Presby Psych

What Presby Psych does

Presby Psych (legal name: Presbyterian Psychological Services; formerly Presbyterian Samaritan Counseling Center) is a 501(c)-style non-profit mental health counseling center founded in 1973 and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It provides psychotherapy, counseling, and trauma-informed care for individuals, couples, children, adolescents, and families across specialty areas including trauma recovery, eating disorders, substance abuse, LGBTQ+ sensitive counseling, cancer support, career counseling, and spiritually integrated psychotherapy. Clinicians employ modalities such as EMDR, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), somatic experiencing, biofeedback, art therapy, and psychoanalysis under an integrative mind-body-spirit-culture philosophy. Services are delivered through three Charlotte offices (Sharon Road/SouthPark, Selwyn Avenue/Myers Park, and West Trade Street/Uptown) and via teletherapy, with approximately 60% of clients preferring virtual sessions.

The organization operates on a hybrid revenue model combining insurance reimbursements (including Medicare; Medicaid is not accepted), net-income-based sliding scale fees, donations and grants (including one-time, monthly, and Amazon Smile contributions), and pro-bono services funded through community partnerships. Significant capacity is allocated to subsidized outreach programs serving first responders (CMPD, FOP Lodge 9, Charlotte Fire, Matthews/Pineville PD, Matthews FD/EMT), Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools employees, healthcare workers, and YWCA Central Carolinas Women in Transition participants. A graduate internship program with local clinical mental health programs supplies supervised low-fee clinicians. Technology infrastructure is limited to HIPAA-compliant intake forms (FormDr) and a Valant.io client portal; there is no public-facing API, mobile app, or disclosed AI/ML capability. Operational technology is essentially off-the-shelf SaaS rather than proprietary IP.

Go-to-market is predominantly direct-to-consumer via phone ((704) 554-9900) and website intake, augmented by referral-based B2B partnerships with civic, educational, and faith-based institutions. Marketing relies heavily on earned media coverage on Charlotte outlets (WSOC-TV, WBTV, Fox 46, WFAE, WCNC), community events such as the annual embRACE 5K and Embrace Mental Health Breakfast, Instagram, and educational blog content. Recent strategic activity includes a 2024 Executive Director transition to Amanda Jamison, Psy.D., the 2022 launch of free counseling for CMS employees, COVID-era free therapy for healthcare workers, and a partnership with First Presbyterian Church Charlotte's Opening Doors Capital Campaign to expand uptown mental health services.

Name

Presby Psych

Legal name

Presbyterian Psychological Services

Website

https://presbypsych.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Presby Psych (Presbyterian Psychological Services) is a Charlotte, NC-based non-profit mental health center founded in 1973 that provides trauma-informed psychotherapy, counseling, and community outreach programs for individuals, couples, families, first responders, healthcare workers, and underserved populations across three Charlotte locations and via teletherapy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Counseling Services

NAICS

Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) (621330), Other Individual and Family Services (62419), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Specialty Outpatient Facilities, Nec (8093), Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Outpatient Mental Health & Counseling Clinics (HLAFABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD), Couples & Family Therapy Teletherapy Platforms (HLALAEAG), Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGAEAH)

Keywords

• Mental health counseling
• Psychotherapy services
• Trauma recovery therapy
• Couples and family therapy
• Community mental health

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Insurance Payments: Presby Psych accepts many private insurance plans and Medicare. Revenue is generated through reimbursement from insurance providers for covered therapy sessions.
2. Sliding Scale Client Fees: Net-income-based sliding fee scale for clients who may not afford standard rates. This provides accessible mental health services while generating partial revenue.
3. Donations and Grants: As a non-profit organization founded in 1973, Presby Psych relies on donations to sustain and expand community outreach programs including pro-bono and financially assisted mental health care. Donors can give one-time or monthly gifts. The organization also participates in Amazon Smile.
4. Graduate Internship Program: Partnership with local clinical mental health graduate programs provides low-fee services to clients while training advanced students under senior clinician supervision.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Presby Psych is a non-profit mental health counseling center providing individual, couples, and family psychotherapy in Charlotte, NC. Services are delivered by licensed clinicians across specialties including trauma recovery, eating disorders, substance abuse, LGBTQ+ counseling, career counseling, and spiritually integrated therapy, available both in-person at three Charlotte offices and via teletherapy. The organization also operates community outreach programs offering free and reduced-cost services to first responders, healthcare workers, educators, YWCA participants, and low-income individuals.

Product overview

Presby Psych is a non-profit mental health counseling center founded in 1973, providing a comprehensive portfolio of therapeutic services. The organization offers individual, couples, and family therapy across multiple specialty areas including trauma recovery, eating disorders, substance abuse, LGBTQ+ sensitive counseling, and career counseling. Beyond clinical services, Presby Psych operates extensive community outreach programs offering free and reduced-cost mental health services to first responders, healthcare workers, teachers (CMS employees), women in transition, and individuals needing low-fee psychotherapy. Services are delivered through in-person sessions at three Charlotte locations and via teletherapy. The organization integrates HIPAA-compliant online forms (FormDr) for client intake and a client portal (Valant.io) for access, with donations processed through Stripe and Amazon Smile programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Adult Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis

Quantifiable outcome

• $30 copay assistance, $120 per month of therapy, $2,500 Hope and Healing Therapy Scholarship

Named customers5 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• First Presbyterian Church Charlotte (First Pres)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 May 2026Partnership through First Pres's Opening Doors Capital Campaign to provide mental health services in the uptown community, addressing barriers including cost and location. FPC identified mental health as an outreach priority following Charlotte's Opportunity Task Force recommendations on socioeconomic mobility.
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 May 2022Partnership providing free therapy sessions to all CMS employees dealing with pandemic trauma and classroom stress. Five free counseling sessions offered to teachers and staff experiencing burnout and mental health challenges.
• Area Healthcare Systems and PracticescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 April 2020Partnership providing free therapy sessions to healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic. Three free sessions offered to healthcare administrators, doctors, nurses, and support staff experiencing pandemic-related stress and trauma.
• YWCA Central Carolinas Women in Transition ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year partnership providing free mental health services to women in the YWCA's Women in Transition Program, which offers safe transitional housing for single women who are homeless or at risk. Services include individual counseling, bi-weekly recovery groups, and monthly psychoeducation seminars.
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership providing free and financially assisted therapy for CMPD officers and their families. Presby Psych's Executive Director and CMPD's Operational Psychologist collaborate on mental health support programs for law enforcement.
• Fraternal Order of Police NC Lodge 9 (FOP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing mental health resources and free counseling for police officers and their families. Presby Psych therapist works with FOP to help police families develop coping strategies for job-related stress.
• Matthews Police Department, Pineville Police Department, Charlotte Fire Department, Matthews FD/EMTcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpanded partnership network under Executive Director's leadership providing free and financially assisted services to first responders across multiple Charlotte-area departments.
• Local Clinical Mental Health Graduate ProgramsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with graduate programs provides internship experiences for advanced students supervised by senior clinicians, enabling low-fee psychotherapy services for community members who cannot afford standard rates.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BetterHelp: Leading online therapy platform offering subscription-based virtual counseling across the U.S. Comparable because it directly competes with Presby Psych's teletherapy offering for the same adult individual and couples therapy demand.
• Talkspace: National teletherapy platform offering online counseling and psychiatry services. Comparable because it competes for the same virtual mental health demand that accounts for 60% of Presby Psych's client interactions.
• Novant Health Behavioral Health Services: Another large Charlotte-area health system operating behavioral health outpatient services. Comparable because it competes for the same regional patient base and employer/community partnerships Presby Psych targets.
• Atrium Health (Advocate Health) Behavioral Health: Major Charlotte-based health system offering outpatient and inpatient behavioral health services across a much broader footprint. Comparable because it competes for the same regional mental health demand and employer contracts that Presby Psych serves.

Emerging players

• Brightside Health: Online therapy and psychiatry platform focused on depression and anxiety treatment with insurance coverage. Comparable because it competes with Presby Psych's teletherapy and outpatient mental health services for insured clients.
• Pacific Clinics: Large nonprofit community mental health provider offering outpatient counseling, trauma services, and community-based programs. Comparable because it shares the nonprofit, trauma-informed, community-outreach model Presby Psych operates.

Direct peers

• Charlotte Counseling Center: Charlotte-based outpatient mental health practice providing individual, couples, and family therapy. Comparable because it operates in the same Charlotte market with similar outpatient psychotherapy services and insurance/sliding-scale pricing.
• Carolinas Counseling and Consulting: Charlotte-area outpatient therapy practice serving individuals, couples, and families. Comparable because it competes for the same regional outpatient mental health demand with similar service offerings.
• Thriveworks Charlotte: National outpatient therapy platform with a Charlotte presence offering individual, couples, and family counseling. Comparable because it serves the same Charlotte market with similar therapy services and insurance-based payment models.
• McLeod Addictive Disease Center: North Carolina-based nonprofit providing outpatient and residential substance abuse treatment. Comparable because it serves a similar Charlotte-area population with overlapping substance abuse and mental health services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/presbypsych
• Facebookfacebook.com/presby.psych
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/presbyterian-psychological-services

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Presby Psych