I’m a Therapist Who Tried Two Chairs Therapy—It Wasn’t Without Its Issues

As a therapist, I get many requests from therapy seekers looking for care that is covered by Kaiser Permanente, a popular insurance company, since it can be tricky to get mental health care benefits. So I was eager to try out Two Chairs, a therapy service that’s in network with Kaiser, in hopes of having it be a company I can refer folks to. 

Two Chairs specializes in matching clients with therapists who are truly a great fit for them, doing so with an extensive matching appointment where the client meets with a licensed clinician and talks about their hopes and dreams for this work. Finding the right therapist can be a process that is daunting to many and I loved that a service was working to make the experience easier.

The telehealth company offers online therapy to residents of California, Florida, and Washington states and even has some in-person options. Its website is warm and inviting and clearly states its mission of connecting clients with aligned therapists. It even says that 98% of clients find the right therapist on their first try. Despite my high hopes, I ran into some unexpected issues, leaving me with mixed feelings about the company altogether. Here’s what happened during my experience with Two Chairs.

How I Signed Up

Getting started with Two Chairs was easy—signing up took less than 10 minutes. All I had to do was head to its website and click a button near the top right of the screen that said, “Book an appointment.” This appointment is a therapist-matching appointment, a 45-minute session with a licensed therapist who is specifically trained to match clients with therapists based on communication style preferences, therapy modalities, and clinical specialties. I filled out my contact information and was invited to select an appointment time for the therapist-matching appointment.

There wasn’t a time available that worked for my schedule until the beginning of the following week. While I was eager to get started quickly, I didn’t think much of it and moved forward with booking the best appointment for my schedule. Then, I was invited to share what brings me to therapy and any clinician preferences I had—including if I wanted to see a therapist with a certain age, gender, race/ethnicity, or religious/spiritual orientation. I was also asked if I wanted to see a therapist virtually or in person, which is when I learned that the company also offers in-person sessions. After that, I was asked if I had been diagnosed with or showed symptoms of bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia, eating disorders, drug or alcohol use, or PTSD. I was also asked if I engaged in self-harm.

Afterward, I was asked to fill out my availability for ongoing therapy sessions. This was essentially part of the intake paperwork, which is a series of questionnaires rather than a dedicated patient portal I can revisit, and was my final step before paying. It prompted me to fill out at least 15 available time slots, noting that less than 15 could lead to it taking longer to find a match. This was a bit tricky—I definitely did not have 15 different appointment slot times available throughout the week. Regardless, I filled in what I could and moved along.

After filling in my availability, I entered my insurance information (I was paying out-of-pocket), emergency contact, and payment information. Once all those steps were complete, it was time to wait for my matching appointment. 

First, let me be clear—I wholeheartedly believe therapists should be paid well and, unfortunately, insurance companies don’t make that easy. I rarely balk at therapist’s fees because I understand all the hidden costs and labor that go into becoming a licensed clinician.

I’ve worked at group practices that offer complimentary 15-minute consultations to match a therapist with a client. As an independent therapist, I, too, hold free 15-minute consultations with clients. Sure, I don’t get paid for that time, but I factor that into building my hourly fee. I know some clinicians who charge for slightly longer consultations (think 20 to 25 minutes), but even then, I’ve never heard of a consultation costing more than $100. However, I reminded myself that 45 minutes is significantly longer and it is important that all clinicians are compensated for their time. 

The Therapist Matching Process 

While browsing the Two Chairs therapists’ bios, which I was able to find on the homepage under a tab labeled, “Our Therapists,” I was impressed by their qualifications. There was a mix of counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and psychologists.

While I could have taken note of any therapists who caught my eye, I was eager to see how the therapist matching appointment went and who I would be matched with. I knew the appointment would be facilitated by a licensed clinician, so I expected it would be a session focused on gathering my history and preferences so I could dig into the work with my therapist. 

The clinician I met with was warm, kind, and professional. She first confirmed my name, address, and emergency contact, explaining that she needed this information to confirm my identity and make sure I was in the state of California due to state licensing restrictions. I appreciated this legal and ethical awareness. 

She provided some general information about what to expect from the appointment, breaking down the matching process. She also let me know the contact I could reach out to in case I ever needed to make scheduling changes and the contact I could use for billing issues. Matching emails, which is the email letting me know which therapist I would be matched with and what appointment times were available, go out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is typically at least a two-week wait until you’re matched. I immediately expressed some urgency to get started, explaining that a two-week wait would make it almost a month of being with the service before even getting started seeing someone.

After the general nuts and bolts of the session were taken care of, we got to business. She asked me what brought me to therapy, the type of work I did, and general questions about my interests, support systems, and pain points. I felt instantly comfortable with her, noting that we were able to build a rapport quickly. Since she knew I was a therapist, she asked more technical questions about the specific therapy modalities I preferred and the styles of communication that worked best for me. 

She also asked me if I wanted a therapist who would guide the session and be more solution-focused or someone who would simply listen and occasionally share reflections. She also asked me to consider how much time I wanted to spend focusing on my past, present, and future in therapy. I loved these questions and felt optimistic that I would end up with a good fit. 

While all went well in the appointment, it was only 25 minutes long. I knew I had answered all of the intake questions she had for me, but I was a bit shocked that a $260 appointment that was supposed to be 45 minutes long was nearly half that amount of time.

Paying $260 for a 25-minute session felt outrageous. Even though I had answered her questions, she could have gathered more of my history or even supported me with coping tools or resources in the remaining 20 minutes—after all, she was a licensed clinician and I was a client. 

How My Therapy Sessions Worked

One week after my matching appointment, I received an email that I’d been matched with a provider and could meet with her in one week. Again, I noted that getting started took a fair amount of time, but I was thankful my matching therapist worked to get me teamed up with someone quickly.

While my matching appointment was done via Google Meet video, my first official therapy session was via Zoom. It was set for 45 minutes. My therapist was on time and kindly greeted me at the start of our session. She again asked me to confirm my name, location, and emergency contact and then went over the limits to confidentiality and general practice policies, including cancellation policies and attendance policies. I am required to give two business days' notice for any cancellations and should I cancel more than four sessions in six months, my therapist can no longer hold our appointment time. So far so good—I appreciated her setting the boundaries for the sessions from the jump. 

I understand therapists can get busy and details may be overlooked, but the fact that the details of my $260, 25-minute matching appointment didn’t make their way to my clinician was frustrating.

I had forgotten to fill out my wellness check-in prior to the start of the session, which is required for every session with the company, so my therapist gave me a few minutes to do so. It wasn’t very long, so it just took a moment to get it taken care of. Before going over my answers, she explained that this practice is to measure my progress over the months, noting that it was a combination of the PHQ-9, GAD-7, and questions Two Chairs specifically developed to assess life satisfaction and the therapeutic alliance. 

Then, she got into my answers, mentioning that I was presenting with symptoms of mild depression and anxiety. I was surprised to hear this—I am aware of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scale and the issue I have with basic questionnaires like them that screen for mental health concerns is that they don’t take any context into account. While I’ve had my fair share of experience with depression and anxiety, I was surprised she hadn’t asked me what could have been contributing to some of my answers on the questionnaires first. For example, I had been getting over a week of feeling a bit under the weather, hence why I was tired and not feeling particularly thrilled in my day-to-day life. I also was stressed by some logistical issues, thus why I indicated I had been feeling worried and anxious at times.

After that, she asked me general questions about my upbringing and history, which I comfortably shared with her. We talked about my support system, lifestyle, and current stressors. From there, she went into asking me to identify specific goals for therapy. I was fine doing so, but overall, the flow of the session was feeling a bit too clinical.

At the end of the session, she did check in on how the therapeutic alliance was feeling, to which I was honest and shared I wasn’t sure it was a fit. She maintained a kind and professional demeanor, validating that it can take a while to find the right fit and inviting me to reach back out if I wanted to continue working with her. She also briefly went over the process of switching therapists. It is pretty simple—if I was interested in seeing another therapist from Two Chairs, that could also be arranged by reaching out to the clinician from my matching appointment. Luckily, I wouldn’t need to hold another matching appointment and could instead share more about what didn’t work and what I hope to experience with the company moving forward. 

Pros and Cons

Two Chairs is not my favorite therapy platform I’ve tested so far, but it might be a good fit for others. The following pros and cons may help you decide whether it could be right for you.

Final Thoughts

Two Chairs has an admirable mission with questionable execution. I like the idea of a licensed clinician expertly matching therapists with clients, but my therapist was not the best match for me, despite me answering plenty of questions about preferred communication style, therapeutic orientation, and the type of things I’d like to work on in therapy. While I know it can take a while to find the right therapeutic match, I feel that Two Chairs missed the mark. The session felt way too focused on symptoms, rather than who I am as a person, it was very expensive, and I couldn’t seem to build much of a rapport with my clinician. 

This isn’t a commentary on the therapist’s clinical skills, either. It really seemed that her approach (clinically focused on symptom reduction, emphasis on solutions, and directive communication) wasn’t aligned with what I stated my preferences were in my initial matching appointment. I’m left wondering if something wasn’t right with my matching appointment or if the company's process for matching therapists with clients isn’t as successful as it states. 

I also know there is a chance my experience was just a one-off fluke. Things happen, so I was eager to review our user data to see what others thought about Two Chairs. 

All that considered, plenty of people had a much better experience than I did. Take that for what you will and make your decisions accordingly. 

I am somewhat hesitant to recommend Two Chairs. I think there is excellent potential there, I love the diversity of providers, and enjoyed my time with the first therapist even though it was a short session. But, I struggle to justify the hefty out-of-pocket price tag. If you can access Two Chairs through your insurance company, I’d say it is worth a try. Just be prepared for a long wait, and don’t be afraid to be very direct and detailed when stating what you’re looking for in your matching appointment.