Valant has established itself as one of the most comprehensive Electronic Health Record (EHR) platforms in the behavioral health space, serving over 22,000 mental health professionals across all 50 states. With its robust features for prescribing clinicians and deep integration of clinical and administrative workflows, it promises to be a complete solution for growing behavioral health practices. But as practices evaluate their options, they may find that Valant’s enterprise-level features and custom pricing model don’t align with their actual needs.
To create this Valant review, I’ve analyzed the platform extensively. I believe it’s the ideal choice if:
However, Valant might not be the best choice if:
In this case, you should consider CarePaths. It is a comprehensive behavioral health EHR with over 6,000 users across the US and Canada. Founded by clinical psychologists, CarePaths offers many of the same core capabilities as Valant, including a measurement-based care system developed with Bruce Wampold, PhD, (one of the world’s leading psychotherapy researchers). Its pricing is published and starts at $49/month, with a free tier available for practices that want to begin with outcome tracking.
Because of that, I’ve included a detailed look at CarePaths later in this Valant review, as the alternative for practices seeking broad functionality without enterprise complexity.
If you’re ready to explore a more accessible approach, you can start with CarePaths’ 30-day free trial here.
Table of contents:
Valant was founded in 2005 by Dr. David Lischner, a practicing psychiatrist, and his brother Ben Lischner, a software developer.
The creation stemmed from Dr. Lischner’s frustration with existing EHR systems that were designed for general medical practices and that to address the specific workflows of behavioral health. As co-founder of the Evidence-Based Treatment Centers of Seattle, he sought to create a solution that would help behavioral health practices to improve patient outcomes while operating more efficiently.
Today, Valant positions itself as an EHR and practice management software specifically for behavioral health.
The platform emphasizes its ability to help practices focus their efforts through specialized tools, speed up processes through automation, and track progress through reporting. In December 2023, Valant was acquired by private equity firm Resurgens Technology Partners, reflecting ongoing investment in growth and product development.
Valant appears to be well-suited for behavioral health practices focused on growth and efficiency, especially those with prescribing clinicians.
This includes psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and larger group practices that need centralized systems for scheduling, billing, and clinical collaboration. Practices focused on measurement-based care and those looking to scale operations across multiple providers or locations may find particular value in Valant’s comprehensive feature set.
Valant’s clinical documentation system provides over 100 templates for various therapeutic modalities, including CBT, DBT, and family therapy.
Source: Valant
The platform allows clinicians to get information from previous notes, automatically adding diagnoses and medications to reduce redundant data entry. It also includes the option to create progress notes directly from clinical documentation, with content shortcuts and macros for common observations and interventions.
Source: Valant
The AI Notes Assist feature generates structured clinical notes from session transcripts and is presented as a way to save time on documentation.
Source: Valant
The system supports both progress notes and psychotherapy notes (for private clinician use). Documents requiring supervision can be sent for review, though specific co-signing workflows would need to be confirmed during implementation.
The practice management suite for Valantincludes tools for handling prospective patients, helping practices connect new inquiries with appropriate providers based on expertise.
Source: Valant
The scheduling system supports individual, group, and recurring appointments, with options to create multiple calendar views for different locations or provider groups. Patients can self-schedule through the MYIO patient portal, viewing available times and requesting appointments online.
Automated reminders can be sent via SMS, email, or automated phone calls at customizable intervals.
Source: Valant
Valant suggests an optimal cadence of three weeks, three days, and three hours before appointments for certain patient groups. The platform includes comprehensive reports covering billing, productivity, client outcomes, and patient retention, to support informed decision-making.
Valant’s billing system includes automated charge creation, with the software automatically generating bills when services are scheduled. The Claim Assist feature checks charges against over 100 behavioral health-specific billing rules, correcting identifiable errors automatically and flagging complex ones for manual review.
Source: Valant
Electronic claims can be submitted to thousands of payers through integrated clearinghouse partnerships with Waystar and Optum.
The system supports Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) for automated payment posting. Insurance eligibility can be verified directly from the EHR with a reported 94% accuracy rate. The Pending Transactions Queue provides a checkpoint to help identify errors before claim submission.
The MYIO patient portal for patient interaction is available on web browsers and as a mobile app. Patients can complete intake forms, sign consent documents, schedule appointments, pay bills, and communicate with providers through secure messaging. The portal supports a “magic link” login option, eliminating password requirements for easier access.
Source: CarePaths
Digital intake forms can be automatically sent to new patients, with responses added directly into their electronic record.
The telehealth feature allows patients to join video sessions through the portal without a third-party software. It includes automated delivery of outcome measures, with results immediately available to both clinicians and patients through visual progress graphs.
While Valant offers a wide range of features, some limitations have been noted by practices. These constraints make it better suited to enterprise-level needs, rather than practical, day-to-day use..
Steep Learning Curve and Complexity: Users report that Valant requires significant time to learn and adapt to. The interface, though feature-rich, is often described as “clunky” and outdated.
Tasks that might seem straightforward can involve navigating multiple menus and options built for larger operations. This complexity means practices often need dedicated staff just to manage the platform effectively.
Cost Barriers and Pricing Opacity: Valant uses a custom quote model with no public pricing transparency. Small practices and solo practitioners frequently find the costs higher than expected when they receive their quotes. The lack of any free trial or free version means practices can’t test the platform before committing to potentially expensive contracts.
Inconsistent Customer Support: While some users report positive experiences, many others describe long response times, unresolved technical issues, and frustration with support quality. For a platform this complex, reliable support is essential, yet users report difficulty getting timely help when facing critical issues that affect their practice operations.
Over-Engineered for Simple Needs: For practices that need core EHR functionality without advanced automation, Valant’s feature density becomes a hindrance rather than a help. While the platform assumes practices want detailed reporting and multi-level automation, some clinicians primarily need efficient documentation and billing.
These limitations aren’t failures; they’re the natural result of building for enterprise scale and maximum functionality. However, they create a need for alternatives that prioritize accessibility, affordability, and ease of use without sacrificing essential capabilities.
CarePaths provides a behavioral health EHR that aims to balance functionality with accessibility.
Founded in 2000 by clinical psychologists Geoff Gray, PhD and Maureen Hart, PhD, the platform was developed from their experience with the administrative challenges of private practice. This background has influenced its design to focus on practical needs rather than advanced features.
Today, CarePaths serves over 6,000 users across the US and Canada.
CarePaths offers clear, published pricing with multiple tiers to fit different practice needs.
The standard EHR plan costs $49 per month per licensed therapist and includes a broad set of features such as complete practice management, clinical documentation, telehealth with group support, electronic billing with free claims processing, SMS appointment reminders, eligibility verification, and unlimited admin users at no extra cost. For smaller or emerging practices, a $10 monthly plan is available, covering up to 15 sessions.
By Bruce Wampold PhD
Complete Practice Management System
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This transparent pricing structure can deliver significant savings compared to enterprise EHR systems.
Based on published rates, a practice with 10 providers could save approximately $1,000 per month compared to platforms charging $150+ per provider. Discount rates for students and supervised clinicians make it accessible for growing practices.
Additionally, CarePaths offers a completely free Measurement-Based Care tier for up to 30 clients per clinician, allowing practices to track evidence-based outcomes without any financial commitment.
Most plans include a 30-day free trial with no credit card required.
CarePaths recommends measurement-based care as a core feature rather than an add-on.
Developed in collaboration with Bruce Wampold, PhD, one of the world’s leading psychotherapy researchers, the automated MBC system represents a significant differentiator. The system sends assessments to patients weekly through the CarePaths Connect mobile app, covering domains including anxiety, depression, well-being, loneliness, and therapeutic alliance, all with zero administrative burden on therapists.
Source: CarePaths
Progress data is presented in visual charts within patient records, and patients can track their own progress through the mobile app.
Research demonstrates that measurement-based care can lead to improved therapy outcomes. As insurers begin reimbursing for measurement-based care through codes like CPT 96127, this feature is becoming a potential revenue generator for practices.
For university training clinics, the MBC system provides educational benefits, such as a platform that can track outcomes data and support training and supervision. This addresses a research-backed insight that therapists don’t automatically improve over time without deliberate feedback mechanisms, CarePaths provides that feedback loop for continuous improvement.
CarePaths specifically supports supervision models where recent graduates who are still unlicensed can practice therapy under licensed therapists.
This feature helps established therapists grow their practices while keeping costs relatively predictable. While costs do increase with each additional clinician, the transparent pricing structure allows for accurate budgeting as practices expand. The platform includes built-in supervision workflows and is marketed as ideal for university-affiliated training clinics.
University training clinics is an important segment for CarePaths, as they have programs for master’s and doctorate degrees in psychology and social work, with clinics serving as training grounds for future therapists. The platform’s supervision features and measurement-based care tools create a supportive environment for clinical training.
The CarePaths Connect mobile app serves as a “Digital Front Door” for practices. New patients can find therapists, verify insurance coverage, view open appointments, and self-schedule directly through the app. This helps practices fill schedules while providing the digital experience patients expect.
Source: CarePaths
The patient portal and app offers a wide range of features including online form completion, secure messaging, document access, telehealth sessions, and online bill pay. The platform sends automated appointment reminders via SMS and email, with patients able to opt in or out of notifications.
Digital intake forms automatically fills patient records, eliminating manual data entry.
CarePaths offers AI-generated session summaries for teletherapy sessions at no additional cost.
This system helps therapists focus more on patient care rather than administrative tasks. The clinical documentation system includes customizable templates with the ability to recover new notes from previous sessions, reducing documentation time while maintaining comprehensive records.
Source: CarePaths
The billing system automatically generates charges from completed notes and submits electronic claims to all payers including Medicare and Medicaid.
Group therapy documentation allows clinicians to create one note with individual components for each participant. The psychiatry EHR version, at $98 monthly, includes e-prescribing for both controlled substances and legend drugs with decision support and medication history access.
| Feature | Valant | CarePaths |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Transparency | Custom quotes only | Clear published pricing from free to $98/month |
| Cost Structure | Enterprise pricing model | Lower per-provider costs |
| Free Options | No free trial or version | Permanent free MBC for 30 clients |
| Learning Curve | Steep, requires training | More accessible interface |
| Measurement-Based Care | 80+ measures integrated | 40+ measures with free tier |
| Supervision Support | Available | Built-in with transparent pricing |
| Customer Support | Mixed reviews, inconsistent | Includes free training and onboarding |
| Best For | Large practices, complex needs | Practices seeking value and simplicity |
| AI Documentation | AI Notes Assist available | Free AI session summaries for teletherapy |
| Admin Users | Additional cost | Unlimited at no extra cost |
The choice between Valant and CarePaths ultimately depends on your practice’s priorities and resources.
Choose Valant you’re running a large behavioral health organization that needs extensive automation capabilities and complex workflow management.
It is ideal when you have dedicated resources for implementation, require advanced prescriber-focused features, and can account for enterprise-level pricing for comprehensive functionality. Valant is recommended for practices ready to invest significant time and money into a platform that can handle complex behavioral health scenarios.
Choose CarePaths if you want comprehensive EHR capabilities without the enterprise complexity and cost.
It is ideal for practices that value transparent pricing with all core features included, need to start small with free measurement-based care, or want a platform they can implement without extensive training.
CarePaths is ideal for group practices of various sizes, university training clinics seeking educational value through outcome tracking, and practices looking to grow through supervision models while being cost-effective. With pricing below enterprise EHR rates, CarePaths ensures that behavioral health practices don’t need to choose between functionality and affordability.
Both platforms serve behavioral health well, but they serve different purposes. Valant builds for the practice that wants maximum capability regardless of complexity. CarePaths builds for the practice that wants maximum value with minimal friction, serving over 6,000 users who’ve discovered that evidence-based care and business efficiency can work hand in hand.
