Top 6 Practice Management Software for Mental Health Professionals

As a mental health provider, you're probably looking for software that makes both clinical and administrative tasks easier. You are concerned about data protection and want to simplify patient records, automate appointments, process payments, and exchange documents.

There are dozens of offerings on the mental health practice management software market that vary in price, modules, geographic footprint, and onboarding complexity. We have selected six popular solutions that provide the features you need to keep your clinic running smoothly. What are their differences? Read on to find out more.

#1. Medesk

This cloud-based practice management software helps you build trust with your patients all the way from the first visit to your private practice or clinic to the moment they improve their mental health.

Key features

The medical CRM module allows you to set up email and SMS appointment reminders for patients in the time period before the appointment that you choose. Wish your clients a happy birthday, make newsletters with hot offers and your promotions, conduct surveys, and study satisfaction with your services.

A tagging system helps you identify types of clients and appointments, so that your calendar always shows clients who need a special approach or help.

Electronic health records in Medesk store your entire medical history, don't take up unnecessary space on your desk, and will never get lost thanks to the platform's robust data security.

Right from a created appointment in your calendar, you can create consultation notes and fill them in while talking to your client without losing the quality of the session. Especially for mental health professionals, the platform has prepared a database of questionnaires. Each template can be customised and changed to suit your needs:

• PHQ-9 for depression
• GAD-7 for anxiety
• SADQ for alcohol dependence
• ACE-IQ for adverse childhood experiences
• DAST for substance abuse screening
• ASRS for ADHD assessment
• CIWA-Ar for alcohol withdrawal assessment
• AUDIT for alcohol use disorders and much more.

The online booking modules and the patient portal save you another headache: no longer do you need to book clients, they can do it themselves online outside of clinic hours. Patients log in to their page, where all their intake forms and balance data are stored, choose a suitable day and time slot, and select the form of appointment — in clinic or video consultation.

Telemedicine on Medesk is available without leaving the platform and on a separate Medesk Meet app. Patients do not need to create a profile or come up with a password. They receive a link to join the conference room in advance and simply join the call.

After all the appointments have been made, you don't have to worry about payments. The medical billing module, which integrates with Xero, automates claim collection and payment processing and even produces ready-to-use financial reports based on the parameters you set.

Pricing

The platform offers three pricing plans: mini, pro, and premium. Prices start at $20 per month and depend on the number of appointments and modules you need.

You can appreciate the merits of the platform with a free trial of the pro plan. Gamification awaits you there: the more demo tours you complete, the more free days you get.

#2. TherapyNotes

TherapyNotes is a HIPAA-compliant practice management software specifically designed for mental health professionals, including therapists, counsellors, psychologists, and psychiatrists. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools that enhance client management and ensure compliance with healthcare regulations.

Key Features

TherapyNotes provides a scheduling system that allows for easy appointment booking, rescheduling, and cancellations. You can view the calendar in different formats (daily, weekly, and monthly). It supports recurring appointments.

The software helps you to reduce no-shows in a simple way. You can send automated reminders via email or text to improve appointment adherence.

This EHR software includes pre-built templates for progress notes, treatment plans, and assessments, which can be customised to suit the specific needs of your health service. All commonly used templates are in the library, in the outcome measures tab:

Your patient records are always updated with automated reminders of the system. For example, TherapyNotes can remind you when you need to update a patient's out-of-date treatment plan, or to contact a patient's primary care physician when you create or make changes to their diagnosis or treatment plan, or when you terminate a patient.

Clients can complete intake forms, sign documents, book appointments, and access their records securely through a user-friendly client portal.

There, on the portal, clients can also connect to online counselling. TherapyNotes offers a secure telehealth feature, allowing practitioners to conduct virtual sessions directly within the platform without needing third-party integrations.

The software supports billing for individual and group sessions, with the ability to generate invoices, process payments, and track unpaid balances.

However, TherapyNotes lacks reporting and marketing modules. There are hundreds of processes going on within mental health practice. Without robust performance and marketing analyses, it can be hard to improve the workflow and attract new clients.

Compared to some competitors, TherapyNotes has fewer integrations with third-party applications, which may limit its flexibility for practices using specialised tools.

#3. SimplePractice

SimplePractice is probably one of the best known American web-based EHR systems, offering a standard set of modules for both large clinics and solo practitioners.

Key features

For psychologists, psychiatrists, and other related professionals, the modules for scheduling and booking, telemedicine, EHR, and billing are of interest.

If you have a flow of clients, you can create a waiting list in the calendar and queue clients. For your core clients, you have automatic appointment reminders, messages to clients directly from the platform, and a patient portal.

You will have to confirm all receptions that clients book through the portal yourself. This will help to avoid spam and competitor shenanigans.

The telemedicine function will allow you to conduct both individual and group sessions and accompany them with chat and a whiteboard. On the downside, you won't be able to fill out notes during the call due to the lack of a split-screen feature.

SimplePractice has a library of treatment notes as well as sticky notes for administrative notes that act as a reminder for the practitioner. Patient notes are linked to appointments, which means that you can create new and correct old notes directly from the customer profile or from the calendar.

The analytics module will help you generate reports in the following categories:

• Income
• Billing
• Clients & Appointments
• Insurance.

However, SimplePractice lacks the functionality to visualise reports in the form of graphs, charts, etc. and also lacks reports on the marketing side of the practice and sales.

Pricing

SimplePractice has rates for solo practitioners and group practitioners, as well as a 30-day free trial. Add $0.25 for insurance claim filling per claim to the cost of any plan.

#4. TheraNest

Our next "client" is PMS TheraNest, which positions itself as software for therapists, psychologists, social workers, and counsellors.

Main features

PMS is suitable for practices of all sizes, from solo practitioners to group practices, NPOs, and educational institutions.

The main features are a standard set of essential tools:

• telemedicine
• client portal
• appointment scheduling and reminders
• EHR and physician notes.

With TheraNest, you can create both individual and group treatment notes, maintain progress notes, and compare the initial patient assessment with progress during treatment with one click. Theranest also supports DSM 5 and ICD 10 coding.

The schedule is designed as a calendar, which can be customised to your liking. After selecting the appointment date and time, your patients will receive an automatic notification. You can modify and brand the texts, as well as add promotions and offers.

Telemedicine in TheraNest is HIPAA-compliant, a separate link is generated for each video session. No additional downloads, account creation, or password creation are required to start a video consultation; everything happens within the platform itself.

Clients connect through the portal or through a link that they receive in reminders via SMS or email.

All financial transactions in your practice are also under control. The software makes it easy to submit electronic claims and ERA files, accept payments, and create invoices.

Pricing

The TheraNest team offers several plans, depending on the number of clients. You can evaluate all the features of the platform with a 21-day free trial.

Please note that the cost of SMS reminders and calls is not included in the tariffs and is charged separately at $0.10 per text or call.

You will also have to pay separately for telehealth in the amount of $12 per month per therapist for individual calls and $25 per month for group sessions (up to 20 participants).

Electronic Claims Filing will cost an additional $0.17–$0.23 per claim.

#5. Exym

Exym is a well-regarded electronic health record software specifically designed for behavioural healthcare providers. It focuses on creating more effective treatment plans and simplifying care while measuring client progress and improving outcomes.

Key features

Exym allows for detailed client records, including demographics, treatment history, e-prescribing, and case notes. You can create and customise intake forms and gather e-signatures in your client portal to enhance transparency and collaboration.

With Exym, you can schedule individual and group appointments, recurring sessions, and calendar synchronization. Automated email and SMS reminders help reduce no-show rates and keep clients informed of upcoming appointments.

Exym’s integrated billing system supports the creation and submission of claims, invoicing, and payment tracking. It integrates with Medi-Cal and Medicare and can check claims before submission, helping to ensure timely reimbursements.

This behavioural health EHR platform offers pre-built dashboards and reports. Moreover, you can build your own reports and dashboards with the integrated builder. The team provides extensive reporting capabilities, including clinical reports, financial summaries, and operational analytics.

Some users report that the initial setup and customisation of the platform can be complex and time-consuming, especially for practices with specific workflow requirements.

Pricing

Exym has Core EHR and Custom Set-up plans. The prices start at ~$100-$200 per user/month. To get an accurate pricing quote tailored to your practice’s specific needs, it’s best to contact Exym directly through their website or customer service channels.

They offer detailed consultations to understand your requirements and provide a personalised quote that includes a breakdown of all costs and features.

Exym can be relatively expensive, particularly for smaller practices or those with limited budgets.

#6. Power Diary

Rounding out our compilation is Power Diary, a practice management system that has been developed for a multitude of specialties, including psychologists, counsellors, psychiatrists, and psychotherapists.

Key features

The platform calendar has a notable feature: you can divide appointments into three groups: client, group, and personal. This is a great opportunity to create a schedule taking into account personal cases and to separate group and individual therapy with clients.

SMS and email reminders are there, as with all the platforms we've described, and you can change them, as well as set a time to send them up to 7 days before the appointment. Each text message costs an additional £0.09 for your practice.

If you are interested in telemedicine, Power Diary mental health software offers two options for accessing this module: standard and plus. The difference between the two is that the standard plan does not include the ability to run group sessions; for this, you need to activate the Telehealth+ module at an extra cost.

Video consultations are secure and available on all devices and operating systems.

The online booking and client portal modules can be used to offload the workload and allow patients to choose their own appointment times. Customise the portal, select who can book online, and set limits for early and future bookings (30 minutes before or 4 weeks in advance).

The library of session templates is extensive; you can easily search for the template you need, as well as the form designer. The designer allows you to upload your own photos, images, and body charts and edit them using tools like arrows, text, labels, and comments.

To keep track of the quality of your work, Power Diary has a module of reports, which are divided into 4 types:

1. Activity
2. Clients
3. Financial
4. System.

A total of nine reports are available, but the platform lacks graphical reports.

Pricing

The platform has four main plans. A cost calculator is available, depending on the number of users. Power Diary also offers a 14-day free trial.

Messages are charged separately, £0.09 each.

How to Choose

Choosing the right mental health EHR can be overwhelming, but with so many great options available, there's a perfect fit for every mental health clinician. Consider your specific needs—solo practice vs. group practice, budget, desired features—and take advantage of the free trials offered by most platforms.

Here's a quick recap to help you decide:

1. Medesk offers a robust suite of tools, including appointment scheduling, teletherapy, billing, and EHR, all at a competitive price.
2. TherapyNotes is a secure platform specifically designed for therapists, with pre-built templates and outcome measures.
3. SimplePractice provides a solid set of features for scheduling, billing, and teletherapy but may lack advanced reporting functionalities.
4. TheraNest offers customisable features for appointment reminders, client notes, and progress reports, with tiered pricing based on the number of clients.
5. Exym excels at creating detailed treatment plans and reporting on client progress, but its initial setup can be complex, and pricing may be higher.
6. Power Diary allows for colour-coded calendars, customisable online booking, and a variety of session templates, with separate pricing for teletherapy features.

Still in doubt? Check out our blog to see how PMS modules can make life easier and free up time for experts in different medical fields.