Starting Therapy
What is the Counseling Compact?
The Counseling Compact is an interstate agreement that lets licensed professional counselors practice across member states without earning a separate full license in each one. A counselor licensed in good standing in a member state can apply for a privilege to practice in the others, mostly for telehealth. More than 30 states have enacted it, including Indiana. New York has not joined. What matters for clients: your therapist must be authorized in the state where you are during the session.
The problem the Compact exists to solve
Telehealth made therapy portable. Licensure law did not move with it.
A counseling license is issued by one state, and a session legally takes place wherever the client is sitting. So a therapist in Indianapolis who has seen a client for two years can lose the legal ability to continue the moment that client relocates across a state line for a job. Before the Compact, the only fix was applying for a second full license: a separate application, separate fees, separate renewals, and months of waiting, repeated for every state a client might land in.
The Counseling Compact replaces that, among member states, with a privilege to practice. The counselor keeps one home-state license, and the privilege extends their authorization into other member states that have joined. It is modeled on the same approach nursing, physical therapy, and psychology (through PSYPACT) already use.
What the Compact does and does not change
It changes the paperwork, not the standard of care. A counselor practicing in your state under a privilege is held to your state’s practice laws for that session. It also does not create a national license; the Compact only connects the states that passed it, and rollout of the privilege system has moved state by state, with timelines that have slipped along the way. Anyone making decisions based on the Compact today should verify current status at counselingcompact.org rather than a secondhand summary, including this one.
Two gaps matter most in practice. New York has not joined, so no Compact privilege reaches a client in New York; only a full New York license does. And the Compact covers the counselor license family only, so a group practice’s psychologists and social workers travel under different rules entirely.
What this means when you choose an online therapist
Ask one question early: “Are you licensed or authorized in the state where I live?” A good practice answers instantly and in writing. If you split time between states, say so, because each location you take sessions from needs its own answer. And if a national therapy app matches you with someone, confirm the match holds authorization for your state specifically rather than assuming the platform checked.
For clients, the Compact is quietly good news even if you never hear the word again: it means moving, traveling for work, or spending winters elsewhere is less likely to force an abrupt end to care, at least between member states.
How MindView handles licensure
We keep it simpler than the Compact requires. Our Indiana-licensed therapist holds a full independent Indiana license alongside a New York license, so MindView serves adults (18+) by telehealth throughout both states on complete state licensure, no privileges involved. In Indiana that includes everywhere from Indianapolis and Fort Wayne to Evansville, with an office in Carmel, IN; in New York, offices in Queens and Buffalo anchor statewide telehealth.
If you are in either state, the licensure question is already answered. Read how online sessions here work, then book a first session or call (646) 493-4007.
Sources
- Counseling Compact (counselingcompact.org)
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Common questions
Which states are in the Counseling Compact?
More than 30 states have enacted Counseling Compact legislation, including Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and most of the South and Midwest. New York and California are the largest states that have not joined. The list grows as legislatures act, and rollout timing has shifted more than once, so check counselingcompact.org for the current map before relying on it.
Why does the state I am sitting in matter for telehealth?
Because licensure law follows the client, not the therapist. A therapy session legally happens where the client is located at that moment, so your therapist must be licensed or hold a privilege in that state. This is why a therapist can see you at home in Indiana but may have to pause care if you move to a state where they hold no authorization.
Does the Compact cover psychologists or social workers?
No. The Counseling Compact covers licensed professional counselors specifically, the LPC and LMHC license family. Psychologists have their own agreement, PSYPACT, and social workers have a separate Social Work Licensure Compact on its own timeline. Each profession's compact has its own member states, so a practice can have different reach depending on who is treating you.
Does MindView use the Counseling Compact?
No, and we do not need to. Our Indiana care runs on a full independent Indiana license and our New York care on New York licenses, so both states rest on complete state licensure rather than a compact privilege. New York is not a Compact member anyway, so full licensure is the only door into our largest state.
Keep reading
Starting Therapy
Is online therapy effective?
For most people and most common concerns, yes. Controlled studies reviewed by the American Psychological Association find that therapy delivered by video produces outcomes comparable to in-person care for conditions including anxiety, depression, and PTSD, and cognitive behavioral therapy translates especially well to telehealth. What predicts results is the same as in an office: the therapist's skill, the fit between you, and showing up weekly.
Insurance & Cost
Does health insurance cover online therapy?
Usually, yes. Most major health insurance plans now cover online therapy with a licensed therapist the same way they cover office visits, with the same copay or coinsurance. New York requires state-regulated plans to cover telehealth services that would be covered in person, and Medicare covers mental health telehealth including sessions from home. Every plan MindView Therapy accepts covers our telehealth sessions, and we verify your benefits before you book.
Starting Therapy
Do I need therapy or can I handle it myself?
A practical test: look at duration, function, and cost of coping. If what you are feeling has lasted more than a few weeks, is affecting work, relationships, or sleep, or if coping is getting more expensive: more withdrawal, more drinking, more effort to seem fine, therapy is worth a try. You do not need a crisis or a diagnosis to qualify. Asking the question seriously is itself a common sign the self-help phase has run its course.
Take the first step
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