You're in session, and a new client is calling
Someone ready to start couples counseling calls at 2:10pm, ten minutes into your hour. GreetKeeper answers, books a free consultation, and you read the summary between sessions.
Caller
“Hi, my partner and I have been talking about couples counseling for a while. Do you take new clients, and do you see people in the evening?”
What happened next
- Booked Thursday 5:45pm, 15-minute phone consultation with Dr Alvarez
- Noted: couples, evening sessions preferred, asked about out-of-network billing
- Caller texted the consultation time and your intake form link
Therapy runs on the hour, and the phone doesn't
You spend fifty minutes of every hour with a client and the other ten on notes. Your phone rings during both. Most private practices have nobody at a desk.
A first call to a therapist takes courage. People often put it off for months, then ring several practices on the same afternoon. When they reach voicemail, a lot of them don't leave a message, and some won't try again for weeks.
Your existing clients call too. They move a session, ask about a superbill or cancel inside your late-cancellation window. Every one of those used to mean a voicemail you returned at 8pm.
GreetKeeper answers in your practice's name while you're in session. It books consultations into your calendar, takes reschedule requests from current clients, and follows your crisis instruction word for word when a caller needs it.
How it handles a first call to your practice
You write every word of the script, including the crisis instruction. Most therapists set it up in these steps.
What brings them in
It asks in plain, gentle wording what kind of support the caller wants, like anxiety, grief, couples or a teen. You set which specialties you take and which referral you give for the rest.
Insurance or private pay
It records the plan name the caller gives and answers your fee and superbill questions from the policy you wrote. Coverage checks stay with your billing process.
Read your crisis instruction
If a caller says they may harm themselves, it reads the instruction you wrote, which most practices set to calling or texting 988 or dialing 911. Then it texts you straight away.
Book a consultation
It offers your real consultation slots, reads the name, number and time back, and books into Google Calendar or Outlook. After the call the caller gets one text with the confirmation.
Where a new client inquiry lands
Consultations write straight into your calendar. Your practice software gets the inquiry through the call summary.
| Tool | How it connects | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Google Calendar | Writes directly | Direct write for consultation calls, with the caller's first name and the reason in the event. |
| Outlook Calendar | Writes directly | Direct write, the same as Google. |
| Calendly | Through Zapier | Our webhook, caught on a paid Zapier plan. Calendly's Zapier app books the invitee onto your consultation event type. |
| SimplePractice | Email or webhook | The inquiry reaches you as a transcript and summary email, ready to open a client record in your own system. |
| TherapyNotes | Email or webhook | Same route as SimplePractice. You add the client from the summary. |
| Jane App | Email or webhook | The summary email carries the name, number and consultation time, ready to book in Jane. |
What a solo practice pays for its phone
You pay per answered call. A private practice's call volume usually sits comfortably inside the entry plan.
| Plan | Monthly | Calls included | After that |
|---|---|---|---|
| StarterFor a single location taking calls one line at a time. | $49 | 200 | $0.45 per call |
| ProfessionalBooking, routing and transfers included, not an add-on. | $149 | 750 | $0.35 per call |
| ScaleFor busy phones and longer opening hours. | $349 | 2,000 | $0.25 per call |
Starter is $49 a month for 200 answered calls, then 45 cents a call. A solo therapist or a two-clinician practice almost always fits there, with booking included. A group practice with several clinicians and a shared line usually moves to Professional at $149 for 750.
Abby Connect's Starter is $165 a month for 50 Abby Minutes as of September 2026. On GreetKeeper your $49 covers 200 answered calls, and spam calls are screened out before the greeting without counting toward your plan.
Set it up the way a therapy practice works
GreetKeeper does not make a HIPAA claim.
Keep calls to inquiry and scheduling: who is calling, the kind of support they want and when they can talk. Symptoms, history and session content belong in your practice system, so write the script to leave them out.
Utah requires a spoken AI disclosure at the start of the call for regulated occupations, and psychology is one. Switch the announcement on if you practice there. Maine requires clear notice in trade generally, and a calm, plain disclosure puts a nervous first caller at ease.
Give a group practice one number per clinician if you like. Each number can have its own hours, greeting and calendar.
What therapists ask before they trust it with their line
What happens if someone calls in crisis?
It reads the crisis instruction you wrote, word for word, which most practices set to calling or texting 988 or dialing 911. It then texts you right away, and if you want a live transfer, it tries you and a second number.
Will it give therapy advice?
Therapy stays with you. It answers practical questions about your fees, hours, location and specialties, and books consultations. Anything clinical becomes a message for you, marked in the transcript where the caller asked.
Can current clients reschedule through it?
Yes. It takes the request, reads your late-cancellation policy if you want it to, and offers your open times or passes the change to you by text.
How do I keep my existing practice number?
You forward it to the dedicated local number included on your plan. The ring count is set where the forwarding is set, and GreetKeeper answers the moment the call arrives.
Other practices where the clinician is the front desk
Hear it book a first consultation
Write your own greeting and try every feature free for 14 days, no card.