Every verdict, by topic.
Filter by coverage area. 8 reviews in this issue; more launching across Q2 and Q3 2026.
Best CRM for Therapists & Solo Practitioners 2026
Five CRM options for therapists, but the critical framing first: external CRM is for non-clinical contact management (lead nurturing, supervisee tracking, referral relationships, business development). Clinical work lives in SimplePractice or TherapyNotes. Most therapists buy the wrong CRM by ignoring that distinction. The right answer depends on whether email marketing is part of the workflow and how many supervisees or referral relationships need active tracking.
Best Email Marketing for Therapy Practices 2026: HIPAA-Compliant Options
Five email platforms for therapy practices, but the HIPAA-compliance dimension splits them sharply. Brevo and Mailchimp work for non-PHI marketing email (newsletters, lead nurturing). Paubox, Hushmail, and MailHippo are purpose-built for PHI-involving email with Business Associate Agreements included. Picking the wrong platform for the wrong use case is a HIPAA violation waiting to happen.
Best Payroll for Therapy Practices 2026: Gusto vs Heard vs Wave
Five payroll platforms for therapy practices, three with HIPAA implications that vendors don't lead with, one purpose-built for therapists at a premium price, and one that fits 80% of solo-to-5-clinician practices for a fraction of the cost. The honest answer depends on practice size, in-network vs out-of-network billing mix, and whether your accountant already runs payroll for you.
SimplePractice + Gusto: Complete Setup Guide for Solo to 5-Clinician Practices
Pairing SimplePractice for clinical workflow with Gusto for payroll is the convergent setup for most solo and small-group therapy practices. The integration isn't native (Zapier mediates the handoff), and the setup has three gotchas that cost most operators an extra 2-3 hours if they don't know about them up front. This guide walks the full setup, the gotchas, the pricing math, and when this pairing is the wrong answer.
DAP Notes Explained: Format, Examples & When to Use Them (vs SOAP/BIRP)
DAP notes are the leanest of the three established formats for therapy documentation. They're also the easiest to write badly. Most of the bad ones share the same two mistakes.
BIRP Notes: Complete Guide with 5 Examples by Specialty
BIRP keeps the clinical thinking in the note. It's slower than SOAP and harder than DAP, and that's most of the reason it survives.
What Is a Superbill? Plus a Template Therapists Can Customise
Superbills let your out-of-network clients claim reimbursement from their insurance, and they take 90 seconds to generate if your EHR is set up right. The version most therapists send out is missing two fields that get claims denied.
SimplePractice vs TherapyNotes: which wins in 2026?
Synthesizing 90+ days of aggregated clinician-owner reports across documentation, billing, and telehealth, the gap between these two market leaders is wider than most reviewers admit. One has quietly fallen behind on the workflows that matter most to out-of-network clinicians.