Best mental health EHR

The best EHR for mental health private practice offers features and workflows specific to the needs of behavioral health specialists. While many EHRs claim to be built with mental health practitioners in mind, most practice EHRs are software tools created for primary care practitioners or other medical professionals and there will likely be a difference in codes, reporting requirements, regulations and how data is classified.

Summary

• Best mental health EHRs offer features tailored to behavioral health needs, unlike general medical EHRs that may lack appropriate coding, documentation tools, or workflows for therapists, counselors, and psychiatrists.
• TheraPlatform, Counsol, Valant, and ICANotes are among the top mental health EHRs reviewed, each offering unique benefits such as AI-powered documentation, e-prescriptions, measurement-based care tools, and comprehensive compliance features.
• When evaluating EHRs, it's essential to look beyond subscription costs and consider added fees, scalability, and whether included features align with your practice’s needs – especially for time-saving tools like automated billing or treatment planners.
• Free trials are critical in assessing whether a mental health EHR is a good fit, allowing therapists to test key functions like scheduling, billing, telehealth, and client engagement before committing.

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Ultimately, that could mean that feature sets for psychiatrists, counselors and other professionals are limited and could result in mental health providers spending time shoehorning an EHR to fit their needs. Not ideal.

Which EHR features does a mental health provider need?

If you’re a mental health professional managing your own practice and looking for the best EHR for mental health private practice, understanding the unique needs of mental health professionals as well as how different users interact with a mental health EHR is critical.

• Clinicians use mental health EMRs to schedule, document, bill, provide services, communicate with clients and manage their practices.
• Administrators for larger group practices use mental health EMRs to manage business tasks such as reporting and admin around insurance claims.
• Clients use mental health EMRs to complete onboarding forms, to read policies, schedule appointments, access telehealth or finish homework assignments as part of their therapy.

How to evaluate the costs of a mental health EHR

In addition to identifying and maximizing features, you’ll also want to get a full vision of the costs associated with the best EHR for mental health private practice. For example, in addition to monthly subscription costs, be aware of any extra fees for additional users and whether add-on features that come with a cost are beneficial to you and your practice.

Ideally, you want to find that balance between optimally using features that matter most to your practice without paying for features that you don’t need. It’s A LOT to take in!

To make your search and decision less challenging, we look at some of the best mental health EHRs and examine what they have in common as well as their stand-out features. We’ll also look at various price points and whether these software companies offer a free trial of their mental health EMR, a critical component in determining whether a software solution is best for you and your business.

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What is the best EHR for mental health private practice?

We’ll be looking at four of the best mental health EHRs including TheraPlatform, Consol, Valant and ICANotes.

TheraPlatform

What is it? TheraPlatform is an all-in-one EHR, practice management and teletherapy solution built specifically for private practice therapists. TheraPlatform, a Los-Angeles-based software company was founded in 2017 by a therapist and product features are informed by emerging technology (AI) as well as customer feedback.

Who’s it for? TheraPlatform offers functionality for behavioral health specialists who are solopreneurs as well as for large group practices that require powerful advanced features such as reporting and multi-location scheduling and filtering.

Highlights

• AI powered notes and onboarding: Text, audio and virtual session transcripts can be converted into polished notes in minutes. Plus, autopull data from client IDs and insurance cards into the client’s chart.
• Automated billing and claim validation: Save time and speed up payments with automated billing. Create and submit claims in batches using real-time validation and minimize denied claims or automate to avoid manual work.
• Wiley Treatment Planner: Save time writing notes by quickly creating evidence-based treatment plans by choosing from over 1,000 prewritten treatment goals, objectives and interventions. What took hours will now take minutes.
• Teaching tools: A TheraPlatform exclusive, mental health therapists can use features such as a built-in whiteboard, interactive screen sharing with live annotations and document upload and storage (including audio and video files such as YouTube videos) that can be shared and used during live sessions (Advanced plans.)

What therapists say about Theraplatform

TheraPlatform earns high marks from therapists for its user-friendly design, reliability, and continuous improvements. Reviewers praise its all-in-one functionality with streamlining scheduling, documentation, billing, and telehealth, while noting that security features provide peace of mind.

Telehealth tools and billing workflows are smooth and efficient, and customer support is consistently highlighted as responsive and helpful. Overall, both solo practitioners and larger practices find it a reliable, time-saving platform that enhances client care.

“TheraPlatform is one of the easiest platforms I’ve ever used. I love how they’re always improving the system — scheduling, rescheduling, client communication, and even documentation are all seamless. Notes, discharges, and updates are easy to access. Everything just works.” — Olivia W. (Google review) “I’ve been using TheraPlatform in my mental health therapy practice for over 3 years. It’s been a great asset — reliable, relevant, and constantly improving. The customer care is exceptional, and the platform keeps evolving to meet the real needs of providers and clients. Highly recommend!” — Christine H. (Google review)

“TheraPlatform has truly streamlined our workflow. The user-friendly interface makes managing client records, billing, and scheduling easy—all in one place. Customer support is quick and effective, and the platform’s security features give me peace of mind. Highly recommend for practices wanting to enhance efficiency and organization!” — Tiffany A. (Google review) “TheraPlatform is easy and user-friendly. The video conferencing and interactive screen make Telehealth engaging. Billing is a breeze—creating and submitting claims, automatic posting of payments, deductibles, and copays. The support is amazing: tutorial videos, help articles, and zoom calls. As a solo practitioner, I’ve relied on their support for 4 years and will continue to do so.”— Kathy J. (Google review)

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Counsol

What is it? Short for Counseling Solutions, Counsol is based in Orlando, Fla., and was founded in 2011. Its solutions are specific to therapists working in the mental health industry.

Who it’s for: Counsol is built for solo practitioners as well as small group practices focused on providing mental health services in the United States.

Highlights

• Electronic prescriptions: Prescriptions can be easily sent to a client’s pharmacy with medications checked against their current medication and allergy list. Potential interactions are identified by pop-up alerts. Additional information is available to providers through clickable alerts and additional information.
• Client journal: Available to clients to write in their personal journal anytime through their secure account with the ability to share with therapists or save as private.
• Counselor directory listing: Ability to list your practice in a searchable directory for additional exposure.

What therapists say about CounSol

Therapists using CounSol EHR often praise its user-friendly interface, comprehensive features, and responsive customer support, with many appreciating how intuitive the platform is for managing notes, billing, and scheduling.

For example, users have noted that the system is straightforward to navigate and that support teams are quick and helpful. However, some therapists find the interface outdated and occasionally confusing, describing it as reminiscent of older software with a steeper learning curve.

Additionally, certain telehealth features, like screen sharing, are reported as limited or lacking compared to competitors. While many value CounSol for its robust tools and solid support, others feel the platform could benefit from modernization and expanded telehealth capabilities.

“I have been using Counsol for many years and I really enjoy. It has been evolving and adding new ways to keep my record in an efficient and fast way. I love being able to create my own forms and integrate them within the client portal. It is user friendly and allows me to have full control of all my files in one place. I would recommend for sure.” Rafa G. (LMHC, CSAT) (Google review)

“Counsol.com has become an essential tool in my practice. The ability to use cutting-edge software to keep professional and secure records in a easy-to-use format has increase my availability to actually spend more time seeing clients. Javier S., Psy.D. (Google review)

Valant

What is it? Valant was co-founded in 2005 in Seattle by a psychiatrist.

Who it’s for: Valant was built for modern solo psychiatric and therapy practices, small group, large group and multi practices as well as billing agencies.

Highlights

• Measurement-based dashboards: Provides a built-in library of rating scales and measures integrated with smart automation to distribute data across workflows to help mental health professionals provide more data-based care.
• E-labs: Through Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics, mental health providers can run lab orders directly from documentation to the lab of your choice. Once results are available, you’ll have the ability to easily add them to a client chart.
• White-glove customer service: New customers are assigned a support representative for onboarding.

What therapists say about Valant EHR

Therapists using Valant EHR often praise its strong clinical tools and structured workflows, particularly its integrated billing system and measurement-based care features. Many find the dashboard helpful for staying organized and appreciate that it was built specifically for behavioral health by a psychiatrist.

“Valant is excellent for outpatient psychiatry. I like the ease of use, simplicity, MYIOS portal, and the ease of carrying notes forward for more cohesive patient care. High recommend for Psychiatry.” Scott B. (Google review)

However, users also report significant drawbacks. Common complaints include an outdated interface, a steep learning curve, limited customization of templates, and frequent issues with performance—such as slow loading times.

Support responsiveness is another recurring concern, with some users describing poor customer service and difficulty getting technical help. Additionally, therapists have noted that pricing can be high compared to its perceived value, especially with hidden fees for billing services. While Valant may work well for certain practices that prioritize structured documentation and robust billing, others find it lacking in user-friendliness and modern design.

ICANotes

What is it? Founded in 1998 in Annapolis, MD., by a psychiatrist, ICANotes is fully configured for mental health and addiction treatment.

Who is it for: Mental health providers such as psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, psychologists, clinical social workers, counselors, LMFTs, group therapists and psychotherapists. Inpatient and outpatient.

Highlights

• Assessment library and ability to build screeners: More than 75 electronic rating scales for children and adults and resources for behavioral health assessment guides. Ability to create health screening questionnaires.
• Accessible customer service: Customers receive unlimited 1:1 web-based training sessions plus free 24/7 access to experts through chat, phone and email, plus multiple scheduled training events for instruction on various features without charge
• Multiple compliance designations: HIPAA, HITECH Act, Joint Commission, Meaningful Use, Medicare, Medicaid, MIPS, CARF

What therapists say about ICAN

ICANotes is praised for its smart narrative charting and comprehensive behavioral health features like ePrescribing and telehealth, helping clinicians streamline documentation.

Despite these issues, many appreciate the responsive customer support and specialized behavioral health tools.

Quick Comparison Table: Top Mental Health EHRs at a Glance

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Choosing the best EHR for mental health private practice

There’s no shortage of mental health EHRs for your practice, so, how do you decide which mental health EHR best fits your practice?

1. Take advantage of free trials. Most EHRs offer free trials for 15 to 30 days.
2. Test out the features and evaluate whether you would use them in your practice.
3. Evaluate features against pricing considering whether add-on features are valuable to you based on time savings.

Mental health EHRs can help you manage operational tasks from documentation to billing and scheduling. If you’re just starting a mental health practice, the best mental health EHR can help you evolve your business by providing the tools you need to do more in less time.

While many mental health EHR options exist, your decision should be based on features you will use at a friendly price along with the ability to try out the software before subscribing. Unsure where to start? Sign up for free trials of at least two platforms to compare real-world usability. Many therapists find that features like AI notes or automated billing quickly pay for themselves in saved time.

Streamline your practice with One EHR

• Scheduling
• Flexible notes
• Template library
• Billing & payments

• Insurance claims
• Client portal
• Telehealth
• E-fax

Learn More

Resources

Theraplatform is an all-in-one EHR, practice management and teletherapy solution with AI-powered note taking features that allows you to focus more on patient care. With a 30-day free trial, you have the opportunity to experience Theraplatform for yourself with no credit card required. Cancel anytime. They also support different industries including mental and behavioral health therapists in group practices and solo practices.

More resources

• Therapy resources and worksheets
• Therapy private practice courses
• Ultimate teletherapy ebook
• The Ultimate Insurance Billing Guide for Therapists
• The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Private Therapy Practice

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