Keep the Same Therapist When Your Student Moves States
Your student doesn't have to start over.
They found someone they trust. Then they left for school four states away, and the first thing anyone told you was that therapy doesn't travel. For a long time that was true.
It isn't anymore.
The thing most parents don't find out until they need it
Psychologists are licensed state by state. Historically that meant a psychologist in one state couldn't keep working with a student who moved to another, even over video, even mid-treatment, even when it was going well.
PSYPACT changed that. It's an agreement between participating states that lets a psychologist with the right authorization work with clients in any of them. Same psychologist, same weekly session, from a dorm room instead of an office.
For a student who has just been dropped into a new city with no friends and a roommate they met four days ago, keeping one steady relationship isn't a convenience. It's often the thing that holds the semester together.
One steady thing, wherever they end up.
- Your student keeps the therapist they already trust when they leave for school
- They keep them over winter break, over the summer, and when they come home
- They keep them if they transfer, or move for a job after graduation
- You're not re-explaining your family's history to a new intake coordinator every August
You can be proud of them for going and worried about them going. Most of the parents I speak with are both.
States where I can see clients
I'm licensed in New Jersey and authorized through PSYPACT to provide telehealth in 42 participating states and the District of Columbia:
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
Iowa joins on 1 July 2027 and Louisiana on 1 January 2028.
New York, California and Massachusetts are not PSYPACT states. If your student is at school in one of those three, I'm not able to work with them while they're there, and I'd rather tell you now than after you've planned around it.
Not sure whether your student's school is in a participating state? Send me the state and I'll tell you straight away.
What actually has to be true
The rule that matters is where your student is physically sitting during the session, not where they're enrolled and not where your family lives. A student at school in Pennsylvania is seen under Pennsylvania's participation. The same student home in New Jersey for Thanksgiving is seen under New Jersey's.
Both are participating, so nothing changes either way. We confirm eligibility before we begin, and again if anything about their situation changes.
Individual sessions are 45 minutes, held by video.
Your student doesn't have to be ready for you to start
A lot of this work begins with a parent reaching out on their own. If your young adult has said no to therapy, or won't talk about it at all, you can still get help deciding what to do next.
Parent Guidance is a consultation where the parent is the client. It doesn't require your student to agree to anything, or even to know about it.
What parents ask about therapy across state lines
Can my college student keep their therapist out of state?
If both you and the psychologist are in PSYPACT participating states, yes. Your student stays with the same psychologist and sessions continue by video. What matters is where your student is physically located during the session, not where they're enrolled or where your family lives.
My teenager sees a therapist at home. What happens when they leave for college?
If their current therapist isn't able to practise in the state they're moving to, that relationship usually ends at exactly the moment it's most useful. Starting with someone who can follow them across state lines means the work continues through the move instead of stopping at it. If you're planning ahead, teen therapy and the transition to college is the place to start.
What if my student's school is in a state that isn't participating?
Then I can't work with them while they're there, and I'll tell you that in the first email rather than after you've booked. New York, California and Massachusetts are not PSYPACT states, so a student in New York City, anywhere in California, or at school in the Boston area is outside what I can offer.
Does my student have to be in the state where they go to school?
They have to be physically located in a participating state at the time of the session. For most families that's campus during term and home over break, and if both are participating states, nothing changes either way.
My student doesn't want therapy. Can I talk to you instead?
Yes. I work with parents directly on how to handle a young adult who is struggling and resisting help. That's its own piece of work and it doesn't require your student to agree to anything. See Parent Guidance.
How old are the students you work with?
Late teens through the mid-twenties, roughly — the stretch from the last year of high school through the first few years of adult life. More on therapy for college students and therapy for young adults.
One steady thing, wherever they end up.
If your student is heading out of state, or already there and struggling, let's talk about whether I can help.