How search ordering works
First, the gates (not scores)
Before any scoring: you only see providers who are legally allowed to see you (license, PSYPACT, Counseling Compact, or state registration — the chip on each card) and whose availability was confirmed within 14 days. Full, paused, or stale profiles aren't ranked lower — they're not shown at all, unless you flip the “include unavailable” toggle.
Then, three weighted scores
45% — match completenessHow many of the filters you asked for this provider satisfies. Ask for nothing, everyone scores full marks.
35% — integrityFreshness of their availability confirmation (within 3 days scores 1; within 14 days scores 0.7) averaged with how fast they answer messages (within 4 hours scores 1; new providers score 0.5 — never punished below the midpoint). Waitlisted providers score 80% of their open-equivalent.
20% — distanceIn-person: full score within 2 miles, fading to zero at 60. Telehealth results all score 0.75 — distance doesn't matter on video.
Ties rotate fairly
Scores are rounded so near-equal providers tie, and ties are ordered by a deterministic daily rotation (a hash of the date, market, and provider id — the seed is public). Everyone equally good gets equal time at the top. There is no input through which payment could influence any of this.