What OpenCounseling does

OpenCounseling is a privately held, for-profit directory and content platform founded in 2009 by therapist Mark Pines and headquartered in Long Beach, California. The company operates a web-based marketplace that connects consumers seeking affordable mental health counseling with a curated directory of more than 10,000 non-profit and community providers across all 50 US states and six countries (Canada, UK, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa). Its core technology is a location-searchable directory of mental health providers supplemented by educational content resources including a state-by-state guide to the US public mental health system, therapy cost explainers, therapist license-check tutorials, crisis hotline listings, comparative online therapy reviews, and a podcast ('The Insider's Guide to Therapy'). The platform is free for consumers and free for providers to list.

The business model is a hybrid content publishing and affiliate referral operation. OpenCounseling generates revenue exclusively through affiliate commissions paid by BetterHelp, Talkspace, Regain, and TeenCounseling when users click sponsor-marked listings and subscribe to those online therapy services. The roughly 10,000 non-profit providers listed in the directory do not generate any commission. The company is bootstrapped with no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, or parent entity; founder Mark Pines also maintains a separate private therapy practice and remains active in company operations. The team is small (11-50 employees), composed primarily of contract clinicians, writers, and researchers producing SEO-targeted content. Distribution is entirely digital through opencounseling.com and its blog, with supporting channels including an email newsletter and a podcast.

Customer concentration is high and structural: a substantial share of revenue depends on BetterHelp and Talkspace affiliate relationships, with the remaining ~10,000+ non-profit listings contributing monetarily nothing. The company's growth lever is SEO traffic on affordability-related mental health queries, currently reported at 150,000+ monthly visitors. No mobile app, APIs, or AI/ML capabilities are present; the entire operation is positioned as a human-authored content and curation resource for underinsured and geographically underserved mental health seekers.

Name

OpenCounseling

Legal name

OpenCounseling, Inc.

Website

https://opencounseling.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

OpenCounseling is a web directory that connects consumers seeking affordable mental health counseling to a curated list of 10,000+ non-profit and online therapy providers across 50 US states and six countries, monetizing traffic through affiliate referral commissions to online therapy platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Services Directory

NAICS

Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (519290)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Dental Teleconsultation Marketplaces (HLALALAL)

Keywords

• Mental health directory
• Therapy provider search
• Online counseling
• Affordable therapy
• Counseling marketplace

Headquarters

HQ city

Long Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Affiliate Commissions: OpenCounseling earns commissions when users click affiliate links to BetterHelp.com, Regain.us, TeenCounseling.com, and TalkSpace.com and subscribe to their services. These affiliate relationships provide essential financial support. The approximately 10,000 researched providers in the directory do not generate any commission.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

OpenCounseling operates a free, web-based directory platform that connects individuals seeking affordable mental health counseling with licensed therapists, non-profit counseling agencies, state-funded programs, and online therapy providers. Users search by location to access a database of over 10,000 researched providers across 50 US states and six countries, with the company earning revenue through affiliate commissions when users subscribe to partner platforms.

Product overview

OpenCounseling is a directory-based mental health resource platform that connects users with affordable counseling options. The core product is a searchable Provider Directory featuring both researched non-profit providers and affiliate BetterHelp listings. Supporting offerings include a State-Funded Therapy Guide covering all US public mental health systems, educational content resources covering therapy costs, therapist background checks, and crisis hotlines, plus comparative online therapy reviews. The company also produces The Insider's Guide to Therapy podcast. OpenCounseling operates primarily as a web-based information platform with no technical product integrations, APIs, or AI/ML capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Provider Directory A searchable, location-based database of mental health counseling providers, including non-profit organizations, community clinics, university counseling centers, and online therapy providers. Free for consumers to use and free for providers to list.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered primary, core and minor.

• BetterHelp (owned by Teladoc, Inc.)primaryGTM or Marketing PartnerBetterHelp is the primary affiliate partner of OpenCounseling. When users click on BetterHelp links from OpenCounseling and subscribe to their services, OpenCounseling earns a commission. BetterHelp is the largest online therapy provider. OpenCounseling has tested their services and some team members have used their services personally. Providers offering BetterHelp services are listed as 'Ad,' 'Advert,' or 'Sponsored' in the directory.
• TalkSpacecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTalkSpace is one of the two largest online providers alongside BetterHelp. OpenCounseling has an affiliate relationship where they earn commission when users subscribe after clicking TalkSpace links from the site.
• Regain.usminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOnline therapy platform with affiliate partnership. OpenCounseling earns commission when users click links to Regain and subscribe to services.
• TeenCounseling.comminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOnline therapy platform focused on teenage mental health with affiliate partnership. OpenCounseling earns commission when users subscribe after clicking links.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Lyra Health: Mental health benefits platform for employers covering therapy, coaching, and medication. Broad incumbent that competes for the same consumers via employer-driven referral rather than consumer-driven organic discovery.
• BetterHelp: Largest online therapy platform (owned by Teladoc), and OpenCounseling's primary affiliate partner. Broad incumbent running its own therapist matching and could become a direct competitor by launching owned discovery content.
• Headspace Health: Mental wellness platform combining Headspace's mindfulness content with Ginger's therapy and coaching. Broad incumbent operating in adjacent mental wellness with hybrid content plus provider services.
• Talkspace: Public online therapy platform (Nasdaq: TLC) and OpenCounseling affiliate partner. Broad incumbent operating its own therapist matching, insurance partnerships, and direct-to-consumer acquisition.

Emerging players

• Calm: Subscription mindfulness and meditation app for consumers and employers. Adjacent mental wellness with a stronger self-help content angle and weaker therapist marketplace than OpenCounseling.
• 7 Cups: Online therapy and emotional support platform combining trained listener community with licensed therapist matching. Comparable referral model with a stronger peer-support and community layer than OpenCounseling.

Direct peers

• Zencare: Therapist marketplace with online booking and insurance filtering. Comparable directory model with stronger booking integrations, serving the same consumer finding affordable local therapy.
• TherapyDen: Therapist directory with social-justice and accessibility focus plus directory-side filtering on identity. Closely comparable directory model with similar content and SEO tactics to OpenCounseling.
• Psychology Today: The largest US therapist directory with millions of monthly visitors. Closely comparable to OpenCounseling's directory model, though Psychology Today serves higher-income private-pay consumers whereas OpenCounseling focuses on affordable and public-system resources.
• GoodTherapy: Online directory of mental health professionals with editorial content and member-therapist listings. Same directory + content model, comparable scale, and directly competitive for SEO on therapy-related queries.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Open_Counseling
• Facebookfacebook.com/OpenCounseling

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

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 OpenCounseling