Answering Service for Therapists and Psychologists

TL;DR: If you are looking for an answering service for therapists, Heilo is a voicemail rather than a live answering service or an AI receptionist: while you are in session, your carrier forwards unanswered calls to Heilo, and callers leave their name and number after your greeting. Heilo saves the recording, a transcript and a summary and, if notifications are on, texts you the topic and a link. It never talks to callers, does not assess urgency or anyone's health, and is not crisis support.

See also: Voicemail for medical clinics and GP practices | How to read voicemail messages | Professional voicemail greeting examples

The call that took weeks of courage

Example: someone has been putting off calling a psychologist for weeks. At last they dial during a break at work, while you are in session with your phone on silent. After a few rings they hear a generic carrier message that does not say who will answer or when anyone will call back. They hang up and may never try again.

You do not know it happened: your call list shows an unknown number at most. In a practice where the phone stays quiet for much of the day, what callers hear when you do not answer is what counts.

Why therapy practices lose so much to missed calls

The first call takes courage — for many people it is the hardest step in looking for help. If nobody answers and the message sounds impersonal, it is easy to put the call off again.
You do not answer during sessions — a session needs your full attention, so the phone is on silent for much of the day. If you work alone, nobody answers for you.
Trust starts with the first contact — a calm greeting in your own voice tells the caller they reached the right place and that you will call back. A generic carrier message says neither.

How Heilo works for therapists and psychologists

In Heilo, the answering machine is the Heilo Voicemail plan: cloud voicemail to which your carrier forwards unanswered calls. You set up the forwarding once (step-by-step guide): your phone rings as before, and when you do not pick up, the call goes to Heilo. Heilo does not talk to the caller. It plays your greeting and saves the message.

1. A calm, warm greeting

Record the greeting in your own voice, the same one clients will hear in session. In the dashboard you can record it through the microphone or upload an audio file; you can also type the text and choose a voice-over. A greeting schedule lets you set a different greeting for chosen days and hours, for example one for session time and one for the evening. Example:

"Hello, this is the psychology practice of [full name]. I'm in a session right now and can't answer. Please leave your name and phone number, and I'll call you back [a realistic time, e.g. after my session or by the end of the day]. You don't need to say what it's about. This call is being recorded. If someone's life or health is in danger, hang up and call 112."

This greeting says who answered and why you cannot talk, asks only for contact details, gives a realistic callback time, tells the caller the message is recorded and points anyone in an emergency to the emergency number. A generic carrier message does none of these things. 112 is the EU emergency number, free of charge from fixed and mobile phones (European Commission, checked 20 October 2026); outside the EU, give your local emergency number instead.

2. Heilo captures contact details, not a diagnosis

Heilo prepares a transcript and a summary of the message. With a well-written greeting you will usually see:

the name and contact number
whether the caller is new or an existing client (if they say so)
the general topic, e.g. "I'd like to book a first appointment", "I need to move my session", "a question about free slots"
the preferred time to be contacted

The greeting deliberately does not ask for a description of health problems. Heilo does not assess urgency, symptoms or the caller's health. You decide who to call back first.

3. A text lets you call back between sessions

With notifications on, you get a text with the caller's details, the topic of the message and a link; you open the transcript and recording in the dashboard. We do not promise a specific delivery time. Example topics: "Request for a first appointment", "Moving Thursday's session", "Question about fees and free slots".

The topic is built from the content of the message, so it may repeat what the caller said. If your phone lies in view in the practice, turn off message previews on the lock screen.

What your greeting should include

A greeting in a therapy practice should reassure the caller and give a clear next step. Check that it contains these elements:

Element	Why it matters	Example
Who you are	The caller knows they reached the right place	"Hello, this is the psychology practice of [full name]"
Why you are not answering	No answer does not sound like a refusal	"I'm in a session right now"
A realistic callback time	The caller knows when to expect you	"I'll call you back after my session"
A request for contact details only	Nobody has to tell their story to a recording	"Please leave your name and phone number"
A recording notice	The caller knows the message is saved	"This call is being recorded."
The emergency number	A person in an emergency knows where to call	"If someone's life or health is in danger, hang up and call 112."

Client data, recordings and retention

Messages from clients call for care. What to know before you forward the practice phone:

A greeting without clinical details — set the greeting to ask only for a name and phone number. If a caller describes their problem anyway, their words end up in the recording and transcript, so treat them as sensitive records.
Retention — a recording is kept for 365 days by default and then deleted; the transcript stays. You cannot change the retention period in the dashboard.
Trash — move a call you do not want to keep to the trash: after 30 days Heilo erases it completely, with the recording, transcript and summary.
Roles — Heilo gives you the tools to inform the caller (a notice, your own wording, a call label). Your company, as the data controller, provides the legal basis and meets the duty to inform.
Sub-processors — Heilo uses the sub-processors listed in its terms, including Twilio (telephony, a US company), Supabase (database in the EU), Vercel (hosting) and Google Gemini (transcription and analysis).
Your practice's duties — assess your practice's duties for health data and professional confidentiality with your own adviser, such as your data protection officer or a lawyer, before you start.

We cover the general rules in recording customer calls: what it gives you, what is allowed, how to start.

What does it cost?

In a practice, Heilo Voicemail is usually enough. It covers messages after missed calls: recording, text, summary and SMS notification, plus voice-over greetings and a greeting schedule. Billing is monthly per number, and VAT is added at payment. The fair-use limit is 500 recorded minutes per number per month; it is informational and blocks nothing. Check with your carrier what forwarding to the Heilo number costs.

With Heilo Select you keep your number and add Heilo to a chosen call; Heilo records from the moment it joins, and telling the other person is up to you. Your phone and carrier must support conference calls; voicemail is included. Heilo Line gives each person who takes and makes calls their own Polish business number (+48), mainly for sales reps and teams; Heilo orders it after verifying the company by its Polish tax ID (NIP). Incoming calls and outgoing calls started with “Call via Heilo” are recorded automatically, and a new number starts in the “Announcement before the call” mode. Heilo turns them into a transcript, a summary and tasks, and the call coach gives feedback after a two-sided call with a transcript. Once you set up an integration, results reach your CRM through the API, webhooks, Zapier or Make (call assistant). Plans and prices are on the pricing page.

FAQ

Can I use an AI voice instead of recording my own?

Yes. In the dashboard you type the greeting text and choose a voice-over; you can also record the greeting through the microphone or upload an audio file. For a therapist we recommend your own voice: from the first contact the caller hears the person they will work with.

Does Heilo handle clients in crisis?

No. Heilo does not talk to the caller, does not assess whether a matter is urgent and is not a substitute for crisis support. It saves the message and, if notifications are on, texts you the topic and a link; we do not promise a specific delivery time. That is why your greeting should give the emergency number 112 for situations where someone's life or health is in danger.

How long does Heilo keep recordings?

A recording is kept for 365 days by default and then deleted; the transcript stays. You cannot change the retention period in the dashboard. A call moved to the trash is erased completely after 30 days. The sub-processors that handle data are listed in the terms.

Do clients leave messages more often on Heilo than on ordinary voicemail?

We do not measure this, so we cannot give you a percentage. The difference comes from what the caller hears: a generic carrier message does not say who will answer or when, while your greeting says both and gives a realistic callback time. In a therapy practice that can be the difference between a client who leaves a number and one who hangs up and does not call again.