Our take on BetterHelp
Last Updated: October 2024
BetterHelp is the largest online therapy and counseling platform, with over 35,000,000 sessions completed and over 3,000 licensed therapists available to work with you. BetterHelp counselors are all licensed, trained and experienced practitioners with Masters Degrees, Doctorates and other accreditations in their fields, with at least 3 years and 1,000 hours of hands-on experience. You can search for counselors based on expertise, geography, background, and profile or BetterHelp can match you with a counselor after completing a short questionnaire. With the ability to change or cancel your membership at any time, BetterHelp can be a much more comfortable and affordable alternative to traditional face-to-face therapy.
The results also speak for themselves: a study of over 300 users by the Berkeley Well-Being Institute found that 98% of BetterHelp users made significant progress and 94% of users preferred BetterHelp over face-to-face therapy. In addition, if you are currently facing financial difficulties, you can apply for financial aid. With proven results, flexible plans and financial assistance available, you can customize your BetterHelp therapy experience to best meet your needs.
Visit SiteBetterHelp has an extremely rigorous screening process. All counselors are licensed and accredited psychologists, marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, or licensed professional counselors. The BetterHelp team ensures all providers have proper licensure documentation, proof of identity, and references from other practicing providers who have worked with them in the past. They also cross-check their license information with their respective state licensing board.
Furthermore, BetterHelp goes beyond verifying credentials. They also ask their counselors to complete a case study exam administered by a licensed clinician and to complete a video interview. This rigorous process takes anywhere from four to five weeks, and only 15% of the therapists who apply are accepted to the platform.
Unlike traditional online therapy services, BetterHelp charges a flat fee of $40 to $70 per week (depending on which options you choose), billed monthly. You have the option to connect with your counselor via text messages, through live chat in a secure chatroom, by phone call, or via videoconferencing; pricing will vary depending on the options you choose. Many users choose all the available communication options for increased flexibility and accessibility. If you feel you've achieved your counseling goals or you simply don't want to use the service any longer, you can cancel your membership at any time, hassle-free.
From the home page, choose the type of counseling you want (individual, couples, or teen). You’re then taken through a series of screens where you fill in information about yourself such as your gender, age, relationship status, and whether you consider yourself to be religious. You’ll also answer some general self-assessments about your current health and eating habits.
Following this, you’ll be presented with questions about your state of mind and mental health, with a focus on depression and anxiety symptoms. After answering a final set of questions about your current professional life, such as your current employment status and whether finances are a current source of stress and anxiety, you will then choose which way you prefer to communicate with your counselor. This questionnaire can feel lengthy, but the more honestly you answer these questions, the higher your chances of getting the best results from online therapy.
The last step is to provide your location, enter your preferred username and email, and choose a password to create your account. After verifying your account, you’ll be taken to the payment page where you choose which plan you prefer. After this, you’re redirected to your private chat room. Within 24 hours, you can begin interacting with your therapist!
The BetterHelp platform has a straightforward and intuitive user interface. Once you're matched with a counselor, you’ll communicate with him or her primarily through a dedicated chat room which looks very much like Skype or Google Chat. This is a secure room where only you and your counselor can see what is said. The chatroom is open 24/7, and you can access it through any internet-connected device, so you can leave a message any time and from anywhere. If your counselor isn't available when you send a message, you'll get an email notification when they reply.
You can also schedule live chat sessions, where you're both present and interact in real time, phone calls or video calls.
You can access the BetterHelp site and dedicated chatroom from desktop or mobile devices; there is also a free mobile app available for both Android and iOS.
Like most online therapy platforms, BetterHelp's security and privacy standards are top-notch. Their browsing encryption system (SSL) is provided by Comodo, a world-leader in data security. All counselors are state-certified, which means they're subject to local and federal privacy laws, and the platform is HIPAA compliant.
Any medical and health information is private and never shared with insurance companies. Overall, BetterHelp does a great job protecting your data and is continuously making efforts to keep your information private and secure. You also have the option to join as an anonymous user, which means your information will never be tied to you.
BetterHelp was established in 2013. Thanks to its initial rapid growth, it was acquired by Teladoc — the largest telehealth provider in the country. Teladoc's immense resources helped launch BetterHelp to one of the leading positions in the online therapy world. The company still believes in human-to-human connections and leverages technology to meet the expectations of today's customers.
BetterHelp takes great pride in making connections between counselors and clients. In studies, individuals using their platform showed a significant reduction in levels of depression — especially those with moderate to severe symptoms. As we all know, making a strong connection with a therapist is a critical element in therapy and improving one's mental health. BetterHelp understood this from the beginning and continues to update its algorithm to maintain excellent patient-therapist connections.
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