Virtual Therapy in Tempe, AZ
Tempe is the one city on this list where Wiser Counseling has an office of its own, at 2131 E. Broadway Rd., Suite 1, near the Loop 101 and US-60. That gives Tempe residents, and the ASU students, staff and young professionals who make up much of the city, a genuine choice: secure video sessions from your apartment or dorm, in-person sessions at the office, or a mix of both with the same therapist.
Wiser Counseling provides online and in-person individual, couples and family therapy in Tempe, with appointments from 8am to 7pm Monday through Saturday and Sunday sessions on request.
How Online Therapy Works for Tempe Residents
Online sessions are 50 minutes over a secure, HIPAA-compliant video link, from anywhere in Arizona with a private space and a connection. Nothing is recorded and there is no app to install. The clinician you see is the same Arizona-licensed therapist who sees clients at our Broadway Rd. office.
Tempe clients use the hybrid option more than anyone else: a student may come to the office between classes during the semester and switch to video over summer break; a professional may meet in person once a month and online in between. Our Tempe office is about 3 miles from downtown Tempe and ASU’s main campus.
Virtual Therapy Services
Individual Therapy
Individual therapy for Tempe adults, young adults and teens: anxiety, depression, academic and career pressure, identity and self-worth, trauma, and transitions. Our clinicians use CBT, DBT and EMDR as needed. Ryan Roels, LMSW focuses on anxiety and emerging adults; Kelsey Scott, LAC and Selina Rivera, LAC see adolescents 12 and up as well as adults.
Couples Therapy
Couples therapy in person at the Tempe office or online, including for couples who live apart during the semester or for work. Joshua DuBoise, LPC works with married and pre-marital couples; Anna Liu, LCSW focuses on relationship patterns and burnout. Couples sessions are typically self-pay, and we quote the rate before you book.
Family Therapy
Family therapy for Tempe households and for families whose student is in Tempe while parents are elsewhere in Arizona; video makes it possible to have everyone in one session. Ryan Roels, LMSW works with families with children and teens, and Ally Marcus, LCSW sees children from age 6.
What Tempe Clients Bring to Therapy
Depression
Depression in a college town can hide behind a full calendar, and in a first apartment it can hide behind nobody noticing. Weekly sessions, online or at the office, give you a clinician who tracks your sleep, energy and thinking with you and helps you rebuild momentum.
Anxiety
Exam anxiety, social anxiety, and the pressure of a first real job are the anxieties we see most in Tempe. We use CBT and mindfulness skills that work in a lecture hall or a meeting, and address the beliefs underneath the worry over time.
Panic Attacks
Panic attacks before a presentation, on the light rail, or in a packed Mill Avenue bar can leave you avoiding the places they happened. Over video or in the office we identify your triggers and practice grounding until it holds.
ADHD
ADHD often becomes a problem in Tempe when the structure of high school disappears and a semester of self-management begins. Hannah Goldberg, LMSW specializes in ADHD in adults and adolescents, and sessions focus on systems, follow-through and self-compassion.
Grief & Loss
Grief after losing a parent, a grandparent, a friend, or a relationship rarely fits a semester schedule or a probation period at work. Online sessions let you do that work from wherever you are, including from home over a break, with the same therapist.
Life Transitions
Tempe is built on transitions: moving in, graduating, a first job, a first break-up, a move away. Therapy helps you make the change deliberately and figure out which parts are loss and which are the beginning of something.
Relationship Issues
Relationship problems are patterns under stress. Together or on your own, in person or by video, we look at how conflict actually plays out between you and practice a different move in session so it is ready for real life.
Trauma & PTSD
Trauma, recent or from years ago, keeps the body on alert. Our EMDR-trained clinicians and trauma specialists, including Mallory Rigby, LPC and Tiffani Robinson, LAC, work at your pace, in the office or over secure video, where EMDR also works well.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
OCD is treated with evidence-based exposure and response prevention, and the hybrid option in Tempe is useful here: some exposures are easier to plan in the office and others are best done at home, where the compulsions actually occur.
What to Expect in Your First Sessions
Initial Conversation
The first session, online or at the Broadway Rd. office, is a conversation about what brought you here, what you have tried, and what you want to change. Ask anything about your therapist’s approach; if the fit is not right, we will say so and refer you.
Creating Your Treatment Plan
Your therapist then puts together a plan you can read: your goals, the approach (CBT, DBT, EMDR or a blend), how often you will meet and in which format, and how you will both know it is working.
Connecting Through Video Calls
Online sessions are 50 minutes on a secure video link from anywhere private; in-person sessions are the same length at the office. You can switch between the two from week to week as your schedule changes. Phone sessions are available when video is not possible.
Ongoing Guidance and Support
Each session has a focus and usually leaves you with something small to practice. We review what worked, adjust what did not, and keep the work tied to your goals rather than to filling the hour.
Planning Your Next Appointment
Before you log off or leave the office, you and your therapist book the next session and decide the format. Consistency is what makes therapy work, and we ask for 24 hours notice if you need to move an appointment.
Who Online Therapy Suits in Tempe
Online therapy suits ASU students without a car or with a schedule that changes every semester, young professionals in the Tempe Town Lake and downtown apartments, parents in south Tempe who cannot leave the house in the evening, and anyone who wants the option of an in-person session nearby without being tied to it. It also suits teens, who frequently open up more readily from their own room.
It is not right for every situation. If you are in crisis or need more than weekly outpatient therapy, we will tell you in the first conversation and help you reach the right level of care.
Why Tempe Clients Choose Online Sessions
- Switch between video and our Broadway Rd. office without changing therapists
- Appointments 8am to 7pm, Monday through Saturday
- Keep your therapist over summer break or after graduation, anywhere in Arizona
- No parking hunt near campus for a 50-minute session
- Teens and young adults often engage more from home
- Sessions continue through finals, travel and schedule changes
- Secure, HIPAA-compliant video, nothing recorded
Cost of Virtual Therapy in Tempe, AZ
Private-pay therapy in the Phoenix metro typically runs about $80 to $250 per session, depending on the clinician’s credentials and session length; our online and in-person rates in Tempe are the same. Some Wiser Counseling therapists are in network with Aetna, UnitedHealthcare/Optum, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna or UMR, depending on the clinician, and many students remain on a parent’s plan through one of those networks. We verify coverage or quote the self-pay rate in writing before your first session. Couples therapy is typically self-pay. See our rates and insurance page.
The Wiser Counseling Team in Tempe
Wiser Counseling is a group practice of sixteen Arizona-licensed therapists founded and led by Anna Liu, LCSW, with our Tempe office at 2131 E. Broadway Rd., a second office in Scottsdale, and online clients across Arizona. We match Tempe clients to a clinician who works with their age group and concern rather than to the next open calendar, and every therapist's specialties are listed on our team page. If the first match is not right, we change it.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I mix online sessions and in-person sessions at the Tempe office?
Yes. Many Tempe clients do exactly that: in person at 2131 E. Broadway Rd., Suite 1 when it is convenient, by video when it is not, with the same therapist and the same plan. You decide the format when you book each session, and we ask for 24 hours notice to change it.
I am an ASU student. Can I keep my therapist when I go home for the summer?
Yes, as long as you are physically in Arizona during the session; our therapists are licensed statewide, so a summer in Tucson, Flagstaff or Yuma changes nothing. If you spend the summer out of state, let your therapist know and we will plan around it.
Are your therapists licensed in Arizona?
Yes. Every clinician at Wiser Counseling holds an Arizona license or associate license (LPC, LCSW, LMSW or LAC) and practices under clinical supervision where required. We are therapists, not psychologists, and do not provide psychological testing.
Do you offer medication management?
No. Wiser Counseling provides therapy only. If medication is part of your care, we coordinate with your prescriber, or help you find one, and share progress notes with your written consent.
Book online or call (602) 456-4150, tell us briefly what is going on, and say whether you prefer video or the Broadway Rd. office. We will match you with a therapist, confirm cost or coverage up front, and usually schedule a first session within the week.
