A Tried and Tested Review of BetterHelp: Pros, Cons, Prices, and more

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People are using online therapy tools now more than ever. Still, it can be tricky to navigate the vast offerings of telehealth providers to figure out which service is the best for your situation.

BetterHelp pairs users with licensed therapists for web-based therapy sessions.

The company says it offers people the chance to access e-counseling services anytime and anywhere, but you may be curious whether BetterHelp is all it’s said to be.

What’s great about BetterHelp?

• You have online access to experienced therapists.
• You can use a nickname with your therapist.
• You can message your therapist at any time.
• Changing therapists is reportedly easy.
• The app and website are easy to navigate.
• The service is generally more affordable than in-person therapy.
• You can pay using your HSA/FSA.
• It’s available in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Our Healthline Associate, Heather Riesebeck, tried BetterHelp for about a month and loved the number of options there were for her therapy sessions, and how flexible they were. Riesebeck said BetterHelp is a “good fit for users who are motivated and committed to pursuing therapy, but may want flexibility in their appointments…it is very easy to cancel or reschedule appointments.”

Heather also mentioned how she had high expectations since her prior experiences had been very positive, and she was “very impressed with the quality of the sessions.”

What are the downsides of BetterHelp?

• There are no psychiatrists on staff, so clients cannot receive prescriptions for medications.
• BetterHelp therapists will not diagnose conditions.
• BetterHelp does not take insurance.
• The platform chooses your therapist for you after you answer the questionnaire (though you can switch).
• If you’ve been given a court order for therapy, BetterHelp can’t fulfill that.
• The platform may be difficult to use if you don’t have consistent access to the internet or phone services or a private space for therapy sessions.

Heather and “Vivian” (she/her) are two of our employees who received free services for BetterHelp to provide a hands on review of their experience. Heather’s mission was to continue working on her symptoms of OCD while exploring personal growth with therapy services. Vivian wanted to explore the trauma she faced in her childhood and how that’s affecting her personal relationships.

Risebeck has been to therapy for more than four years, so she had high expectations while testing BetterHelp. Vivian, on the other hand, had bad experiences with therapists in the past, so there was a sense of generalized anxiety about the whole process. She said the start up process for BetterHelp was very easy.

You can connect to BetterHelp on your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Mobile apps for BetterHelp are available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

Sign-up process

To get you started, BetterHelp asks you to complete a questionnaire about why you’re seeking therapy, as well as information about the conditions or issues you’re living with, plus your preferences regarding a therapist (i.e., age, gender, religion, language). Both of our tests loved these options. Heather, particularly found the registration process very easy, and amenable. “I was [also] able to elaborate beyond the multiple choice questions to share more details, but this was an optional aspect of the survey.”

An algorithm will pair you with a licensed therapist based on your answers. This process helps narrow down the options to get a therapist who best meets your needs. Getting paired with a therapist takes anywhere from 24 to 48 hours, but it can be lesser.

Both Vivian and Heather were matched almost immediately, under 3 hours after signing up, “which I was not prepared for!” Vivian says. “The therapist then messaged me pretty much straight away, and I could view their credentials, specialties, and a little bit about them through the chat interface.”

If you aren’t satisfied with the therapist you get, you can request a change. The platform makes it simple to find a new match.

Communicating with your therapist

Once BetterHelp has paired you with a therapist, you’ll get a “room” where you can communicate with them. All rooms are secured by 256-bit encryption and your information stays between you and your therapist.

However, therapists are bound by their state and federal regulations to inform the respective authorities if you are posing a threat or harm to yourself or others.

You can choose to do your therapy sessions via video chat, phone call, live chat, or messaging similar to email. Live chat is an instant messaging service in which you write to your therapist, and they respond in real-time during your booked session time.

If you want to communicate with your therapist outside your scheduled therapy sessions, you can message them, and they will message you back. This method is like email, so it’s not a real-time chat.

Types of treatment with BetterHelp

In general, BetterHelp says its services can work well for people looking to improve their quality of life. The company states that its therapists can help with issues such as depression, stress, anxiety, trauma, and more.

The service provides counseling for adults but not minors, though BetterHelp’s sister site, Teen Counseling, is available for teens 13 to 17.

In one-on-one counseling, therapists offer common mental health therapies, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The therapeutic approach is up to you and your therapist.

There’s also an option for group therapy, known as groupinars. BetterHelp’s group sessions tend to contain about a dozen individuals, and the focus of the sessions generally revolves around substance use disorders, relationship problems, grief, and more.

Qualified therapists

If you decide to try BetterHelp, rest assured that your therapist will be a trained and certified specialist. The company works with psychologists, licensed professional counselors, clinical social workers, and marriage and familiy therapists that all have at least 3 years of experience in the field. There’s also a requirement of 1,000 hours of practice, according to the company website.

After matching with their therapists, Riesebeck and Vivian were able to click on their therapists’ names and view their profile that shares their education, experience, and specialties. Heather’s therapist provided her information on “professional work, a brief bio, counseling style and philosophy, motivation for what she does, and options for communication.”

BetterHelp says employed therapists are licensed and accredited. All have a master’s or doctoral degree in the area they specialize in. In addition, therapists must have received certification from the professional board in their state, which requires standard education, exams, and practice.

A subscription to BetterHelp ranges from $65 to $90 a week. The company will bill you every 4 weeks. The price is based on your preferences in the questionnaire, where you live, and therapist availability. Even once you subscribe to a plan, you can cancel your membership at any time if you’re unsatisfied.

In addition, you can choose to request financial aid from BetterHelp, according to anecdotal sources. There’s often a reduced fee for qualifying clients, which might include:

• students
• veterans
• people living with disabilities
• low-income households
• individuals impacted by COVID-19

Health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid doesn’t cover the cost of therapy from BetterHelp. However, if your insurance provider offers mental health benefits, you may want to look into whether they will cover BetterHelp and their terms.

Does BetterHelp accept insurance?

BetterHelp doesn’t work with insurance providers, but their payment plans are relatively affordable and straightforward. Financial aid is available to users who can’t afford the standard price.

If you want to learn more about BetterHelp and insurance, consider reading our in-depth article on the topic.

According to the company website, BetterHelp uses a 256-bit encryption system to secure the messages between you and your therapist. They have also recently been HITRUST risk-based certified for 2 years. However, under guidance by state, therapists may be required to share personal information when necessary. For example, if you pose a threat to yourself or another individual, the BetterHelp therapist will need to provide your information to the proper people, according to each state’s guidelines.

When you sign up with BetterHelp, you don’t have to enter your full name. Instead, you can choose a nickname your therapist can call you.

Also, the platform will request emergency contact information from you, which your therapist will use only if they think you or someone else may be in danger.

BetterHelp has an overall positive reputation. The Better Business Bureau, a nonprofit organization that posts a company’s consumer ratings online, showed a rating of 4.08 out of 5 stars for BetterHelp, with over 500 reviews at the time of this writing.

Independent online reviews on BetterHelp are overall strongly positive.

Controversies

Though BetterHelp has been beneficial for some of their clients, there are controversies that call into question BetterHelp’s policies, qualifications of their therapists, and use of their marketing.

In March of 2023, the Federal Trade Commission released a notice that BetterHelp had been releasing its’ customers private and sensitive data to advertising platforms, and that the company was asked to pay $7.8 million to “consumers to settle charges that it revealed consumers’ sensitive data with third parties…for advertising.”

There were also some cases of influencers using affiliate links for BetterHelp, earning a commission for every time one of their followers started using BetterHelp’s therapy services. Since then, BetterHelp has been working with the FTC to adjust and take measure to “safeguard the privacy of their members”.

Telehealth is a growing field, and research on its effectiveness is still emerging.

Telehealth is web-based healthcare in which a healthcare professional and a person seeking treatment interact remotely via voice or video chat, or text.

A 2019 study assessed the effectiveness of BetterHelp for treating depression.

It found that 37.8% of participants had improved significantly, 62% had a partial response, and 19.8% were classified as being in remission after receiving therapy from BetterHelp for 3 months.

The researchers suggested that web-based psychotherapy like from BetterHelp showed promise for helping people overcome barriers to getting therapy.

Research on telehealth has shown it may be effective for people with many mental health conditions.

A 2016 review of high quality studies found that internet-delivered CBT sessions with a therapist reduced various anxiety symptoms at least as much — and sometimes more than — in-person CBT sessions with a therapist.

Similarly, a 2017 review of studies by the Department of Veterans Affairs found that therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was just as effective via videoconference as in person.

A 2018 review study suggests that therapy sessions by phone or video were equally as effective for treating depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorder as in-person therapy.

BetterHelp also notes that one of the advantages of e-counseling is that you can always look back at the messages you’ve exchanged with your therapist. This way, you can refresh your memory about any advice or insights you’ve discussed.

Most online reviews of BetterHelp appear to be positive.

At the time of publish, BetterHelp has a 4.5 star review on Trustpilot based on 7,005 reviewers. The BetterHelp app received 4.8 stars from more than 100K reviewers on the App Store. On Google Play, the BetterHelp app received 4.6 stars from more than 47,000 reviewers.

Vivian and Heather’s overall experience was also positive. Both really liked how flexible it was to schedule and reschedule appointments. “BetterHelp sent me weekly emails to let me know of my therapist’s availability, which I really liked. It was easy to log in and choose a slot,” Vivian said.

Heather has had to reschedule her appointments a few times, and she said it was very easy to do. Also, “if I went a while without a session,” she says, “my therapist would reach out to see how I was doing and try to get me thinking about my goals again.”

Heather also loved the options of having multiple communication options. She has talked with her therapist through live phone calls, but she appreciated having other options “so [she] could have care that balanced [her] needs with [her] availability and capacity to participate.”

Both Vivian and Heather liked their therapists and the safe space they provided. Vivian had a bad experience before with therapy, so she didn’t have particularly high hopes. “But I found the patient-lead approach really calming and appreciated teh autonomy of being able to choose my own therapist, which I didn’t have in my previous experience.’

Heather appreciated her therapist’s capacity to create a nonjudgmental and thought-provoking space, and she says she has “left each session with a very useful takeaway.”

BetterHelp is an entirely online therapy service, so there are some key differences to keep in mind when comparing online and in-person therapy. One is not better than the other, but the experience can be quite different.

Cost

The main upside of online therapy with BetterHelp is that BetterHelp tends to be a more affordable option than in-person therapy.

Communication

While in-person therapy provides only live sessions, generally once a week, BetterHelp provides more frequent communication options.

For instance, BetterHelp gives clients the option to communicate with a therapist via messaging several days a week, in addition to a virtual live therapy session.

Time commitment

Since there’s no commuting for online therapy, it tends to be easier to fit into clients’ schedules than in-person therapy.

Matching with a therapist

Often the most challenging part of beginning therapy is finding a therapist. Since BetterHelp is online, there are more therapists to choose from, and finding a compatible therapist may take significantly less time and effort.

Still, keep in mind that BetterHelp initially matches you with a therapist and doesn’t allow you to choose from several options right from the start.

Technical difficulties

The biggest downside of online therapy is that there can be technical issues that disrupt a virtual therapy session. A glitch from your computer or drop in the Wi-Fi signal is not ideal when you’re opening up to a therapist about your personal life.

Body language

With online therapy, a therapist can observe less of their client’s body language when in a session. Even if a therapy session is a videoconference, therapists generally only see from the shoulders up.

Therapists often rely on their client’s body language to assess their emotions.

BetterHelp and Talkspace are both online therapy providers.

Here’s a brief overview of how they compare:

BetterHelp tends to be a better option for clients who want affordable live virtual therapy sessions. In contrast, Talkspace may be a better option for those interested in messaging their therapist daily and want the ability to have medication prescribed to them.

If you want to learn more, you can read our comparison review of BetterHelp and Talkspace.

You may benefit from BetterHelp if you:

• need flexible scheduling
• are seeking counseling for adult individuals, couples, or groups
• have limited mobility or find it hard to leave the house
• may find it hard to travel to a physical clinic location
• have limited availability during typical opening hours
• are caring for children
• have a lower budget
• don’t have mental health insurance coverage
• want to remain anonymous with your therapist
• are new to therapy and are figuring out what you need

On the other hand, you may not find BetterHelp useful if you:

• are living with a severe mental illness
• aren’t comfortable using computers
• are in a crisis
• have thoughts of suicide or hurting others
• are living with substance use disorder or experiencing withdrawal symptoms
• want to get a medication prescription
• feel unsafe or have urgent needs — if this is the case, consider contacting crisis services
• don’t have a reliable internet connection