I Needed A Therapist That Took Insurance—So I Tried the Headway Online Directory

I've been seeing the same therapist for several years and while I like her, she does not accept my insurance. I've also recently started taking a prescription for an anti-anxiety medication, so recently, my out-of-pocket expenses for mental health each month have started to feel too high.

Even though my current therapist does have me on sliding scale pricing, which means I pay a lower fee for each session based on what I am able to afford, and her sessions count toward my out-of-network deductible, I still only see her once a month because of the out-of-pocket cost. If I could see a therapist in-network, I would feel more comfortable seeing them weekly or every other week because I would only have to pay my $30 deductible each time.

So I started looking for a therapist who took my insurance—but with little success, despite years of searching. I tried using my insurance’s website to find an in-network therapist, but there have been slim pickings, and most providers aren’t accepting new patients. Plus, as a new mom who works three days a week and does full-day childcare two times a week for my son, I don’t feel like I have much time to devote to searching for an in-network therapist.

So when I found Headway, a free online therapist directory that only features therapists who accept health insurance, I was immediately intrigued. Not only does it help you connect with therapists who accept insurance, but it also handles billing and scheduling for you. There are also licensed marriage and family therapists, or LMFTs, who often otherwise don’t accept insurance for couples or family counseling.  I gave it a try and while the first therapist I chose wasn't the perfect match for me, Headway made it super easy to find a variety of therapists that all took my insurance and had availability.

After evaluating the directory for ease of use, help with insurance, therapist availability and qualifications, and the ability to filter for my exact needs, I was very happy with the service—and this was reflected in our most recent research as well.

How I Searched for a Therapist

It’s easy to find a therapist with the Headway directory. The homepage greets you with the invitation to "Let us find your mental health provider," with search boxes below where you can fill in your location ("Where do you live?"), concerns ("What can we help with?"), and insurance carrier ("Not sure? Skip for now"). From there, you can start browsing the therapist directory.

Note that even for virtual appointments, you have to be physically present in the state in which your counselor is licensed. Aside from insurance type, you can also use filters to input your mental health concerns (these include ADHD, anger management, infertility, trauma, or stress, with 20 different concerns listed overall). 

Those are just some of the base filters—you can also specify if you’re looking for talk therapy, medication management, or psychiatric care, and sort by the therapist’s availability, ethnicity, gender, language spoken, whether they’re virtual or in-person, and their therapy modalities (such as cognitive behavioral therapy, strengths-based therapy, and trauma-focused therapy, with nine modalities total). You can even look up a particular provider by name.

You can filter therapists based on who accepts your insurance, and when you click on the “cost” tab of any therapist’s bio, you’ll see a list of insurance they take. Not only that, but Headway claims its therapists typically have availability within a few days. That was huge for me.

If you decide to move forward with a therapist you find on Headway, first, you’ll be asked to create an account and upload your insurance details. There are over 30 insurance plans listed in the dropdown menu. Once you input your details, you’ll see a list of practitioners in your state. While a surprising number of therapists were licensed in my state and took my insurance (19 with openings soon, to be exact), many of them were “licensed professional counselors,” which is not the same as a psychotherapist. For example, psychologists and licensed clinical social workers typically have more training and experience and may diagnose mental health disorders. I wasn’t bothered by this, though, and ultimately chose a counselor. I wanted someone who was a bit older than my current therapist, who’s a peer (and maybe even a little younger than I am), and also, ideally, someone who had kids.

I saw a quick snapshot of each therapist in their bios on Headway, including a photo, specialties (such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD), a few words they’d use to describe their approach (like “direct,” “solution-oriented,” or “holistic”), and their next availability for sessions. I scrolled through the results page and clicked on several therapists to learn more. That’s when I saw details about their availability—there were several therapists who took weekend appointments and one who scheduled as early as 7 a.m. The latest appointment I saw was 6 p.m..

I noticed that sometimes the bio snapshot would say the therapist had availability in the coming days, but when I clicked to learn more, they didn’t actually have availability for two or more weeks.

It’s worth noting that the Headway directory is primarily comprised of licensed therapists and counselors—if you’re looking for a psychiatrist or advanced practice nurse to help with medication management, they might be harder to find.

How I Set Up a Therapy Appointment

Once I’d decided on the counselor who seemed like a good fit, it was super easy to schedule. I chose the date and time that worked for me; this counselor had both in-person and virtual timeslots available, which were indicated by either a video camera or chair graphic (the chair represents “in-office”). 

I pressed the green “Book Session for [Date]” button and was prompted to add my insurance info, which only took a second, then my credit card info. Then I filled out a quick form about topics I wanted to discuss.

Immediately after scheduling, I received an automated email from the counselor confirming my appointment. It also said that my session would be around $30, which was the “best estimate while we work with your insurer to get your exact rate.” The email said I’d be charged after my first session. I also received a welcome text, a second email from the counselor ensuring I lived in Oregon, where she practices, and a bunch of paperwork to complete. 

One of the things I didn’t like was that I had to sign and scan some of the documents physically. Fortunately, I have a printer that does that, but it could have been a big hassle if I didn’t have one, and was still more time-consuming than an electronic signature.

My Therapy Session

The day before my session, I received a message from my Headway counselor reminding me to complete the paperwork. The messages look like they were sent from the provider (and they were), but they came through Headway’s messaging service via the email address @providers.headway.co, so it was all discreet (the platform is HIPAA-compliant). One little snag was that my paperwork wouldn’t go through to the Headway email account, so I had to forward it to my counselor's business Gmail account. It wasn’t a big deal, but it would be ideal for all correspondence and paperwork to stay in one secure place.

It was easy to sign in, and my counselor was there already; she mentioned it was her first time using this new video platform, and her laptop was at a strange angle (tilted up instead of straight on), but the audio was clear.

I appreciated that she was willing to share an appropriate amount about herself; she has grown children, for example. She was solution-oriented and suggested I prioritize sleep and one-on-one time with my husband. In the moment, those suggestions felt a little trite, but I did think of her words after our session and took her advice. She told me at one point that I looked tired, which is fair because I am, but also… no. 

We realized halfway through that she hadn’t sent me one of the intake forms that dove into my health history and why I was seeking therapy. While that would have been more work for me upfront, having that information would’ve helped the session go more smoothly.

Our session ended after just 50 minutes, which was fine with me, as I prefer shorter sessions. 

However, when I logged into my insurance site to see the claim, it hadn’t yet been listed. This isn’t unusual—sometimes it takes a while for my claims to show up—but for that reason, I’m not comfortable saying with 100% certainty that all I paid was $30.

Our Most Recent Testing

We took another look at Headway in May of 2024, and for the most part our experience reflected the same good fortune we had in our initial testing of the directory. 

We were especially impressed with how many filter options there are: 12 to be exact, far more than most online therapy directories offer. We were able to choose very specific requirements—including a specialization in anxiety and availability on weekends—and despite these constraints, we were offered a whopping 147 therapist options. 

However, due to the variations in each individual insurance plan, pricing was unclear. The site stated broadly that we could expect to pay anywhere from $0 to $500 per session, and provided us with a note that explained that “Your estimated cost might change as we learn more details about your coverage, such as whether you've met your deductible." Not knowing up front how much we could expect to pay was a definite detriment to our experience.

Additionally, there was often no contact information in the therapist’s bios and no way to contact a therapist directly, adding yet another step to the process.

Despite these setbacks, we appreciated that starting your search for a therapist on Headway involved not only inputting our location and insurance information, but also our main concern—what was bringing us to therapy in the first place. These initial searches on online therapy directories rarely ask for this, highlighting yet another good aspect of Headway.

Pros and Cons

I thought it was easy and efficient to find a therapist on Headway, though there are a few things I’d like to see improved. 

Final Thoughts

I was impressed with my Headway experience and was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I could find and schedule an appointment with a licensed professional counselor. It was hard for me to warm up to a new provider because I have a trusted therapist I’ve been seeing for years. I may try it again and filter specifically for a therapist (someone with a bit more training) because it was amazing that my insurance was accepted, and the process was seamless. 

I was also happy to see how many providers were in my area. I prefer virtual appointments, so it’s nice to have the option to see anyone in the state.

Personally, I recommend Headway to anyone looking for a counselor or therapist covered by their insurance.