Image of a therapist and client in a counseling session.

31,967 people sought online therapy help in Pennsylvania in the last year

Discover how starting therapy with a online can support your own journey toward a happier, more fulfilling life.

Meet with a provider as soon as this week

ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS

Aetna, Ambetter from Pennsylvania Health and Wellness, AmeriHealth Administrators, +35 more
LGBTQIA+, Addiction, Borderline Personality, OCD / Obsessive-Compulsive, Anxiety, +2 more

My goal is to create a safe space for us to explore identity, overcome obstacles, and achieve your maximum possible growth.

ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS

Aetna, Ambetter from Pennsylvania Health and Wellness, AmeriHealth Administrators, +33 more
Self Esteem, Stress, Life Transition, Relationships, Anxiety, +2 more

ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS

Aetna, Ambetter from Pennsylvania Health and Wellness, AmeriHealth Administrators, +34 more
Anger, Behavioral Issues, Stress, ADHD, Anxiety, +3 more

Mark Bingel McKillips

Hear from Mark Bingel McKillips, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)

View Mark Bingel McKillips's profile

What is your go-to approach for online therapy?

With online therapy, much like with in-person therapy, I begin with a comprehensive needs assessment. Once the client and I have established their focus of treatment, I can then tailor modes of care that will provide the greatest effectiveness and efficiency for success. Building a sense of safety and camaraderie helps the client feel more comfortable with taking the emotional risks necessary for treatment growth. I then use goals as a means of measuring treatment progress, while using a wide range of treatment interventions to help the client work through stages of change. Throughout the whole process, I connect with the client from a stance of validation, nonjudgment, hope, and optimism, and a sense that the client's rooted narratives of self can be reauthored into more positive narratives.

What tools do you teach in online therapy?

Depending on the particular needs of the client, I might introduce various therapeutic tools/skills to help a person cope. The skills can fit into various categories such as relaxation, self-soothing, emotional regulation, cognitive behavioral techniques, and others. While I introduce traditional skills such as deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation, I also, depending on need, will introduce more obscure skills such as the FTIP skills used for emotional regulation and taken from dialectical behavioral therapy. FTIP skills are neurophysiological actions that trip various switches in a person's nervous system to address more extreme symptoms such as panic, hyperarousal, and emotional escalation. A few other skills that I often introduce are:

  • Positive affirmation/mantras - Shifting the mind to focus on more hopeful and confident thoughts particularly of the self in order to shift a person's personal narrative of self.
  • Mindfulness - Intentionally noticing your experience with greater detail, exploration, and nonjudgment. This serves many functions, one of which is to gain awareness of the self to more effectively respond to one's own needs.
  • Cognitive behavioral skills such as thought stopping and thought restructuring, which serve to address negative thoughts that negatively impact the client's emotional experience and can lead to maladaptive behaviors (e.g. avoidance).
  • Parent training approaches - When working with children and families that experience frequent conflict involving a child's engagement in maladaptive behavior, parent involvement and implementation of behavioral interventions consistently are perhaps the greatest mechanisms for change.

How do you know when a client is making meaningful progress in online therapy?

I know a client is making meaningful progress in online therapy when they have a decrease in symptoms and demonstrate a greater sense of self-confidence. I work with the client to establish at least one goal and one objective to provide a focus for treatment and an objective means of tracking progress.

What can clients do in their personal time to supplement online therapy?

Integrating the skills and concepts addressed in sessions into a client's everyday experience is integral for a person's progress. This is individual to each particular client. For some, this may involve engaging in specific behavioral interventions to target specific maladaptive behavior(s). For others, this may involve shifting a daily routine to involve positive affirmation. With CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), practicing cognitive restructuring exercises regularly outside of therapy contributes to expedited change and relief from symptoms. Mental wellness and physical wellness go hand in hand. I work with clients to address other self-care activities such as social connections, fitness, diet, sleep hygiene, etc.

What should someone do to prepare for starting online therapy?

To prepare for your first online therapy session, you should find a comfortable, quiet, and private location with a strong internet signal. In order to make the best use of the intake appointment time, I strongly recommend completing all consents prior to the session and exploring the Zoom platform to avoid technical issues. While many clients and families experience anxiety prior to this first appointment, generally participants find it less intimidating than they imagined.

Starting Online therapy

What is online therapy?

With Thriveworks, Online therapy is an effective alternative to in-person therapy services in which a client can speak to a Thriveworks therapist remotely via online video conferencing. Online sessions are just as effective as in-person treatment, but they can also provide added benefits like reduced travel time, saving money on transportation or childcare, and increased access to care.

How does online therapy work?

Online therapy works much like traditional in-person therapy but takes place through secure video conferencing. Clients can attend Online therapy from any safe place they choose that has access to the internet, whether that be their home or another easily accessible place. Like in-person treatment, a therapist will work with their client to address their concerns, create goals, and establish an effective treatment plan.

What is the best option for online therapy?

There is no best option for online therapy—instead, it’s best to focus on finding a provider that meets your specific needs and with whom you can form a professional connection with.

Is online therapy just as effective?

Yes, online therapy is just as effetive for many clients as in-person sessions.

How long does online therapy last?

Online therapy can last for a few months to years depending on the goals and symptoms of the client. The treatment process will be unique to each client and lend itself to their specific concerns, which means that the time it takes to treat them will always be different. Timing is also up to the client themselves; they are free to stop therapy whenever they please, especially if they feel they have reached their goals and addressed their concerns.

How much does online therapy cost?

Our Thriveworks therapists at Thriveworks in Philadelphia, PA accept most major forms of insurance, which means that many of our clients only pay $0-$50 co-pay per session. However, there are also self-pay options that sit around $200 per session, depending on the service and location, for those who are out-of-network.

Pricing & insurance

Our therapists accept most major insurances. We accept 585+ insurance plans, and offer self-pay options, too.
Learn more about pricing for therapy and counseling services at Thriveworks.

Our Philadelphia therapists and counselors accept 39 insurance plans

  • Aetna

  • Ambetter from Pennsylvania Health and Wellness

  • AmeriHealth Administrators

  • AmeriHealth Medicare Advantage

  • AmeriHealth Pennsylvania

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield | Anthem (Blue Card)

  • Carelon

  • Cigna | Evernorth

  • Cigna | Evernorth EAP

  • Cigna | Evernorth Medicare Advantage

  • Compsych

  • First Health Network

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Self-pay costs at Philadelphia
Talk therapy

Talk therapy

Includes individual, couples, child/ teen, & family therapy

First session

$1

Ongoing sessions

$1

Talk therapy

Psychiatry

Includes reducing symptoms with medication & management

First session

$1

Ongoing sessions

$1

Hear from our clients

5.0 Learn about verified reviews
★★★★★
I think Marla is Excellent for helping me out! Listens! Helps out in everyway!
Dennis Jan 2024
Thriveworks.com verified review
★★★★★
I think Marla is an Excellent Therapist!! She listened. And really helps me at this point!@
Dennis Dec 2023
Thriveworks.com verified review

Where to find us

Getting here

Thriveworks Counseling & Psychiatry Philadelphia is off of Ludlow Street and S 40th Street. We are near Smoke Shop Convenience and Locust Moon Comics.

Phone number

(267) 440-7066

Languages spoken by PA providers

  • English
Sunday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Monday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Tuesday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Wednesday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Thursday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Friday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Saturday 8:00am - 9:00pm

Shown in ET

Sunday 8:00am - 5:00pm
Monday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Tuesday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Wednesday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Thursday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Friday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Saturday 7:00am - 6:00pm

Shown in ET

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