Cornerstone Christian Counseling Online Therapy Review

Founded by the husband-and-wife team of Sean and Angie Taylor, Cornerstone Christian Counseling began in 2009 as a small, in-office private practice in Denver, Colorado. In the years since, the practice has grown to offer services online and in person at five offices in the Denver area.  

As of January 2023, there are 51 therapists lists on the website and you can click to read their bios. They range in experience from M.A.-level interns to fully licensed social workers, professional counselors, and clinical supervisors. The company’s pay-per-session business model may be less affordable for some people than subscriptions or bundled services offered by other online therapy platforms.

First Impressions & Sign-Up Process 

Cornerstone's website is one of the more modern, informative, and easy-to-navigate websites we looked at. There is a detailed navigation menu that answers most of the questions you might have about its services prior to booking a session, and all the therapists have bios listed on the website. 

You can sign up for your first session directly online, and the intake process is simple. First, look for a therapist on the website. You can then answer a few prompts to narrow down the therapists based on where you live and whether you’re looking for in-person or online sessions. Once you pick your therapist, you’ll click “Schedule session” and fill out a short form with your information. The company will then reach out to you within one business day.

You can also call the company directly and speak with an intake coordinator to book a first session with a therapist or email with any questions before signing up. Your payment information will be taken once the company confirms your session.

Cost 

Cornerstone Christian Counseling charges clients per session, instead of offering a flat monthly subscription price. This allows a lot of flexibility in terms of how many sessions you want per month. However, only 68% of the users surveyed in 2021 said the company’s prices were either very good or excellent. Since the prices have not changed, current user satisfaction may be at comparable levels. If you want weekly sessions with a more experienced provider, but are on a tight budget, you might want to consider a different company.

What Are Cornerstone Christian Counseling’s Prices?

Unlike some of the bigger online therapy companies we reviewed, Cornerstone charges per session, regardless of whether you attend in person or online.

All sessions are 45 minutes long, although you can schedule 75-minute sessions for an additional fee, as determined by your therapist.

Is There a Free Trial?

There are no free trials or consultation sessions offered by this company.

Does Cornerstone Christian Counseling Accept Insurance?

Generally speaking, this company has not been in-network with any insurance companies, though it provides superbills for those who want to try to seek out-of-network reimbursement.

However, since the time of our 2021 review, Cornerstone has begun offering in-network services to a limited number of Medicaid clients. Currently, only one Medicaid plan (Colorado Community Health Alliance—RAE 6 and 7) is accepted and there is a waitlist, but the practice is working on expanding its offerings in the future.

Can You Change or Cancel Your Subscription?

You can start, stop, and pause therapy as you please, since the decision to schedule another session is entirely up to you. You can schedule, reschedule, and cancel sessions via your private portal—although any changes must be made at least 24 hours in advance. 

To cancel a session that begins in less than 24 hours, you must call the customer service line, and you may be responsible for the full session fee.

Are There Discounts Available?

In addition to reducing the price for sessions with counseling interns, Cornerstone offers two main discounts:

• Anyone who works in a church or missions-related context can receive a 10% discount on sessions with a counselor from Tiers Two through Five.
• Active duty, active reservists, and retirees of the military services and their dependents get a special discount, though the company doesn’t specify what that discount is on their website. Call and inquire for further details before booking your session.

Ease of Use

Seventy-five percent of the users we surveyed found Cornerstone Christian Counseling’s online client portal easy to use to book or change sessions. All online therapy sessions are conducted over Zoom. Once the session is booked, you will get an email confirmation with the Zoom link. Eighty-nine percent of users said their experience with video sessions on the Zoom platform was either very good or excellent. However, there are no messaging, e-chat, or phone sessions offered at Cornerstone, which may be a dealbreaker for those who prefer non-video communication.

If you have a session with a therapist and you don’t feel like it’s a great fit, you can call Cornerstone and receive a free transfer session with a new therapist.

Therapists' Qualifications & Quality of Care

Eighty-three percent of the users we surveyed said that therapist qualifications were important to them when choosing an online therapy company.

This number was lower than average when compared to the other 33 companies in our 2021 Awards, which may have been due to the fact that Cornerstone offered counselors who are still at the intern level or provisionally licensed (a practice that continues in 2022). Still, all providers either have state licensure or are working toward it.

The company has 46 counselors to choose from, but not all of them offer online sessions. In fact, online therapy services at Cornerstone are only available to users in certain states—but primarily only in Colorado. 

Some therapists have attained advanced certifications or completed over 10,000 clinical hours, and each therapist has different specializations too, such as couples therapy, play therapy, or faith issues.

Most 2021 respondents reported seeing a few different therapists before settling on one for therapy:

• Twenty-seven percent said they had seen two therapists at the company.
• Thirty-eight percent had seen three therapists.
• Twenty-seven percent had seen four or more.

Only eight percent reported that they had continued to see the first Cornerstone therapist they met with.

Types of Therapy Offered

Cornerstone Christian Counseling’s services are predominantly aimed at therapy seekers who agree with its statement of faith.

Cornerstone Christian Counseling does not employ psychiatrists or offer medication management. If you need psychiatric services or require prescription refills, this is not the company for you.

Privacy Policies

Cornerstone Christian Counseling uses HIPAA-compliant Zoom for all of its online therapy sessions. Client portals are managed through the electronic healthcare records company TherapyNotes, which advertises strong data protection measures. 

Cornerstone does collect personally identifiable information about you, including your contact information, in case it needs it for an emergency. However, the company does not sell your personal information.

If during your treatment, your therapist decides you need more help than they can provide or that you would benefit from a different type of therapy (or even medication), then the company will refer you to a local resource. The therapist is also required to file a formal report if they believe you are a threat to yourself or others.

Overall Client Satisfaction

Seventy-eight percent of 2021 respondents rated the services they received through Cornerstone Christian Counseling as either very good or excellent, and 80% said its value was very good or excellent for the money spent.

According to our 2021 survey:

• Twenty-one percent had been clients for three to six months.
• Thirty-two percent had been clients for six to 12 months.
• Forty-one percent had clients for over a year.

These results suggest that a fairly good percentage of users stick with the company. In fact, 91% told us they were likely or very likely to still be working with a Cornerstone Christian Counseling therapist a year in the future.

Is Cornerstone Christian Counseling Right For You?

Cornerstone Christian Counseling may be a good choice if you live in Colorado or are looking for online therapy for depression and anxiety with a Christian therapist who shares your worldview. It’s a good platform if you want to discuss spirituality issues in your sessions. 

Cornerstone also could work with you if you want therapy for your children, marriage counseling, or family therapy. 

However, because its online services do not offer messaging, e-chat, or phone sessions, the company might not be a good fit if you work long or unpredictable hours. It is also not a good choice if you need psychiatric services or medication management. You also may prefer to go elsewhere if you have had or are considering an abortion, a divorce, or if you want couples counseling but are not married.

Cornerstone Christian Counseling, like most online therapy platforms, is also not designed to be an emergency service. People struggling with suicidal thoughts, who are in crisis, or need inpatient care are not suitable for this service. People with psychotic disorders or a history of psychosis are also not a good fit.

Cornerstone Christian Counseling vs. Grace Wellness

Cornerstone Christian Counseling and Grace Wellness Center are both Christian therapy companies that offer in-office and online sessions. However, while both offer trauma-informed therapy, family therapy, and individual talk therapy, Grace Wellness Center also offers life coaching, spiritual guidance from pastors, and chiropractic care. Grace Wellness Center has a smaller staff, with only 23 therapists, compared to Cornerstone’s 46.

Both companies employ therapists and counselors with a range of experience and qualifications, allowing them to offer tiered, per-session pricing. 

• Cornerstone Christian Counseling has five tiers, with prices ranging from $58 to $184 per session.
• Grace Wellness Center’s prices range from $80 to $125 per session.

Both companies offer discounted rates for those who qualify.

Ninety-one percent of Cornerstone users felt they were either likely or very likely to still be seeing a therapist within the company 12 months after being surveyed, compared to 89% at Grace Wellness Center.

Cornerstone’s website makes it slightly easier to find information, whereas Grace Wellness Center’s site can be a bit confusing to navigate at times. Both companies continue to offer bios for all their counselors and therapists, and while both sites feature a blog, only Cornerstone has consistently posted one to three times per month.

Additions to Grace Wellness Center’s blog, on the other hand, have been much more sporadic and limited to posts about its podcast. When you click on a podcast entry, the page you arrive at is blank except for the name and picture of the person who published the post, which makes it seem like the podcast may not be active anymore. Adding to this impression is the fact that the podcast landing page is blank. Still, both companies received positive client reviews for their services. Of the users we surveyed in 2021:

• Eighty percent of Grace Wellness Center users and 78% of Cornerstone users said the services were either very good or excellent. 
• Ninety-three percent of Grace Wellness clients said they were either likely or very likely to refer someone to the company, whereas 90% of Cornerstone clients said the same.

Of those who had tried other therapy services in the past, 85% of Grace Wellness Center clients reported that services were either better or much better than those at previous companies. At Cornerstone, only 77% said the same.

Final Verdict

If you’re a Christian in need of talk therapy, marriage counseling, or therapy for the family, Cornerstone Christian Counseling’s online therapy services might be a good fit. However, it’s important to remember that its services are only available in certain states, and that choosing weekly sessions results in higher-than-average costs. Furthermore, we do not recommend this company for members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Methodology

Our methodology for evaluating online therapy companies in 2021 was comprehensive and data-driven. We sent questionnaires to 33 companies and surveyed 100 current users of each in order to gather qualitative and quantitative data about each company and its users’ experiences.

Specifically, we evaluated each company on website usability, sign-up process, subscription offerings, client privacy protections, and ease of changing therapists. We then looked at therapist qualifications, the types of therapy offered, quality of care, client-therapist communication options, session length, and the therapist assignment process. Finally, we assessed cost, value for money, whether the companies take insurance, overall user satisfaction, and the likelihood clients would recommend them.

Though we did not ultimately select Cornerstone Christian Counseling for user testing in 2022, this review has been otherwise updated for accuracy.