Online Counseling or Therapy in WA State

Whether it’s because of a health crisis or you want the convenience of remote sessions with your therapist, People Bloom is set up to meet your needs. No more braving traffic to get to your appointment or needing to find counselors near your home or work. As long as you’re physically located in Washington, our services can be accessible to you!

Much like in-person sessions, you can check out our profiles to see if we can be a good fit for you. You get the benefit of live sessions without the hassle of leaving your home. When we meet with you using a HIPAA-compliant videoconferencing platform, you have our undivided attention for that hour. We connect on a human-to-human level, much like we would face-to-face.

Here’s a FAQ to answer more of your questions about online therapy

Are you similar to online counseling services such as TalkSpace OR BetterHelp?

No, in that there’re no monthly subscriptions, no matching up with therapists based on a questionnaire, no brief communication via text, audio or video messaging. When you submit an inquiry, you’re connected to our Director of First Impressions about your counseling needs. She then schedules you with a therapist who can best meet those needs or otherwise refer you to someone if we’re not that person for you.

Our clinicians then provide you with a full session of real-time therapy as if you’re in the office with us, every time. You’re our only client for that hour and we do not take on more clients than our schedules allow. Communication in between sessions is reserved for scheduling purposes only so we can be present with our other clients and practice the self-care we’d encourage for your life as well.

Isn’t it kinda impersonal to do counseling online?

Counseling has long been seen as sessions in an office confined to a couch. While we do have a couch in each office, we know that counseling can be just as effective online as face-to-face meetings. We’re still the same people, whether in the office or behind a screen. We’ve made connections with our existing and new clients in this way and we hope to connect with you as well.

Are our conversations secure?

We use HIPAA-compliant videoconferencing platforms such as Zoom or Google Hangouts Meet for our online sessions. We follow security best practices and legal standards to protect your healthcare information. We also ask that you do your part to create a private and appropriate space for our sessions.

How do I prepare for our online sessions?

Rather than reiterating what has been said before, here’s how to set up your space and tech for our online sessions. Meanwhile, we’ll also set up our space to make it conducive to our work. If you need to squeeze into a closet or a bathtub, we’ll still look forward to seeing you but will, um, hopefully not be working from those spaces.

Does insurance cover online therapy?

Effective Jan 1st, 2017, telemental health is included as “essential health benefits” for all health plans regulated by WA state. However, there are still some out-of-state plans that do not cover telemental health. We will continue to update this information as we know more. If we’re in network with your insurance, we’d be happy to check your benefits for you. We’re contracted with Premera, LifeWise, Kaiser HMO/PPO and First Choice.

If you’re feeling lonely, anxious and socially distant, we can help! Or, if you just want counseling in the comfort of your environment, we’re here for you too.