"Are you taking new clients?"
Answers from your availability notes, asks the screening questions you specify, and books the free consult onto a real slot.
How the receptionist worksThe week
The calls that go unanswered today
Each one is a client, a claim or a job that went to whoever picked up.
- TUE 14:50Someone finally making the call to find a therapist
Voicemail, and the courage to leave a message runs out.
- MON 09:30A client rescheduling this week's session
Read three hours later, after the slot went unfilled.
- THU 19:15A client in distress after hours
Needs the crisis line and your after-hours policy, not silence.
- FRI 12:05An insurance verification callback
Missed between sessions. Another week of delay.
Setups by size
How therapy practices run Ody, at every size
Pick the shape of your business. Every feature below links to its own page; every setup is one you can build in an afternoon.
A practice number that isn't your cell
Clients reach your practice, not your personal phone.
One practice number rings the app on your phone between sessions and goes to the receptionist while you're in one. Clients text the practice number, not your cell. Your outbound calls show the practice name, so callbacks get answered.
- Phone numbersA second number for the practice
One local number is included with your seat. Give it to clients, directories and insurers; your personal number stays personal.
- Business voicemailVoicemail transcripts between sessions
Every number gets voicemail with a custom greeting and a transcript in the inbox on every plan. Read a reschedule in ten seconds instead of listening back. Or route to the receptionist and skip voicemail.
- Caller IDYour practice name on callbacks
Register the practice name as outbound caller ID on your US local number so a new client sees "Riverbend Counseling" and picks up. 15 characters; propagates over a few days.
- AI receptionistThe receptionist during sessions and after hours
Inside your hours the receptionist picks up when you don't; outside them it answers first ring, gives your crisis-line instructions and offers consult slots.
AI receptionist
The calls a therapy practice gets, handled with care.
You describe clinicians, specialties, insurance, consult policy and your crisis instructions. The receptionist collects the minimum you specify, books consults and never offers clinical advice.
"Do you take my plan?"
Answers from your in-network list, explains your self-pay policy if you've written one, and takes a message for verification.
How the receptionist worksReschedules and cancellations
Moves the session within your policy, applies your late-cancel rule, and posts the change to the client's thread.
Shared inboxCallers in distress after hours
Follows your crisis script exactly: 988 and 911 guidance, your after-hours policy, and an immediate note to the clinician.
How the receptionist worksForms, superbills, directions
Texts the intake-form or portal link you provide and takes a message for anything else.
Business textingEvenings and weekends
Answers first ring, gives the crisis instructions when needed, books consults for the week, texts back anyone who hung up.
How the receptionist worksThe record
Intake notes written down, not remembered between sessions.
On Growth and above, recorded calls on lines you choose are transcribed and summarized into the presenting concern, insurance and the next step. Many practices record only the intake line. Voicemail transcripts are on every plan.
- Recording, transcript and AI summary on the lines you enable
- Search by caller or phrase
- Summaries kept in the inbox, or pushed to your EHR workflow through Make
- Voicemail transcripts on every plan
Call summaryGenerated by Ody
- Caller
- New client inquiry · +1 (512) 555-0271
- Reason
- Seeking a therapist for anxiety; asked about Dr. Amari and Aetna coverage.
- Told
- Dr. Amari accepting new clients; in network with Aetna; free 15-minute consult offered.
- Next action
- Consult booked Thu 1:15 PM. Dr. Amari to call from the practice number.
Your stack
Works alongside your practice software
Native integrations are listed as such. Therapy EHRs have no native connection yet, so Ody reaches them through Make, webhooks or the REST API.
- SimplePractice, TherapyNotes, Sessions HealthMake, webhooks or APIAPI docs
Push intake summaries and consult bookings into your workflow via Make or the REST API webhooks
- CSV importNativeIntegration
import your client contact list so callers show up by name
- Notion, TrelloNativeIntegration
intake follow-ups as tasks
- StripeNativeIntegration
payment status on the client thread
- MakeNativeIntegration
connect the rest of your stack
Browse all 43 integrations, or connect anything else through Make and the REST API.
Trust
Client conversations, handled with care
Calls, transcripts and messages are encrypted in transit and at rest and never used to train third-party models. A Business Associate Agreement is available on request. You decide how much the receptionist collects: name, callback number and reason for the call is the default.
- SOC 2 Type II
- Encryption in transit and at rest
- BAA available on request
- Minimum-necessary intake by default
Rollout
Live in an afternoon, not a quarter
No hardware, no consultant, no call-flow diagram. Four steps and the line is answered.
- 01
Port or add numbers
Bring the practice number over, or start with a new local number. Porting is free and the old line keeps working until cutover.
- 02
Describe the practice
Providers, services, hours, insurance you accept, new-patient rules, what counts as urgent. Plain sentences, not call flows.
- 03
Set the routing
Ring the front desk, a phone menu, a ring order for on-call, or one number per location, plus what the receptionist does after hours.
- 04
Listen for a week
Review transcripts and summaries, tighten the instructions, then let the receptionist book more of the schedule.
Resources
Guides for therapy practices
The concepts behind this setup, explained without the jargon.
What businesses need to know about second phone numbersHow a business number rings an app instead of a SIM, what stays separate from the personal line, and how the alternatives compare.Read guide What businesses need to know about voicemailLearn how greetings, no-answer timers, transcription, and shared boxes work, and why ringless voicemail is regulated as a call.Read guide What businesses need to know about CNAMWhy CNAM is a 15-character North American database lookup, why dips are optional, and why a phone’s address book still wins.Read guide
FAQ
Therapy & counseling: common questions
More industries
Also in health & wellness, and nearby
Practices where the front desk is the phone.
Health & wellnessMedical practicesAppointments booked, refills routed, on-call reached, at 7am and 7pm.Health & wellnessDental practicesNew-patient calls booked, hygiene recalls confirmed, emergencies reached on call.Health & wellnessVeterinary clinicsSick-pet calls triaged and booked, refills routed, ER referrals given at 11pm.Health & wellnessPhysical therapy & chiropracticPlan-of-care visits booked and confirmed, walk-in questions answered mid-adjustment.Health & wellnessHome care agenciesCaregiver call-outs, family calls and on-call coordinators reached around the clock.
Comparing options? Ody vs Google Voice · Ody vs OpenPhone · Ody vs Grasshopper
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