Online Therapy in South Dakota.
You've taken care of everyone else for years. Now it's your turn.
Seth Jenkins, LPC. Telehealth therapy for self-esteem, codependency, and grief, from anywhere in South Dakota. What you work on stays your business.
- 21 years in practice
- LPC, licensed in South Dakota
- In-network with Aetna and Cigna
- Accepting new clients now
About This Practice
Two things make starting therapy hard, and telehealth helps with both.
In a community where everyone knows everyone, the practical details of seeing a local therapist get complicated fast. Telehealth keeps it simple. You join from wherever you already are, and what you're working on stays your business.
There's the provider shortage, too. According to HRSA, most of South Dakota's counties are federally designated mental health provider shortage areas. Even the areas with providers are often thin on experienced clinicians, and thinner still on anyone with deep experience in self-esteem, codependency, and the loss of self that comes from years of putting everyone else first.
I've been in the field for 21 years, licensed in South Dakota with availability now, and I bring deep addiction experience, with the LIAC credential I hold in Arizona. If you've put off finding a therapist because you couldn't find someone with real experience, this is worth 15 minutes.
What You Should Know Upfront
- Licensed in South Dakota, telehealth-only via secure video on any device
- 21 years of experience, focused on self-esteem, codependency, and grief
- Addiction and dual-diagnosis experience, with the LIAC credential held in Arizona
- Self-pay, or in-network with Cigna and Aetna in South Dakota
- Free 15-minute consultation before any commitment
- Affirming practice: LGBTQ+ allied, sex-positive, kink-allied
Who I Work With in South Dakota
If any of this sounds like where you are, we should talk.
Low Self-Esteem
You've never quite believed you're good enough, in your abilities or your worth as a person. It runs underneath a lot of what brings people to therapy, and it rarely resolves on its own. We work on where it started and how to change the way you see yourself.
Codependency & People-Pleasing
Years of putting everyone else first until you've lost track of who you are, and saying no feels impossible. Sometimes it follows a controlling or difficult relationship that left you doubting yourself. Experienced help for this is hard to find in much of South Dakota. Telehealth means you can do it without anyone in your town knowing.
Grief & Life Transitions
A death, a divorce, a job loss, a season where you've lost the thread. Rural communities can make these feel more isolating. Telehealth removes that without requiring you to tell everyone in a small town that you're seeing a therapist.
New to Therapy, or You've Tried It Before
Some people here have never done this and aren't sure what to expect, which is common. Others tried therapy and it didn't do much, which usually comes down to fit, not effort, and fit is what decides whether therapy works at all. Either way, the free 15-minute consultation is the low-stakes way to find out. Ask me directly what I'd do with what you're carrying.
Addiction & Dual Diagnosis
South Dakota has some of the country's highest rates of methamphetamine and alcohol use, and substance use rarely travels alone. It's usually tangled with depression, anxiety, or trauma. This work sits inside my South Dakota counseling license, and I also hold the LIAC (Licensed Independent Addiction Counselor) credential in Arizona, which marks addiction as a particular specialty of mine. That covers any form of addictive behavior, substances or otherwise. If you are living with someone who struggles this way, that belongs here too.
Why Telehealth Works Here
From anywhere in South Dakota. And it stays yours.
Telehealth isn't a compromise. Video sessions hold up against in-person on outcomes and on the working relationship. A meta-analysis of video therapy backs that up. In a state where stigma in a small community and distance both keep people from starting, it removes the barriers that matter most.
No waiting room
You join from wherever you already are. There is no lobby, no parking lot, no one to run into on the way out. What you're working on stays your business.
Your therapist isn't from your town
In a small community the counselor you would sit across from might be someone you know, or someone who knows your family. I am not, and I have no ties to your community. For a lot of people here, that distance is what makes it possible to start.
Geography isn't a barrier
Licensed to practice across all of South Dakota. You can be in Rapid City, Aberdeen, Mitchell, or a town of 800. It makes no difference to how we work.
Consistent scheduling
No driving time, no weather cancellations in a South Dakota winter. Sessions happen when scheduled, reliably.
About Seth Jenkins
21 years, and this is the work I do most.
I've been in the field since 2005. My clinical work is concentrated in self-esteem, codependency, and grief: the pattern of putting everyone else first until you've lost track of who you are, and the low sense of worth that so often sits underneath it.
I also hold the LIAC, a separate substance-abuse license I earned in Arizona. If addiction or dual diagnosis is part of your situation, or a loved one's, that training comes with me.
Sessions here are practical. We set goals, try things between sessions, and track whether they are moving. The aim is always for you to leave with what you came for and carry it on your own. Some people work with me for a few months, others for a year or more, depending on what they came for.
Full background and credentials →The most gratifying thing about this work is ensuring that people are not suffering alone.Seth Jenkins, LPC
Insurance & Fees in South Dakota
What does this cost?
In South Dakota I'm now in-network with Cigna and Aetna, with more paneling in progress. Here's the current status:
| Insurance / Payment | Status in South Dakota |
|---|---|
| Self-pay | ✓ Available now, $125/session |
| Out-of-network benefits | ✓ You may be able to submit for reimbursement. I can provide a superbill. |
| Aetna (South Dakota) | ✓ In-network now |
| Cigna / Evernorth (South Dakota) | ✓ In-network now |
| Optum (South Dakota) | Pending, up to 90 days |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield (South Dakota) | Some plans may qualify, awaiting word (up to 90 days) |
Insurance status updates as paneling is approved.
Common Questions
A few things people usually ask.
Is what I'm dealing with big enough for therapy?
You don't need a crisis to qualify. If you have spent years deciding that your own needs come last, that habit is worth looking at on its own. Bring it to the consult and we will work out together whether now is the right time.
Who finds out that I'm working with you?
What we talk about is confidential, with the narrow legal exceptions every therapist has, like an immediate risk to someone's safety. There is no lobby and no waiting room. You join from wherever you already are. If you use insurance, your insurer receives the minimum information needed to process the claim, and we can talk about self-pay if that matters to you.
What if I know you, or you know someone in my family?
I am not in South Dakota and I am not part of your community. For a lot of people here, that is the point. If an overlap ever did come up, I would tell you and help you find someone else.
What does a session actually look like?
Secure video. You click a link and we talk for 50 minutes, on a laptop, phone, or tablet. All you need is a private space and a stable connection. I am licensed in South Dakota, license LPC-21231, and you can verify that through South Dakota's license verification.
What does this cost, and will insurance cover it?
Self-pay is $125 a session. In South Dakota I am in-network with Cigna and Aetna now, Optum is pending, and some Blue Cross Blue Shield plans may qualify. If you have out-of-network benefits, I can provide a superbill, which is an itemized receipt you send to your own insurer. Many plans reimburse part of the fee, and how much depends on your plan.
I've tried therapy before and it didn't do much. Why would this be different?
The effectiveness of therapy is determined in large part by the rapport you have with your therapist. I recognize that many people who seek therapy have some therapy experience. Some of that experience may have been bad; whether due to the fit between you and the therapist or due to issues of competence on the part of the therapist. No therapist is going to be a good fit for everybody. What I can tell you is that I work on something specific rather than open-ended, and we check whether it is moving. The consult exists partly for this. Ask me directly what I would do with what you are carrying, before you commit to anything.
Anywhere in South Dakota, whenever you're ready.
15-minute consultation. Free. No intake paperwork before we've talked. You find out whether this is the right fit. Then we decide.
Request a Free 15-Min ConsultationFully licensed telehealth therapy in South Dakota · Sessions via secure video