Real Life Counseling

What Real Life Counseling does

Real Life Counseling is a private mental health counseling practice headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, providing in-person and telehealth therapy services to individuals, couples, teens, and children across Washington State with additional reach into Idaho. The practice was founded by Joseph Klemz and operates on a strengths-based, client-centered treatment model addressing depression, anxiety, trauma and PTSD, grief, ADHD, phobias, relationship issues, and a range of behavioral and emotional concerns. Clinical delivery is supported by a network of 100+ Washington-licensed providers operating as independent contractors, served through seven physical offices in East Vancouver, Salmon Creek, Downtown Vancouver, Battle Ground, Camas, Poulsbo, and Spokane, plus a video-counseling telehealth channel and a Reliatrax-based secure client portal for scheduling, records, payments, and provider messaging.

The product surface centers on four counseling tracks (individual, couples, teen, child) expanded by specialty condition service lines including men's and women's issues, anger management, and phobias/obsessions. On-site institutional services are delivered through partnerships with the Battle Ground, Evergreen, and Washougal school districts, extending the practice into student and family populations. All providers are registered and licensed in the State of Washington.

Revenue mechanics are driven by insurance-billed counseling sessions reimbursed through in-network status with 18+ major carriers including Kaiser, Cigna, Regence, Aetna, First Choice Health, Medicaid, and Molina, supplemented by cash-pay sessions starting at $80 per session with rates set per provider. Go-to-market is sales-led via direct appointment-request intake paired with organic content marketing through a blog and SEO service pages, plus a Facebook organic social presence. Compliance footprint spans HIPAA, the Washington My Health Data Act, and the federal No Surprises Act including Good Faith Estimates for uninsured clients. The practice is privately held with no disclosed institutional capital, no M&A activity, and no parent company.

Name

Real Life Counseling

Legal name

Real Life Counseling

Website

https://reallifecounseling.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Real Life Counseling is a private Washington State mental health practice operating seven physical offices and a telehealth channel, delivering individual, couples, teen, and child therapy through 100+ licensed independent-contractor providers paid primarily via insurance and per-session cash pay.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Counseling Services

NAICS

Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) (621330)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Outpatient Mental Health Clinics & Counseling Centers (HLAFACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Couples & Family Therapy Teletherapy Platforms (HLALAEAG)

Keywords

• Mental health counseling
• Individual therapy services
• Couples marriage counseling
• Telehealth therapy sessions
• Child adolescent therapy

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Insurance-billed therapy sessions: The majority of revenue comes from insurance-billed counseling services. The company works with over 18 major insurance providers including Kaiser, Cigna, Regence, Aetna, First Choice Health, Medicaid, and Molina. Providers are in-network with various plans.
2. Private pay/cash pay sessions: For clients without insurance coverage, private pay rates start at $80 per session and vary based on provider expertise and credentials. Each provider sets their own private pay rates as independent contractors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Real Life Counseling is a mental healthcare practice that delivers in-person and telehealth counseling services to individuals, couples, teens, and children across Washington State. Services are billed through insurance (in-network with 18+ major providers) or private pay (starting at $80 per session), and are supported by a secure online client portal for records, scheduling, and payments.

Product overview

Real Life Counseling is a mental health counseling practice offering a unified suite of therapy services centered around in-person and telehealth counseling. The core offerings include Individual Counseling, Couples Counseling, Teen Counseling, and Child Counseling services, supported by a Client Portal platform for secure client management. The practice specializes in treating various mental health conditions including Depression, Trauma & PTSD, Grief, Anxiety, ADHD, and relationship issues. Services are available at multiple physical locations in Washington State (Clark County area including Vancouver, Salmon Creek, Battle Ground, Camas) and via telehealth, with partnerships with local school districts for on-site student counseling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Real Life Community Behavioral Health: Affiliated behavioral health organization sharing privacy policy with Real Life Counseling

Products and services

• Individual Counseling Services One-on-one therapy sessions providing personalized mental health support for adults dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, anger, stress, self-esteem issues, and other mental health concerns.
• Couples Counseling Services Therapy for couples and marriages addressing communication, conflict resolution, marital concerns, and pre-marital counseling.
• Teen Counseling Services Specialized mental health therapy for adolescents addressing teen depression, anxiety, behavioral concerns, family dynamics, peer relationships, and life transitions.
• Child Counseling Services Therapeutic services for children addressing emotional, behavioral, and developmental concerns using age-appropriate approaches including play therapy.
• Telehealth Therapy Services Remote therapy sessions conducted via video conferencing, providing access to mental health support from the comfort and privacy of the client's own space.
• Client Portal Secure online portal for current clients to access records, update personal and insurance information, make payments, view sessions, and communicate with providers.
• Specialized Mental Health Services Specialized counseling services addressing specific mental health needs including Depression, Trauma and PTSD, Grief and Loss, Men's Issues, Women's Issues, Anxiety, ADHD, Phobias and Obsessions, and Anger Management.

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Battle Ground School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to provide on-site counseling services for students and families within the Battle Ground school district. Services support student mental health needs within the Clark County community.
• Evergreen School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to provide on-site counseling services for students and families within the Evergreen school district. Supports student mental health through accessible school-based services.
• Washougal School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to provide on-site counseling services for students and families within the Washougal school district. Provides accessible mental health support to students.
• KaisercoreOthersMajor insurance provider network partnership - in-network provider for Kaiser insurance plans
• CignacoreOthersMajor insurance provider network partnership - in-network provider for Cigna insurance plans
• RegencecoreOthersMajor insurance provider network partnership - in-network provider for Regence insurance plans
• AetnacoreOthersMajor insurance provider network partnership - in-network provider for Aetna insurance plans
• First Choice HealthcoreOthersInsurance provider network partnership - in-network provider for First Choice Health insurance plans
• MedicaidcoreOthersGovernment insurance provider partnership - in-network provider for Medicaid plans including Community Health Plan of Washington
• MolinacoreOthersInsurance provider network partnership - in-network provider for Molina Healthcare plans

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Thriveworks: National outpatient counseling group combining in-person and telehealth therapy across multiple states. Closely comparable to RLC's hybrid delivery model, broad insurance acceptance, and multi-segment (individual, couples, teen, child) service offering.
• Two Chairs: Outpatient therapy group operating physical clinics plus telehealth with a focus on matching clients to specialists. Comparable to RLC's personalized matching, multi-modality delivery, and emphasis on therapeutic fit.
• Octave: Multi-location outpatient mental health practice offering in-person and virtual therapy with insurance billing. Directly comparable business model and patient mix to RLC.
• Lyra Health: Mental health benefits provider combining in-person and virtual therapy, primarily via employer contracts. Comparable hybrid delivery and therapy matching; differs in employer-sponsored go-to-market.

Broad incumbents

• LifeStance Health: Large publicly-traded outpatient mental health platform operating hundreds of clinics nationwide. Comparable outpatient mental health services at vastly greater scale, with overlapping insurance-billed model and multi-specialty therapy focus.
• BetterHelp: Largest consumer telehealth therapy platform, owned by Teladoc. Comparable virtual counseling service line and broad therapist network, though operates purely online with a cash-pay subscription model.
• Talkspace: Public telehealth therapy platform offering individual, couples, and teen counseling online. Comparable online therapy delivery and multi-segment coverage; differs in being virtual-first and accepting B2B/EAP contracts at scale.

Emerging players

• Charlie Health: Virtual and in-person intensive outpatient program (IOP) for teens and young adults. Comparable adolescent mental health focus and telehealth capability; differs by specializing in higher-acuity IOP rather than weekly outpatient therapy.
• Brightside Health: Telehealth mental health provider offering therapy and psychiatry across states with insurance acceptance. Comparable insurance-billed virtual therapy model; focused more on anxiety/depression medication-plus-therapy.

Others

• Headway: Platform that helps independent therapists accept insurance by handling credentialing and billing. Comparable enabling role for insurance-billed counseling practices; represents a potential partner or competitor to RLC's in-network model.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/RealLifeCounseling
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/real-life-counseling-ministries

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Real Life Counseling