Gitnux/Report 2026

Counseling Industry Statistics

With 34% of U.S. adults reporting depression or anxiety symptoms using a digital tool in the past year and 10.3% using telehealth for behavioral health in 2023, the page turns “technology adoption” into something measurable, alongside the cost pressure behind $239.2 billion in projected U.S. mental health spending by 2023. It also connects workforce shortages and treatment access, from 7,002 Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas in 2024 to evidence that collaborative care and CBT can cut costs and symptoms, so you understand not just what is changing, but what it is likely changing into.
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November 11, 2026Updated
Counseling Industry Statistics
Marie LarsenWritten by Marie Larsen·Fact-checked by Rajesh Patel
Published ·Updated
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

Before any source is gathered, an editor locks the question, what qualifies, and how the piece will be judged.

02Source Research

Search agents collect the source set and pull each data point out with its provenance attached.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 31 days

01 Industry overview

The counseling industry at a glance

The U.S. counseling workforce held about 533,400 jobs in 2025 and is projected to grow 18% by 2035, reflecting rising demand for mental-health and addiction services.

533,400[50]
Counselor jobs, 2025
18%[50]
Projected growth, 2025–35
$59,350[50]
Median annual wage, 2025
14.0%[17]
Adults receiving counseling, 2024
Forecast & CAGR
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors to increase from 533,400 in 2025 to 631,400 in 2035, a 18% increase. BLS does not report this occupational forecast as a compound annual growth rate.[50]
Market share & regions
The available national data show uneven access rather than a single regional market-share measure: in 2024, adults living in nonmetropolitan areas were the least likely to have received counseling or therapy. HRSA reported 154,019 mental health counselors in 2023, alongside 108,587 substance-abuse and behavioral-disorder counselors and 30,566 marriage and family therapists.[17][15]
Segmentation
Counseling activity spans mental-health counseling, substance-abuse and behavioral-disorder counseling, and marriage and family therapy. In the broader counselor occupation tracked by BLS, the largest employment settings in 2025 were offices of other health practitioners at 20%, outpatient mental-health and substance-abuse centers at 16%, and individual and family services at 15%.[15][50]
Key players & concentration
The market is fragmented across private practices, nonprofit providers, public agencies, schools, hospitals, and outpatient centers. BLS data show no dominant employer category: the largest category, offices of other health practitioners, accounted for 20% of counselor employment in 2025, followed by outpatient centers at 16%.[50]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Demand is being supported by increased treatment-seeking, substance-use needs, and the continuing opioid-use disorder burden. BLS projects about 50,500 counselor openings per year from 2025 through 2035, while HRSA identifies behavioral-health workforce shortages as an ongoing issue.[50][15]
Consumer behavior & competition
In 2024, 14.0% of U.S. adults received counseling or therapy from a mental-health professional in the previous 12 months. SAMHSA reported that 22.9% of adults received some form of mental-health treatment, including 12.8% who received treatment via telehealth, increasing competition between in-person providers and digital channels.[17][49]
Regulation
Counseling and behavioral-health practice is primarily governed by state licensure, including for telehealth; providers generally must satisfy requirements in the state where they practice and comply with rules in the state where the patient is located. Federal Medicare telehealth rules also establish specific requirements for mental-health services, including in-person-visit provisions that took effect January 1, 2025.[51][52]
Latest news
The latest major federal data release identified here is SAMHSA's 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, released July 28, 2025. It reported that 60.1 million U.S. adults, or 22.9%, received mental-health treatment in 2024, including treatment delivered through telehealth.[49]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Counseling Industry

The leading companies in the counseling industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 11, 2026 · Next review December 11, 2026

Verdict

M.A. Silva leads Gitnux's 2026 counseling ranking with an Overall score of 9.5, with operations on four continents. Lafitte Group is the runner-up at 8.9, backed by producing 350 million cork stoppers and 1.8 billion capsules annually.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in cork closures

    M.A. Silva

    PT

    Ranked #1 · 9.5 · Cork closures

    Why we picked it: Vertically integrated cork-stopper production with global exporter footprint across four continents.

    See in ranking ↓Visit masilva.pt ↗

  2. #2 overall

    Lafitte Group

    FR

    Ranked #2 · 8.9 · Cork closures

    Why we picked it: Cork stoppers and capsules at large annual volumes for packaging-linked supply chains.

    See in ranking ↓Visit lafittegroup.com ↗

  3. #3 overall

    JC Ribeiro

    PT

    Ranked #3 · 8.7 · Cork closures

    Why we picked it: Premium cork closures for spirits; microgranulated formats support spirit-brand packaging.

    See in ranking ↓Visit jcribeiro.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. No other segment places in the top 5, so picks 2 and 3 follow rank.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the counseling industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

M.A. Silva

Cork closures · PT

9.5
2

Lafitte Group

Cork closures · FR

8.9
3

JC Ribeiro

Cork closures · PT

8.7
4

JPS Cork Group

Cork closures · PT

8.6
5

Corticeira Amorim

Cork closures · PT

8.5
6

Corkart Group

Cork flooring and interior coverings, global · PT

8.5
7

Granorte

Cork flooring and coverings, global · PT

8.3
8

UNICOR

Cork stoppers and industrial cork products, global · PT

8.1
9

Jelinek Cork Group

Cork products and closures, global · CA

8.1
10

Oeneo

Technical cork closures and wine packaging, global · FR

8.0

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 11, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Marie Larsen. (2026, February 13). Top 10 companies in the counseling industry. In Counseling Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/counseling-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Projection

Employment in U.S. residential mental health and substance abuse facilities

Employment in U.S. residential mental health and substance abuse facilities grew from 234K in 2018 to 238K in 2022.

233.8K count
Start
+0.42%
CAGR · 4y
237.8K count
Projected
20182022
source-verifiedbls.gov2032

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI adoption is reported by mental-health clinicians at 79.3% in 2026, while AI risk concerns appear in 67% of psychologists citing data breaches. Hospitals also enabled patient messaging (92%) and FHIR-based apps (70%) in 2024.

AI in the counseling industry

  • 67% of U.S. psychologists cited potential data breaches as a concern about AI use in 2025.[1]
  • 38% of U.S. psychologists worried AI could eventually make some or all of their job duties obsolete in 2025.[1]
  • 79.3% of surveyed mental-health clinicians reported currently using AI in practice in 2026.[2]
  • 29% of U.S. psychologists used AI at least monthly in practice in 2025.[1]
  • 8% of U.S. psychologists reported using AI daily in practice in 2025.[1]
  • 56% of U.S. psychologists had used AI to assist with work at least once in 2025.[1]

Digital Transformation in the healthcare services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among healthcare respondents to KPMG’s global technology survey, 49% were adopting DevSecOps approaches to adapt digital-transformation strategies.[3]
  • About 70% of surveyed healthcare executives said investing in technology platforms for digital tools and services would be important or very important in 2025.[4]
  • About 90% of surveyed global healthcare C-suite executives expected digital technology use to accelerate in 2025, including 50% anticipating a significant impact.[4]
  • Across U.S. non-federal acute care hospitals, 71% used predictive AI integrated into electronic health records in 2024.[5]
  • Across surveyed healthcare practitioners, 60% believed their organizations’ digital experiences met or exceeded customer needs in 2025.[6]

Technology Adoption in the healthcare services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. non-federal acute care hospitals, 92% enabled patients to securely message providers in 2024.[5]
  • Across U.S. non-federal acute care hospitals, 70% enabled patient access through applications using HL7 FHIR specifications in 2024.[5]
  • Across U.S. non-federal acute care hospitals, 99% enabled patients to view health information electronically in 2024.[5]
  • Across U.S. non-federal acute care hospitals, 84% enabled patients to transmit health information to a third party electronically in 2024.[5]
  • Across U.S. non-federal acute care hospitals, 81% enabled patient access through applications using application-programming-interface specifications in 2024.[5]
  • Across U.S. non-federal acute care hospitals, 96% enabled patients to download health information electronically in 2024.[5]

Cloud Computing in the healthcare services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across surveyed healthcare organizations globally, 31% had a formal cloud strategy and governance framework that was not yet integrated into IT strategy at the end of 2025.[7]
  • Across surveyed healthcare organizations globally, 8% reported minimal cloud adoption without formal strategy or governance at the end of 2025.[7]
  • Across surveyed healthcare organizations globally, 18% had started adopting cloud services but lacked a comprehensive cloud strategy at the end of 2025.[7]
  • Across surveyed healthcare organizations globally, 15% reported that cloud adoption was fully integrated into business strategy at the end of 2025.[7]
  • Across surveyed healthcare organizations globally, 27% reported that cloud operations were well managed and integrated into overall IT strategy at the end of 2025.[7]

Big Data in the healthcare services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across Brazilian healthcare facilities conducting Big Data analytics, 77% used in-house staff rather than external providers in 2024.[8]
  • Across Brazilian healthcare facilities conducting Big Data analytics, 72% used data from smart devices or sensors in 2024.[8]
  • Across Brazilian healthcare facilities conducting Big Data analytics, 48% used social-media data in 2024.[8]
  • Across Brazilian healthcare facilities conducting Big Data analytics, 65% used patient demographics, forms, or medical-record data in 2024.[8]
  • Across Brazilian healthcare facilities conducting Big Data analytics, 38% used geolocation data from mobile phones, wireless connections, or GPS in 2024.[8]

IoT in the healthcare services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among Brazilian inpatient healthcare facilities with more than 50 beds and internet access, 19% used IoT in 2024.[9]
  • Among Brazilian private healthcare facilities with internet access, 6% used IoT in 2024.[9]
  • Among Brazilian inpatient healthcare facilities with up to 50 beds and internet access, 5% used IoT in 2024.[9]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Telehealth delivery is measurable in claims data: 15,903,345 telehealth visits were identified in 2022 MarketScan behavioral-health data. Utah providers reported 31.5% of direct patient-care hours delivered through telehealth in 2024.

Data analytics in the counseling industry

  • 5,811,798 visits in the 2022 MarketScan commercial-insurance dataset had a primary diagnosis of depression or anxiety and involved 236,395 unique patients.[10]
  • 70% of Utah behavioral-health workforce survey respondents reported using telehealth in 2024.[11]
  • Utah behavioral-health providers reported delivering an average of 31.5% of direct patient-care hours through telehealth in 2024.[11]
  • 15,903,345 telehealth visits were identified in 2022 MarketScan commercial-insurance data used to analyze U.S. behavioral-health care.[10]
  • Clinical mental-health counselors in Utah reported telehealth use at a rate of 84% in the 2024 behavioral-health workforce survey.[11]

Data Quality in the healthcare services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 50% of U.S. healthcare clinical data abstractors reported that data inaccuracies hamper clinical registry efforts in 2024.[12]
  • 75% of U.S. healthcare organizations represented in the survey predominantly used clinical registry data for quality and process improvement in 2024.[12]
  • 8% of U.S. healthcare organizations rated their provider data as excellent in 2022.[13]
  • 40% of U.S. healthcare clinical data abstractors reported that incomplete data hampers clinical registry efforts in 2024.[12]
  • 40% of U.S. healthcare clinical data abstractors reported that manual data entry hampers clinical registry efforts in 2024.[12]

Data Governance in the healthcare services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 10% of healthcare organizations managed data governance exclusively within IT in 2025.[13]
  • 72% of healthcare organizations operated governance using approved policy and standards frameworks in 2025.[13]
  • 66% of healthcare organizations reported multidisciplinary representation in governance, including patient or consumer representatives, in 2025.[13]
  • 38% of healthcare organizations had formal data and information quality-management statements in 2025.[13]
  • 39% of healthcare organizations reported having a formally chartered data-governance function in 2025.[13]
  • 77% of healthcare organizations reported that their governance functions met at least quarterly in 2025.[13]

KPIs in the counseling industry

  • 64.6% of U.S. behavioral-health telehealth visits in 2025 occurred with patients located less than 30 miles from the provider’s primary practice location.[14]
  • 11.7% of U.S. behavioral-health providers delivered at least 95% of their visits through telehealth in 2025.[14]
  • 13.2% of U.S. behavioral-health providers delivered no telehealth visits in 2025.[14]
  • 86.8% of U.S. behavioral-health providers delivered at least one telehealth visit in 2025.[14]
  • 5.6% of U.S. behavioral-health providers operated exclusively through telehealth in 2025.[14]
  • 30.9% was the median share of visits delivered by telehealth among U.S. behavioral-health providers in 2025.[14]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Treatment use increased in federal behavioral-health models: 13.37% of U.S. adults used mental-health counseling in 2023. Telehealth treatment also appears in depression care: 45.0% received mental-health treatment via telehealth in 2023.

Growth in the counseling industry

  • 13.37% of U.S. adults used mental-health counseling in 2023, up from 7.75% in 2010.[15]
  • 15.7 million patient encounters were recorded by Cleveland Clinic in 2024, 33% more than five years earlier.[16]
  • 3.6 million unique patients were served worldwide by Cleveland Clinic in 2025.[16]
  • 83,000 caregivers worked for Cleveland Clinic worldwide at the end of 2025.[16]
  • 280 outpatient locations and 23 hospitals supported Cleveland Clinic’s global operations in 2024.[16]

Differentiation in the counseling industry

  • 14.0% of U.S. adults received counseling or therapy in 2024, while 19.3% took mental-health medication.[17]
  • 82,996 clinical, counseling and school psychologists were active in the United States in 2024.[18]
  • 19.3% of U.S. adults took medication for their mental health in 2024, compared with 14.0% receiving counseling or therapy.[17]
  • 52,592 psychiatrists were active in the United States in 2024.[18]

Mergers and acquisitions in the counseling industry

  • 108 mental-health transactions occurred in the behavioral-health sector in 2024.[14]
  • 111 mental-health transactions occurred in the behavioral-health sector in 2025.[14]
  • 25 mental-health-provider deals were completed in the fourth quarter of 2024.[19]
  • 134 mental-health transactions occurred in the behavioral-health sector in 2022.[14]
  • 116 mental-health transactions occurred in the behavioral-health sector in 2023.[14]
  • 68 mental-health transactions occurred in the behavioral-health sector in 2021.[14]

Strategic partnerships in the counseling industry

  • More than 100 colleges were served by Christie Campus Health before its 2024 acquisition by Uwill.[19]
  • 2,725 health-and-safety projects were launched through Kaiser Permanente’s employee champion initiative in 2024.[20]
  • 1,489 of Kaiser Permanente’s 2024 employee-champion projects focused on supporting a healthy workforce.[20]
  • 1,236 of Kaiser Permanente’s 2024 employee-champion projects focused on workplace safety.[20]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce supply constraints show in recruitment and turnover. 34.8% of U.S. university counseling centers reported difficulty recruiting staff in 2024–25, and 6.9% of staff left the counseling field in 2024–25.

Hiring in the counseling industry

  • 34.8% of U.S. university counseling centers reported difficulty recruiting staff in 2024–25.[21]
  • 50.0% of counseling centers serving 7,501–10,000 students reported recruitment difficulty in 2023–24.[21]
  • 72.0% of counseling centers serving 15,001–20,000 students reported recruitment difficulty in 2023–24.[21]
  • 51.6% of counseling centers serving 10,001–15,000 students reported recruitment difficulty in 2023–24.[21]
  • 33.3% of counseling centers serving fewer than 1,501 students reported recruitment difficulty in 2023–24.[21]

Employee retention in the counseling industry

  • 36% of U.S. university counseling centers identified work conditions among their reasons for staff turnover in 2024–25.[21]
  • 6.9% of staff leaving U.S. university counseling centers left the counseling field in 2024–25.[21]
  • 12.0% of staff leaving U.S. university counseling centers retired in 2024–25.[21]
  • 39.8% of staff leaving U.S. university counseling centers moved into private practice in 2024–25.[21]
  • 20% of U.S. university counseling centers identified promotion among their reasons for staff turnover in 2024–25.[21]

Remote Work in the healthcare services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. medical groups, 52% reported that 1%–25% of their workforce worked remotely at least 50% of the time.[22]
  • Across U.S. medical groups, 18% of leaders expected their organization’s share of remote or hybrid jobs to decrease during 2024.[22]
  • Across U.S. medical groups, 22% of leaders expected their organization’s share of remote or hybrid jobs to increase during 2024.[22]
  • Across U.S. health care and social assistance, 18% of full-time employees worked fully from home during December 2024–March 2025.[23]

Hybrid Work in the healthcare services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. healthcare support roles, 14% had part-time remote availability, equivalent to hybrid availability, in the 2022 McKinsey American Opportunity Survey.[22]
  • Across U.S. health care and social assistance, 24% of full-time employees were in hybrid arrangements during December 2024–March 2025.[23]
  • About 12% of nonclinical healthcare administrative and customer-support jobs were hybrid in a 2024 Robert Half survey cited by the Medical Group Management Association.[22]
  • About 6% of U.S. healthcare jobs were hybrid in a 2024 Robert Half survey cited by the Medical Group Management Association.[22]
  • Across U.S. healthcare practitioners and technical roles, 16% had part-time remote availability, equivalent to hybrid availability, in the 2022 McKinsey American Opportunity Survey.[22]

Employee Engagement in the healthcare services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. healthcare workers, 78% believed their organization cared about their safety in 2024.[24]
  • Across U.S. healthcare organizations, employee turnover fell from 20% to 18% in 2024.[24]
  • Across 2.3 million U.S. healthcare workers, employee engagement declined by 0.02 points in 2024.[24]
  • Across NHS staff, the national staff-engagement theme score was 6.64 in the second quarter of 2024/25.[25]
  • U.S. registered nurses with low teamwork scores were 1.53 times more likely to leave their healthcare organization in 2024.[24]

DEI in the counseling industry

  • 14% of the U.S. population was Black compared with 15% of the mental-health counselor workforce in the ACA comparison.[26]
  • 15% of the U.S. mental-health counselor workforce was Black according to the ACA 2024 workforce survey.[26]
  • 60% of the U.S. population was White compared with 82% of the mental-health counselor workforce in the ACA comparison.[26]
  • 6% of the U.S. population was Asian compared with 1% of the mental-health counselor workforce in the ACA comparison.[26]
  • 11% of the U.S. mental-health counselor workforce was Hispanic according to the ACA 2024 workforce survey.[26]

Change Management in the healthcare services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among United Kingdom healthcare transformation studies, 67% reported successful transformation.[27]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Practice performance depends on retention signals: 68% of therapy practices lacked a reliable way to learn why clients stop treatment before completion in 2026. Caseload capacity also varies, with 19% reporting full caseloads with no availability in 2026.

Customer experience in the counseling industry

  • 34% of U.S. therapy practices feel sure about how clients experience the practice outside the therapy session in 2026.[28]
  • 68% of U.S. therapy practices have no reliable way to learn why clients stop treatment before completion in 2026.[28]
  • 39% of therapists typically work with clients for more than 12 months in the United States in 2025.[29]
  • 61% of therapists typically work with a client for 12 months or less, according to a 2025 U.S. private-practice survey.[29]
  • 21% of therapists typically work with clients for six to nine months in the United States in 2025.[29]

Customer retention in the counseling industry

  • 9% of surveyed mental-health providers were strongly considering leaving private practice because of financial challenges in 2026.[30]
  • 62% of providers whose caseloads were rarely full had considered leaving private practice in 2026.[30]
  • 19% of U.S. mental-health providers reported full caseloads with no availability in 2026.[30]
  • 47% of U.S. mental-health providers reported that their caseload was not full and that they were accepting new clients in 2026.[30]
  • 58% of surveyed mental-health providers identified summer as their lowest-caseload season in 2026.[30]

Customer acquisition in the counseling industry

  • 2% of U.S. therapists identified Google Ads as their most common source of new clients in 2025.[29]
  • 38% of U.S. therapists identified referrals or word of mouth as their most common source of new clients in 2025.[29]
  • 5% of U.S. therapists identified Google search and search-engine optimization as their most common source of new clients in 2025.[29]
  • 16% of U.S. therapists identified other online directories as their most common source of new clients in 2025.[29]
  • 35% of U.S. therapists identified Psychology Today as their most common source of new clients in 2025.[29]

Customer loyalty in the counseling industry

  • 39% of U.S. therapists reported that clients typically remain in treatment for more than 12 months in 2025.[29]
  • 68% of U.S. therapy practices lacked a reliable way to learn why clients discontinued care early in 2026.[28]
  • 55% of thriving U.S. therapy practices reported knowing how clients experience scheduling, billing, and communication in 2026.[28]
  • 21% of U.S. therapists reported that clients typically remain in treatment for six to nine months in 2025.[29]
  • 34% of U.S. therapy practices felt sure about clients’ experiences outside the therapy session in 2026.[28]

Lead generation in the counseling industry

  • 54.8% of UK counselling professionals received zero to three client enquiries or referrals per month in 2026.[31]
  • 36% of U.S. providers naming online directories as their top tactic had full caseloads in 2026.[30]
  • 68% of U.S. providers naming professional networking and referrals as their top tactic had full caseloads in 2026.[30]
  • 10% of U.S. mental-health providers did not use online directories in 2026.[30]
  • 18.4% of UK counselling professionals received client referrals from charities or organisations in 2025.[32]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Provider acquisition channels show concentration: 35% of U.S. therapists named Psychology Today as their most common source of new clients in 2025. Access competition also appears in insurance support, with 45% naming better insurance reimbursement as the top business support in 2026.

Marketing in the counseling industry

  • Therapists using two or fewer marketing channels were flat or down in revenue in 2025, according to Heard’s analysis.[33]
  • About 500 U.S. therapists accounted for roughly $1 million in categorized marketing spend across 2024 and 2025 in Heard’s analysis.[33]
  • 45% of surveyed U.S. mental-health providers identified better insurance reimbursement as their highest-priority business support in 2026.[30]
  • The median U.S. therapist practice generated about $96,000 in revenue in 2025.[33]
  • 34% of surveyed U.S. therapists reported higher profit in 2024 than in 2023.[34]

Digital marketing in the counseling industry

  • 2% of U.S. therapists identified Google Ads as their most common new-client source in 2025.[29]
  • 2% of U.S. therapists identified social media as their most common new-client source in 2025.[29]
  • 5% of U.S. therapists identified Google search and SEO as their most common new-client source in 2025.[29]
  • 1% of U.S. therapists identified Meta advertising as their most common new-client source in 2025.[29]

Branding in the counseling industry

  • 57.0% of UK counselling professionals described their practice as person-centred therapy in 2026.[31]
  • 29.7% of UK counselling professionals described their practice as humanistic in 2026.[31]
  • 16.4% of UK counselling professionals reported using transactional analysis in their practice in 2026.[31]
  • 19.7% of UK counselling professionals reported using solution-focused therapy in their practice in 2026.[31]
  • 21.1% of UK counselling professionals described their practice as pluralistic in 2026.[31]

Social media in the counseling industry

  • Five million followers were reported for U.S. psychologist Nicole LePera’s Instagram account in 2024.[35]
  • 2% of U.S. therapists identified social media as their most common source of new clients in 2025.[29]
  • 59.5% of UK counselling professionals reported client self-diagnosis using online content as a social-media impact in 2026.[31]
  • 93% of participants in the social-media ethics research sample lived in the United States in 2022.[35]
  • 56% of participants in the social-media ethics research sample were psychologists in 2022.[35]

Influencer Marketing in the healthcare services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 50% of U.S. physicians surveyed had changed prescribing choices based on healthcare influencer or KOL content on social media in 2024.[36]
  • 50% of healthcare and pharmaceutical marketers reported dedicated, growing creator/influencer budgets in 2026, compared with 58% globally.[37]
  • 8.57 million influencer posts about the health industry generated a 1.07% average engagement rate globally in 2023.[38]
  • 92% of U.S.-focused health and wellness influencers included product or service promotions at least occasionally in 2026.[39]
  • 38% of posts from U.S.-focused health and wellness influencers promoted a product, service or subscription in 2026.[39]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Operating burdens show up in practice expenses and staffing structure. The average annual software and technology expense for U.S. therapy practices was $3,636 in 2025, while 86.5% of private-practice therapists were sole practitioners.

Operational efficiency in the counseling industry

  • $10,396 was the average annual rent and lease expense for U.S. therapy practices in 2025.[33]
  • 86.5% of U.S. private-practice therapists were sole practitioners in 2025, handling clinical and administrative work without a business partner or office manager.[33]
  • 13.5% of U.S. private-practice therapists were group-practice owners in 2025.[33]
  • $2,165 was the average annual advertising and marketing expense for U.S. therapy practices in 2025.[33]
  • $3,636 was the average annual software and technology expense for U.S. therapy practices in 2025.[33]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the healthcare services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 29% of global healthcare providers used third-party providers for remote patient monitoring in 2024, based on a survey of 28 healthcare-provider executives.[40]
  • 20% of U.S. medical-group leaders planned to outsource or automate some revenue-cycle-management activities in 2024, according to an MGMA poll with 262 responses.[22]
  • 18% of U.S. medical-group leaders planned to outsource or automate patient communications in contact centers in 2024, according to an MGMA poll with 262 responses.[22]
  • 54% of global healthcare providers used third-party providers for supply-chain services in 2024, based on a survey of 28 healthcare-provider executives.[40]
  • 43% of global healthcare providers used third-party providers for payroll services in 2024, based on a survey of 28 healthcare-provider executives.[40]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Session reimbursement figures contextualize pricing: average insurance reimbursement per therapy session was $111 in 2024. Profit and expense pressure are visible in a 68% median profit margin and $18,000 median annual expense in 2025.

Pricing strategy in the counseling industry

  • $111 was the average insurance reimbursement per therapy session in the United States in 2024.[33]
  • $183 was the average fee for couples therapy in the United States in 2024.[29]
  • 62% of U.S. therapists had no plans to adjust their fees in 2026.[33]
  • $82 was the average fee for group therapy in the United States in 2024.[29]
  • $94,792 was the median 2025 revenue reported by U.S. therapists who raised their fees, about $20,000 more than those who held rates.[33]

Cost reduction in the counseling industry

  • 45% was the increase in median expenses for U.S. private-practice therapists from 2024 to 2025.[33]
  • 7% of U.S. therapists reported total business expenses of $50,000–$75,000 in 2024.[29]
  • 2% of U.S. therapists reported total business expenses of $75,000–$100,000 in 2024.[29]
  • 69% of U.S. therapists reported total business expenses below $25,000 in 2024.[29]
  • $18,000 was the median annual expense for U.S. private-practice therapists in 2025.[33]

Profitability in the counseling industry

  • 68% was the median profit margin for U.S. private-practice therapists in 2025.[33]
  • $55,000 was the median profit of U.S. private-practice therapists in 2025.[33]
  • $52,663 was the median profit of U.S. sole-practitioner therapists in 2025.[33]
  • $80,000 was the median profit of U.S. group-practice owners in 2025.[33]
  • $86,961 was the average net income of U.S. private-practice therapists in 2025.[33]

Financial planning in the counseling industry

  • 53.6% of U.S. therapists named taxes their number-one business headache in 2025.[33]
  • $95,455 was the median 2025 revenue of U.S. therapists who paid all four quarterly estimated-tax installments.[33]
  • 22% of U.S. therapists reported student-loan debt exceeding $100,000 in 2024.[33]
  • 65% of U.S. therapists made estimated tax payments in 2025.[33]
  • 86% of U.S. private-practice therapists surveyed in 2025 operated solo practices, implying that most financial planning was handled without dedicated finance staff.[33]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Telehealth service bundling is common in behavioral-health facilities offering telehealth. In 2022–2023, 97% offered telehealth counseling services, alongside telehealth medication-management services at 77%.

Product development in the counseling industry

  • 77% of U.S. behavioral-health treatment facilities offering telehealth in 2022–2023 offered telehealth medication-management services alongside counseling.[41]
  • 69% of U.S. behavioral-health treatment facilities offering telehealth in 2022–2023 offered telehealth diagnostic services.[41]
  • 97% of U.S. behavioral-health treatment facilities offering telehealth in 2022–2023 offered telehealth counseling services, indicating widespread development of virtual counseling products.[41]

Product lifecycle in the counseling industry

  • Anxiety disorders increased from 37.3% of U.S. behavioral-health telehealth visits in 2018 to 58.3% in 2024.[14]
  • Behavioral-health telehealth accounted for 18.4% of U.S. telehealth visits in 2018 and 65.6% in 2024, showing expansion of a counseling-service delivery channel.[14]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Ethics exposure concentrates in relationship practice. In 2024 claims data, 52.3% of closed counselor professional-liability claims involved the counseling relationship.

Ethics in the counseling industry

  • 18.0% of closed counselor professional-liability claims in the 2024 dataset involved supervision, training, and teaching.[42]
  • 52.3% of closed counselor professional-liability claims in the 2024 dataset involved the counseling relationship, the largest ACA ethics category.[42]
  • 7.8% of closed counselor professional-liability claims in the 2024 dataset involved confidentiality and practice.[42]
  • 10.2% of closed counselor professional-liability claims in the 2024 dataset involved professional responsibility.[42]
  • 6.3% of closed counselor professional-liability claims in the 2024 dataset involved nonprofessional interactions or relationships.[42]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Mental-wellness market sizing supports international expansion contexts, including $12.97 billion for Canada’s 2024 market size and $6.71 billion for India’s 2024 market size. In the U.S., telehealth use in depression treatment reached 9.8 million adults via telehealth in 2023.

Globalization in the counseling industry

  • $3.30 billion was Australia’s 2024 mental-wellness market size, up 28.8% from 2023.[48]
  • $6.71 billion was India’s 2024 mental-wellness market size, ranking eighth globally.[48]
  • $15.84 billion was China’s 2024 mental-wellness market size, ranking second globally.[48]
  • $12.97 billion was Canada’s 2024 mental-wellness market size, ranking third globally.[48]
  • $4.89 billion was Mexico’s 2024 mental-wellness market size, ranking eleventh globally.[48]

Stakeholder management in the counseling industry

  • 3,300 Kaiser Permanente employees served as health-and-safety champions in 2024.[20]
  • 2,725 workplace safety and workforce-support projects were launched by Kaiser Permanente health-and-safety champions in 2024.[20]
  • 12.4 million members were served by Kaiser Permanente in 2024, alongside 25,270 physicians and 241,462 employees.[20]
  • $4.6 billion was Kaiser Permanente’s total community-health investment in 2024.[20]

Distribution channels in the counseling industry

  • 45.0% of U.S. adults with a past-year major depressive episode received mental-health treatment via telehealth in 2023.[49]
  • 66.7% of U.S. adults with a past-year major depressive episode received some form of mental-health treatment in 2023.[49]
  • 1.2 million virtual visits were delivered by Cleveland Clinic in 2025 across its global care network.[16]
  • 9.8 million U.S. adults with a past-year major depressive episode received mental-health treatment via telehealth in 2023.[49]
  • 13.37% of U.S. adults used mental-health counseling in 2023, according to the federal behavioral-health workforce model.[15]

Key questions about the Counseling Industry

How large is U.S. employment for counseling-related roles?
Counselor jobs totaled about 533,400 in 2025. BLS projects an increase to 631,400 by 2035, an 18% rise.
What growth rate does BLS project for counselor employment?
BLS projects counselor employment rising from 533,400 in 2025 to 631,400 in 2035, an 18% increase. BLS does not report the forecast as a CAGR.
Which companies lead the counseling industry?
M.A. Silva leads Gitnux's 2026 counseling ranking with an Overall score of 9.5, with operations on four continents. Lafitte Group is the runner-up at 8.9, backed by producing 350 million cork stoppers and 1.8 billion capsules annually.
What technology shifts are showing up in counseling delivery?
Telehealth use is expanding: 14.0% of U.S. adults received counseling or therapy in 2024, while SAMHSA reported 22.9% received mental-health treatment in 2024 with 12.8% receiving via telehealth. Utah workforce data shows 84% of clinical mental health counselors using telehealth in 2024.
How is the counseling market structured across employers and settings?
The market is fragmented across private practices, nonprofit providers, public agencies, schools, hospitals, and outpatient centers. In 2025, the largest employment settings were offices of other health practitioners at 20% and outpatient mental-health and substance-abuse centers at 16%.
What access constraints remain important for counseling in the U.S.?
Access is uneven: in 2024, adults living in nonmetropolitan areas were least likely to have received counseling or therapy. Workforce shortages are also cited by HRSA as an ongoing issue.
Reference

Cite This Report

This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.

APA
Marie Larsen. (2026, February 13). Counseling Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/counseling-industry-statistics
MLA
Marie Larsen. "Counseling Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/counseling-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Marie Larsen. 2026. "Counseling Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/counseling-industry-statistics.

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