Managed Agents at Previously $0.06 $0.03/minManaged Agents are Previously $0.06 $0.03/min.

ServiceNow#1 on EVA-Bench

Artificial Analysis#1 on Speech Agent Arena

Therapist answering service that turns first calls into intakes.

Take new client inquiries without clinical detail, leave messages for clinicians, and read your crisis script.

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Trusted by leading teams

ServiceNowArtificial Analysis

Ranked #1

on EVA-Bench and Speech Agent Arena

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Get new clients a callback without asking why they called

The saved inquiry holds a name and a number, never a reason. A caller in crisis hears your script first.

The agent answers fees, openings and accepted plans from your lists, and says when a plan isn't on one.

A therapist answering service that doesn't ask why you're calling

What is a therapist answering service?

A therapist answering service answers your practice's phone while you're in session. A small practice has no front desk, and voicemail can lose a first-time caller. This agent takes the inquiry and, unlike a generic operator, doesn't ask what the call is about.

  • Read fees and accepted plans
  • Save an inquiry
  • Leave a message for a clinician
  • Page the on-call clinician
  • Transfer to the on-call clinician

What does an answering service for therapists ask a new client?

A first name, a callback number, a plan, preferred times and whether a message is safe to leave. Fees and accepted plans come from your lists. If someone volunteers symptoms, it says a clinician will ask, and the saved inquiry leaves them out.

I'm looking for someone to talk to about anxiety.

I can pass your details to our intake clinician, with no need to say more. Your name and number?

Callie Brandt, 206-555-0151.

What does a mental health answering service do in a crisis?

The agent reads the crisis script you wrote, which names 988 and 911, and offers to bring in your on-call clinician if you have one. It isn't a crisis service and gives no advice. Calls are recorded and transcribed, so treat transcripts like client records.

  • New client inquiry, evening callback3:14
  • Message for Dr. Brannigan1:52
  • Caller in crisis, clinician connected2:47

A first call that asks for nothing clinical

People calling a counseling practice are often on a lunch break or in a shared home. This is what they get in place of your voicemail.

New clients reach someone while you're in session

An inquiry saved mid-session is waiting between clients, with the times that suit the caller.

A psychologist answering service that won't ask why

The agent takes contact details and a plan, and tells callers there's no need to say more.

Voicemail safety gets asked every time

Partners and roommates hear voicemails. So the agent checks that a message is safe at that number and saves the answer.

Fees and plans get straight answers

First-session fees, openings and accepted plans come from your lists, and a plan that isn't listed gets a plain answer.

Clients reach you by category

Each message to a clinician saves a label such as scheduling, and the reason stays with the client.

It isn't a clinician or a crisis line

It reads your crisis script with 988 and 911 and can bring in your on-call clinician. It doesn't counsel anyone.

Careful with a first phone call

People calling a therapist for the first time hesitate, trail off and change their minds. Cartesia's speech models give them room.

  • $0.03per minute
  • #1on Speech Agent Arena and EVA-Bench
  • 24/7answers every call, at any hour

Doesn't rush a hesitant caller

A long pause before a name is normal on this line. The agent waits and doesn't fill the silence.

Fees, plans and messages as tools

Pick the LLM, then connect tools that read fees and plans, save an inquiry, leave a clinician message and page on call.

Plain and warm, never clinical

Match a library voice to how your practice sounds. The greeting says it's an AI, so nobody is misled.

Private practice phone options, side by side

Solo and small practices mostly choose between voicemail and an operator service. Here is how an agent sits next to them.

Cartesia agentLive answering serviceVoicemail
Answers while you're in sessionYesYes, when staffed and freeNo, callers leave a message
Asks why they're callingNo, by designOften, unless you script it outNo, though callers may say anyway
Checks a message is safe to leaveOn every inquiryOnly if scriptedNo
A person's voice for a nervous callerNo, it says it's an AI up frontYesOnly your recorded greeting
How you pay$0.03 per minute plus LLM usageUsually a monthly minimum with overagesFree with your phone line

See which calls became new client inquiries

Every call is recorded and transcribed. See which calls saved a new client inquiry, which left a message for a clinician, and which ended with neither.

Launch an AI therapist answering service in three steps

Start building

  1. Clone the Practice line

    Set up this agent with your fees, openings, accepted plans and your own crisis script.

  2. Connect intake and your on-call clinician

    Through tools you configure, send inquiries and messages where you read them, add on-call paging if you have it, and forward your line.

  3. Call as a new client

    Ask to start counseling, mention a symptom, and check that the saved inquiry holds contact details only. Then have a clinician review the crisis script.

Enterprise-grade security

  • HIPAA compliant badge

    HIPAA compliant

  • SOC 2 Type 2 badge

    SOC 2 Type 2

  • GDPR badge

    GDPR

Therapist answering service FAQs

What is a therapist answering service?

A therapist answering service answers a counseling practice's phone. This one is a voice agent that works as a mental health answering service: it takes inquiries with no clinical detail, leaves messages for clinicians and reads your crisis script.

How much does a therapist answering service cost?

A therapist answering service costs $0.03 per minute of call time for the agent, so a three-minute call is $0.09 in agent time. LLM usage is billed separately, and a Cartesia phone number adds $0.014 per minute, or nothing if you bring your own Twilio account or SIP trunk. The free plan includes $1 of agent calls a month, so you can test the agent before you pay. See pricing.

Can a therapist answering service talk with callers about their mental health?

No. The agent collects a name, a number and a safe way to reach the caller, and your greeting tells callers it is an AI. If a caller shares symptoms or history, it says a clinician will ask about that and keeps it out of the saved inquiry. The call recording still holds what the caller says.

Does it ask if it's safe to leave a message?

Yes. The agent takes a first name, a callback number, a plan and preferred times, then asks whether it's safe to leave a message at that number. It doesn't ask why the caller wants counseling.

What does a therapist answering service do when a caller is in crisis?

It reads the crisis script you write, which names 988 and 911, and pages your on-call clinician if you have one. It is not a crisis service.

Can a therapist answering service handle client information under HIPAA?

Yes. Cartesia is HIPAA compliant and SOC 2 Type II certified, and signs business associate agreements with healthcare customers. More on the HIPAA answering service page.

How is a therapist answering service different from a general AI answering service?

This agent reads your fees and plans, asks whether a message is safe to leave and brings in your clinician. The AI answering service page covers the general case.

Can the agent transfer calls to a clinician?

Yes. For a caller in crisis, the agent offers to bring in the on-call clinician, and you control exactly when else the agent transfers.

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