If you haven't heard about it yet, BetterHelp is the largest online counseling platform in the world. It's marketed as an accessible, convenient, and affordable way to talk to a licensed therapist for anyone who may need or want that service. With BetterHelp, there are three main ways to talk to your therapist: through a live-chat, phone call, or video call. For anywhere from around $30-$55 dollars a week depending on financial status, users have access to contact their therapist, complete worksheets, and attend live seminars whenever they like.
It's important to note that this article isn't sponsored, and I was never contacted by BetterHelp to promote or review them. I was simply in between therapists and interested in trying something new that I had heard mixed reviews about.
Upon creating an account on BetterHelp, I was prompted to fill out a 10-15 minute questionnaire about my reasons behind pursuing therapy in order to match me up with a therapist who would be a good fit. I was primarily seeking support in eating disorder recovery and with manic depression. The selection/availability of therapists who were trained in these areas, especially with eating disorders, was very limited. Granted, this could have more to do with the number of therapists who are licensed to provide that specialized treatment in my home state of North Carolina and less to do with BetterHelp structurally.
After filling out the survey, I was immediately matched up with a therapist and was prompted to make an introductory appointment to set up a sort of treatment plan. However, the earliest appointment I could get was about a week and a half away. And just like with in-person therapy, it took me a couple changes in therapists to find the right fit. But with BetterHelp, you do not pay by appointment, you pay a weekly fee. So I ran into the problem where I was paying $40 weekly for about a month without any real, consistent therapy, which was pretty discouraging.
I was just about to cancel my subscription when I found Melissa, a therapist who had experience working in an eating disorder unit in a hospital, went to the same school as me, and has a pug (okay, the last two points may not matter that much but I thought they were pretty cool). I decided to give it one last try, and I'm glad that I did because I've been working with her for around a month and have made exponential progress, more so than I ever have in any other outpatient setting. My therapy "room" is accessible to me to look back on 24/7, which is important to me because some of the hardest parts of in-person therapy in my experience were not being able to fit into my therapist's schedule and forgetting what we talked about in session. Now I have the ability to meet with my therapist weekly or twice a week; chat with her if I need to in between sessions; receive, fill out, and send off worksheets within the app; and attend different workshops about positive psychology, healthy relationships, self esteem, etc.
Pros of BetterHelp
1. It's convenient
Your therapy room, worksheets, scheduling, and workshops are available to you on either the BetterHelp app or website 24/7. Simply connect to wifi and you have access to all the features.
2. It's good for people in rural areas
In some parts of the country, there aren't any counselors or therapists for hundreds of miles. However, mental illness doesn't care about location or access to resource. BetterHelp is a great resource for people without direct access to in-person therapy to receive help.
3. Access to mental health workshops is included in your subscription.
You aren't just paying for unlimited therapy during the week, you also have the opportunity to sign up for a selection of over twenty workshops throughout the week at all different times of day.
4. You can go back through and read all of your past conversations with your therapist.
This is a big one for me. If I'm having a hard day dealing with guilt around eating but that's something I talked about with my therapist a week ago, I can scroll back to that conversation to remind myself of different tools I can use. With in-person therapy, I had to make the conscious effort to write things down when I wanted to be sure I could remember them.
5. It's affordable
$30-$55 a week is a relatively low price to pay for the amount of therapy you can access without insurance on BetterHelp. However, everyone's financial status and healthcare plan are different, so you have to weigh whether this amount is feasible for you
Cons of Better Help
1. It isn't covered by insurance
While the price range is a lot lower than other therapy providers who do not accept insurance, it can be higher than receiving therapy with your health insurance plan. In my situation, I am paying a little bit more money monthly with BetterHelp than I was with my health insurance plan. However, I also get a lot more "bang for my buck" with the ability to contact my therapist more frequently and to attend the workshops. If that is something you thing you would utilize, I think BetterHelp could be worth it to you.
2. There is a limited amount of therapists with specific specialties
There were only about five therapists specialized in treating eating disorders in the entire state of NC on BetterHelp, so that made my selection pretty limited. However, I did end up finding someone I mesh with.
3. Scheduling your first appointment can be a pain
Like I mentioned before, I had to pay for BetterHelp for a month before I could find a consistent therapy relationship that worked for me. It was a bit of an investment, and I wish there were more options for trial periods or free intake sessions.
4. BetterHelp isn't for everyone
Some people need a physical therapeutic space to process, and that's okay.
I wasn't expecting to like BetterHelp, much less stick with it for more than a couple weeks. But I have found a great therapeutic relationship which allows me to obtain tools to use in my recovery and process hard thoughts and emotions as well as work on my independence and self-advocacy. If you want to learn more about BetterHelp, you can visit their website at www.betterhelp.com
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