll also be asked what skills you’re interested in learning, such as stress management, communication, healing from trauma, or something else.
As a final step, you’ll note if your insurance provider if relevant. You can also set a limit on how much you are willing to pay for a session. Once you finish the questionnaire, you’ll see how many potential therapists matches you have and will be shown profiles of those who meet your criteria.
It will also tell you if there are therapists in your state who accept your insurance or cost criteria, but who aren’t considered matches based on your answers to the rest of the questionnaire. For example, when I put $100 as my maximum cost per session, the site told me that 10 total therapists met my budget, including one of my top five matches. This is nice because it allows therapy seekers to adjust criteria based on these initial results if they do not find someone they want to work with.
It is worth noting that there is a lack of disability and chronic illness-related search filters (both in the “browse-yourself” section and the matching questionnaire section), which is a shame because several of its competitors, including Inclusive Therapists, offer this.
While browsing a list of therapists may relieve some of the pressure of answering questions about yourself, filtering through therapists could be cumbersome if you live in a state that has hundreds listed.
Therapists are shown in a list, and it takes a bit of digging to determine where the therapist is located. If someone is looking for in-person therapy within a certain distance, showing results on a map would be more user-friendly.
However, checking boxes on the left side of the screen does allow you to narrow the results as you browse. For example, you can filter therapists based upon what language they offer services in, and unlike the matching function, selecting a specific language gives you accurate results, even if that means there are no therapists in your state who qualify.
A preview of each therapist’s page appears in search results, including a photo, focus areas if they’re accepting new clients, and their format for therapy sessions (online, in-person, etc.). The preview also has two prompts—“Together, we will:” and “Something to know about my approach is:”—for therapists to answer.
Clicking on each therapist takes you to the therapist’s full bio page. The number of details here depends on how much work the therapist put into it. Some may not show much more than what is shown in the preview; others will display very detailed information, such as:
From our research, it appears that the only required details a therapist has to include on their bio are a photo, the type of therapy they offer, their focus areas, language(s) spoken, whether or not they work with insurance, and if they’re accepting new clients. It’s also worth noting that while they may list they’re open to new clients, this information is not always accurate. Over 40% of the users we surveyed indicated that this status is inaccurate and the therapists they contacted do not actually have any availability.
It also appears that some therapists list ranges of costs, rather than one set rate; there is no explanation of ranges directly beneath the fees, so it’s unclear if those are sliding scales or denote fees for different types of therapy. It would be helpful if the directory allowed therapists to clarify.
It’s also worth noting that you can’t search for therapists who only offer sliding scale fees (even though 65% of the therapists we surveyed said they offered this option)—and this only adds to the confusion around rates on the bio pages. It appears you’d have to reach out to the therapists to confirm that they do, indeed, offer this.
Of the 86 therapists we surveyed, around 63% take insurance, but only 12 (or 14%) accept Medicaid or Medicare, which means individuals with lower income and fewer resources have few options when it comes to mental healthcare within this directory.
Still, 63% of user survey respondents were pleased with the number of therapists who offered payment options (such as insurance, sliding scale, etc), while 22% rated this as average.
Some therapist bios list multiple ways to contact therapists, including phone numbers, links to their website, and social media, while others just offer a way to contact the therapist through a form on Mental Health Match.
According to the website, if someone takes this route and reaches out through the form but a therapist doesn’t respond to their inquiry, Mental Health Match will offer to follow up with the therapist or help individuals find a new one. This is a fantastic feature, as subject matter expert Hardy noted, because limited responsiveness from potential therapists can be “discouraging and extend the time that someone can access the help they need.”
Overall, 63% of the users we surveyed said it was easy or fairly easy to search for a specific provider on Mental Health Match, while 28% rated it as average.
Data from user surveys support this: 70% of users rated the overall helpfulness at connecting them with a therapist as good or very good. In addition, the majority of users surveyed (58%) reported being satisfied or very satisfied with therapist options provided in Mental Health Match’s directory.
The company can help you find a therapist both in-person and online. Of the 86 therapists we surveyed, just under half (45%) offered both formats, and only one therapist didn’t offer virtual options. However, there are some states where in-person is not an option. For example, in Iowa where I live, the 20 therapists listed only offer virtual sessions.
Over 54% of the users we surveyed are still using the therapist they found on Mental Health Match. Of those that are not, most stopped because they simply discontinued therapy. However, some said they found a different therapist at a different company or that they found a therapist who accepts insurance. The vast majority (89%) of the Mental Health Match users we surveyed had health insurance, but as a whole, almost 70% said that insurance did not help them pay for the therapist they found on Mental Health Match.
Over 61% of users surveyed rated therapist diversity within the directory as good or very good, while almost 32% ranked this as average. In addition, all but seven of the therapists we surveyed have received cultural competency training in the past five years. Of the seven who haven’t, four received training more than five years ago, two plan to seek it out, and only one indicated they have no plans to receive this training.
However, over 15% of users reported conducting therapy in a language they are not most comfortable in, suggesting that more recruitment of therapists across the country who speak lesser-known languages is still needed.
In addition, almost 49% of respondents indicated they had to compromise on some of their needs when choosing a therapist through Mental Health Match and 7% said they couldn’t find a therapist who met any of their needs. Most users had to consider one to three therapists before choosing one to go with.
When we asked survey respondents what they wish Mental Health Match did better, most said having wider availability of therapists who accept insurance was their top priority. Others, meanwhile, said they wished that Mental Health Match had more therapists with experience and specialized training working with the LGBTQIA+ community or treating eating disorders and addiction.
The vast majority of therapists we surveyed are pleased with Mental Health Match—the directory is a good value for what it offers and it functions the way they expected it to. Over 66% said they are likely or very likely to remain listed in this directory in 12 months, and they cited an increase in clients as the main reason.
While there are no guarantees of more clients when signing up with Mental Health Match, the company does offer therapists unique advantages. Because of the detailed matching survey and search filters, therapists are more likely to receive inquiries from clients who are aligned with their niche focuses and approaches, and who can afford their fees—in fact, 69% of therapists we surveyed had an increased caseload after registering with the directory, while only 27% reported a caseload which stayed about the same. Most therapists listed wanting to find new clients as their top reason for joining.
The vast majority (91%) of therapists we surveyed are also likely or very likely to recommend this directory to other therapists if they haven’t already.
Only five therapists reported being unlikely to recommend this directory to colleagues, and of these five, four of them had been in practice for more than five years. As a result, it seems likely that Mental Health Match is best suited for therapists new to the practice and looking to build their client base. Therapists with a wide range of approaches or sliding scale fees also generally report more success finding clients through this directory.
It’s worth noting that compared to the other 24 online therapy directories we looked at, the cost for therapists to join Mental Health Match falls in the low to mid-range, making it an affordable career-builder.
Although Mental Health Match does not offer financial aid or sponsorships to therapists, it does have a free 60-day trial period for therapists to join the directory.
After the trial period, therapists pay a monthly fee of $24.97 plus tax, or an annual fee of $199 plus tax. As noted earlier, the vast majority of therapists surveyed (75%) rated the value of the directory good, very good, or excellent.
How Does Mental Health Match Compare to Online Therapy Companies and Directories?
The benefit of using an online directory over an online therapy company or private practice is the sheer range of options. Online directories allow users to filter therapists based on their needs, wants, and budget, whereas choices are much more limited in company practices. In addition, most online directories (including Mental Health Match) are free for therapy seekers to use, whereas online therapy companies often require subscriptions.
Of the therapists we talked to, 45% rated Mental Health Match as much better or somewhat better than other directories they are listed in. Many therapists reported that they liked this directory’s matching function more than matching tools on other platforms and that the number of detailed questions on the questionnaire results not just in more matches, but better ones.
In general, users also reported Mental Health Match as being favorable to other platforms. Of the 41% surveyed who had tried a different online therapy service prior to using Mental Health Match, 57% rated Mental Health Match as better or much better, and 29% rated it as about the same.
Mental Health Match is a company that provides therapy seekers personalized results and it offers therapists the advantage of clients well-matched to them.
“This site has the potential to be a contender with larger directories,” Hardy says. The different search options available, along with the presence of a wide range of filters, make for an individualized, user-friendly experience.
Still, there are places where Mental Health Match could improve. For example, it is less friendly to people with disabilities since it doesn’t offer many of the accessibility features its competitors do. There is also a lack of consistency and detail in therapist profiles, which detracts from some of its benefits to users. Additional recruitment of therapists in states with very few listed would also set this company on the path to fully realizing its full potential as one of the best directories.
To compose this review, we conducted original, data-driven research in order to get a full sense of how Mental Health Match helped therapy seekers and therapists connect and how it compared to other popular directories. We started off evaluating around 180 users at each company (4,862 respondents total) and collecting data and research on the company, such as when it was founded, the number of therapists it lists, which states it serves, and more. We also interviewed or surveyed a minimum of 10 therapists listed on each directory about their experience using the directory, including how it has affected their caseload and whether they’d recommend it to their colleagues.
We then asked our three subject matter experts,Amy Marschall,Nic Hardy,andHannah Owens, to score the testing results to determine the directory’s search functionality and ease of use for users. We also sent a questionnaire to each company, though not all companies responded. Read our full methodologyhere.
3 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Council for Mental Wellbeing.More than 4 in 10 u. S. Adults who needed substance use and mental health care did not get treatment.Mental Health America.Prevalence data 2022.Mental Health America.Ranking the states 2022.
3 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Council for Mental Wellbeing.More than 4 in 10 u. S. Adults who needed substance use and mental health care did not get treatment.Mental Health America.Prevalence data 2022.Mental Health America.Ranking the states 2022.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Council for Mental Wellbeing.More than 4 in 10 u. S. Adults who needed substance use and mental health care did not get treatment.Mental Health America.Prevalence data 2022.Mental Health America.Ranking the states 2022.
National Council for Mental Wellbeing.More than 4 in 10 u. S. Adults who needed substance use and mental health care did not get treatment.
Mental Health America.Prevalence data 2022.
Mental Health America.Ranking the states 2022.
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