Online Therapy in Arizona
You do not have to live near my office to work with me. I meet clients by video from all over Arizona, from Flagstaff to Yuma to the far side of Tucson, on four afternoons and evenings a week.
This page covers who video therapy suits, how a session with me actually works, the one rule about where you have to be, and what I do over video. If you are on the fence, the free call is a short phone call, so you can hear how I work before you decide anything.
Emily Ward, MS, LAC
Counselor in Goodyear, and online across Arizona
Who video suits
Video therapy is a good fit for more people than they expect. It suits you if any of these are true.
- You live an hour or more from the West Valley, or anywhere in Arizona without many therapists nearby.
- Your work or your kids make a drive plus a session plus a drive back impossible.
- Illness, pain, or fatigue make getting to an office hard some weeks.
- You are anxious about walking into a waiting room, and starting from your own couch feels safer.
- You want to fit therapy into a lunch break or an evening without leaving the house.
It suits you less well if you do not have a private place to talk, if screens make it hard for you to feel connected, or if you know from experience that you get more out of being in a room with someone. Either way is a good way to do therapy, and I also see clients in the office. I am glad to talk it through on the free call.
How a session with me works
You get a link before the appointment. At the start time you open it on a phone, a tablet, or a computer, and I am there. There is nothing to install and nothing to set up beyond allowing your camera and microphone. The session runs the same length as an office session, and we do the same work.
A few things help. Headphones make it private and make me easier to hear. Propping the device up instead of holding it lets you settle. It is worth keeping a glass of water and a box of tissues nearby, just in case. And it helps to give yourself ten minutes afterward before you jump back into the day, the way you would have on a drive home.
The Arizona rule
There is one rule that catches people off guard. Because I am licensed in Arizona, you need to be physically in Arizona during our session. It does not matter where in the state. Home, a break room at work, a quiet car in a parking lot, or a relative’s kitchen in another city are all fine. A hotel room in California is not, and neither is a college dorm out of state. If you travel, tell me and we will move the session.
What I do over video
Everything I do in the office, I do by video, including every phase of EMDR.
Anxiety and panic. Most of my anxiety work is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which teaches you to notice anxious thinking and test it against real evidence. It translates to video without losing anything. If you cannot tell whether it is stress or something more, this guide on telling them apart is a good place to start.
Trauma. Talking through what happened, learning to steady your body, and rebuilding a sense of safety all work over video. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), the trauma therapy that uses back-and-forth attention to help the brain finish processing a memory, works on screen too, through every phase. Some people prefer a mix of video and office visits, and we decide that together.
ADHD in adults. Building systems that survive a bad week, untangling the shame that comes with a late diagnosis, and learning skills from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) for the moments when feelings hit hard are all well suited to video. Video also means there is no drive to forget.
Chronic illness. When getting to an office costs you energy you do not have, video is not a compromise. It is the reason therapy becomes possible at all.
Paying for online sessions
Video sessions cost the same as office sessions, and most plans cover them the same way too. If your employer offers free counseling through an employee assistance program (EAP), those sessions can be done by video too.
Online across Arizona
I see clients by video on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, with afternoon and evening openings. You need to be in Arizona during the session.
In person in Goodyear
My office is at 1626 N Litchfield Rd Ste 220, Goodyear, AZ 85395, and I am there on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
Fees and insurance
Sessions are 50–55 minutes and cost $100 without insurance. I am in-network with Aetna/Banner, Cigna, Curative, and United Healthcare, and I take Cigna and United Healthcare employee assistance program (EAP) sessions, which are the free sessions some employers cover. The full details are on the insurance and fees page, and if your plan is not listed, ask me on the free call and I will tell you what your options are.
Questions people ask
Do I have to be in Arizona for a video session?
Yes. My license is issued by the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners, and it covers people who are physically in Arizona at the time of the session. You can be anywhere in the state, at home, at work, or in a parked car, but not across the state line. If you travel, we reschedule around it.
Is video therapy as good as meeting in person?
For most of what I treat, research finds video and in-person therapy work about equally well, and many people find it easier to open up from their own space. Some people prefer a room with no screen, and some kinds of work go better in person. I will tell you honestly on the free call which I would suggest for you.
Can EMDR be done online?
Yes, all of it. EMDR uses back-and-forth attention, and every phase, including the memory work, can be guided on screen. It works best when you have a quiet room to yourself where nobody will walk in. Some people near Goodyear still prefer to come in for the memory work, and that is fine too.
What happens if the connection drops?
I call you, and we either get the video back or finish the session by phone. Before we start I ask for a phone number and a backup plan, so a bad connection is an annoyance, not a disaster. If the connection is gone for good early in a session, you are only billed for the time we had.
Is a video session private?
Sessions run on Zoom through AdvancedMD, the healthcare scheduling and records system my practice uses, so the video link comes from the same place as your appointment reminders. On your end, headphones and a closed door do most of the work. If privacy at home is hard, a parked car in the shade is a surprisingly good therapy room.
How much does an online session cost, and does insurance cover it?
The same as an office session. Sessions are 50–55 minutes and cost $100 without insurance. I am in-network with Aetna/Banner, Cigna, Curative, and United Healthcare, and I take Cigna and United Healthcare EAP sessions. Most plans cover video the same way they cover the office, and your plan can confirm it for you.
The easiest next step
I offer a free 15-minute phone call so you can hear how I work before you commit to anything. You set it up directly with me by text or email. If you would rather meet in person, my office is at 1626 N Litchfield Rd Ste 220, Goodyear, AZ 85395.