Betterhelp is one of the leading online therapy providers for those that may be struggling with their mental health. The company aims to offer some of the cheapest mental health services online.
Of course, this does mean that many people wonder how much the cost of their online therapy is and, perhaps more importantly, whether working with the mental health counselors of Betterhelp would be cheaper than heading to in-person therapy for assistance on a mental health journey.
On this page, we want to discuss the costs related to virtual therapy with Betterhelp.
We want to discuss what you will be getting with your money with Betterhelp and whether it is worth opting for virtual therapy sessions with the company.
How Much Does Betterhelp Cost?
Generally speaking (in rare instances, local regulations can drive up the cost for people who live in that area), you can expect to pay $60 and $90 per week. This will be billed monthly, so the cost of Betterhelp therapy would be between $240 and $360 a month, although, as we said, the cost of your licensed therapist through Betterhelp may be a little bit more if local compliance drives up the cost.
What Does Your Betterhelp Payment Cover?
If you have ever looked up the cost of in-person treatment for a mental health condition, then you will know that the price is a little bit higher. So, what do you get with affordable therapy from Betterhelp?
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Assigned Professional Counselors
When you first sign up for Betterhelp, you will go through quite a few questions. It is actually a rather lengthy questionnaire, but it is important.
By asking you these questions, Betterhelp can help to find licensed professional therapists that meet your mental health needs.
Betterhelp thrives on offering the right counseling services to their patients. They want to ensure that their therapy platform allows people to feel at ease with who they are talking.
These questions will allow you to be matched with a therapist on Betterhelp. This will always be a qualified therapist, don’t worry.
While, during the sign-up process, you will be matched with a therapist, Betterhelp does understand that you may not gel with them.
Therefore, if you are matched with a therapist on the therapy platform who you don’t get on with, Betterhelp will allow you to easily switch the therapist.
There doesn’t seem to be a limit on how often you can switch therapists. However, we do encourage you to switch therapists as little as possible. You can only receive the help you need in your weekly sessions if you talk to the same person.
Unlimited Messaging Room
The real highlight of Betterhelp therapists is the ability to communicate with them 24 hours a day.
As long as you have an account on Betterhelp, you can use their online messaging system to message the therapists. Keep being billed monthly, and you can ask whatever questions you want.
Do bear in mind that many of these therapists may be working with a lot of other patients on the mental health platform, which means responses won’t be instant. However, most therapists working in the online therapy market will know that you need help and will strive to give it to you as quickly as possible.
Live Chat Sessions With Your Therapist
Each month, you will also enjoy a live therapy session of 30-minutes with your therapist. If you are signing up as a couple, then this will take the form of group therapy sessions.
Do bear in mind that the therapist can extend the session beyond 30-minutes if they believe it is necessary. This will not increase the cost of therapy.
You can talk to your licensed therapists however you wish. While the Betterhelp online therapy platform does offer a video session, you can also use phone sessions or just a typed chat with your licensed therapist.
It doesn’t matter whether you use phone sessions, live chat, or video sessions. Your therapy costs will be the same.
Your weekly sessions can be planned around your schedule. This means that you can opt for video sessions when you are free.
What Can Betterhelp Therapists Not Provide?
While online therapy can be beneficial to people, you do have to remember that there are some things that the mental health professionals at Betterhelp cannot provide you with.
Diagnosis of Conditions
The therapists are licensed, professional counselors. Many licensed therapists will have experience offering traditional therapy in a clinical environment. Most people providing therapy services through Betterhelp will have their practices outside of being online therapists.
This means that they can spot a mental illness in a person, including anxiety disorders. However, they cannot offer a mental health diagnosis.
They may be able to treat you for what they believe you may have, but a true mental health diagnosis would take countless in-person meetings with licensed mental health professionals and a whole host of diagnostic tools.
This means that if you have a severe mental illness, it may be worth seeking a diagnosis from elsewhere before you take advantage of the therapy services offered by Betterhelp.
Medication Prescriptions
Your therapist will provide online counseling for mental health conditions only. While they are licensed professionals, they cannot prescribe medication online.
You have to remember that for a professional to prescribe medication, they have to check your overall health. This cannot be done online.
If you need a therapist to prescribe or help you with medication management (medication management is when you need doses corrected), you may need in-person therapy instead. You can always go back to the licensed therapists on this online therapy platform after.
What Influences How Much Betterhelp Costs?
As we said, there are a variety of factors that can influence how much Betterhelp will cost you. In this section, we want to go through them.
The initial questionnaire will determine the costs that you get when you sign up for Betterhelp. The price of their online therapy platform will not change, assuming that you are honest during that process.
Financial Assistance
We will discuss this a bit later on. However, Better help can offer financial aid for mental health care in a limited number of situations.
If you are approved for financial aid through Betterhelp, then you may be able to pay far less for the service (it will never be free)
Do bear in mind that you cannot use health insurance with Betterhelp. At least not directly. We will discuss this in greater depth later on.
Your Location
Betterhelp offers their service around the world.
This page primarily focuses on the American market (hence why we gave the prices in dollars). However, the company operates in multiple currencies. The prices may be higher or lower, depending on where you live.,
If you live in the US, then the Betterhelp costs range won’t be impacted by your location too much. You generally won’t be paying a different price based on your state.
What Type Of Therapy do You Need
This isn’t the condition you need to be treated for. The therapy cost will be determined by how many people need treatment.
For example, couples therapy and family therapists will be much more expensive than those seeking treatment on their own. This is because a therapy session must deal with many more people.
Betterhelp does not charge more based on your condition. This means that the cost of anxiety disorders treatment and depression treatment, for instance, should be the same.
Your Availability
During the signup process, you will be asked to provide information about your availability.
As we mentioned before, when you are at Betterhelp, you will get one in-person therapy session a month.
Betterhelp will aim to choose therapists that match your available hours. This way, you can always take advantage of the therapy sessions on the platform.
If you are seeking therapy sessions during the odd hours of the day e.g. you need video therapy in the dead of night, then the costs are likely to be higher.
Your availability for live chat (i.e. the text chat that you can send to your therapist whenever) will not determine the cost of your therapy. This is because those therapists can respond whenever. So, consider therapist availability when scheduling your health services.
How Often Do You Need To Pay For Your Online Therapy?
You will need to pay for your mental health services once every 4-weeks.
You can always see your next billing date through the platform. You can cancel your services with Betterhelp whenever you wish. You will not be locked into a plan for your mental health services, make sure that you cancel before your next billing date for your therapy!
If you are seeking group therapy, perhaps with family therapists or group therapy as couples therapy, then you will pay one fee. This will be billed with one account each month.
Can You Use Your Insurance Policy To Cover Your Mental Health Treatment With Betterhelp?
Many people do not seek help for their mental health concerns because they are worried they can’t afford it. This is a massive shame because unchecked mental health concerns can quickly spiral out of control.
Every health insurance policy in the US will offer some mental health coverage, but does this mean you can use your coverage through Betterhelp?
Does Betterhelp Accept Private Insurance?
Betterhelp does not accept private insurance. This applies even if your insurance provider normally offers mental health coverage.
Why Doesn’t Betterhelp Accept Private Insurance?
Because it would push the price up considerably.
One of the goals of offering online counseling is to provide the cheapest possible service while offering experienced therapists.
If these companies decide to accept insurance, then a lot of admin needs to be dealt with. This is expensive. This is partly why in-person therapy sessions tend to be more expensive.
Can You Talk To Your Insurance Company About Online Counseling?
You can.
While Betterhelp won’t talk to your health insurance provider, you can speak to them.
Many people have found that they have been reimbursed for the costs by sending a receipt of Betterhelp services to their insurance provider.
Each month, Betterhelp will generate a receipt with all the information that an insurance company would need. Simply send that over to your insurance company.
Of course, some insurance companies may not offer to cover the costs. If you need a company to accept insurance, you may need to look elsewhere. For many insurance policies, you have to look at specific in-network places that accept insurance to be covered. Keep in mind that there are copays and deductibles so you may not save much or may pay more.
Can You Use Financial Aid To Pay For Betterhelp Treatment For Mental Health Conditions?
While you cannot use insurance coverage to cover your online therapy, this doesn’t mean that no financial assistance is available.
Financial Aid With Betterhelp – Costs
Firstly, we can not tell you how much you would be paying for your talk therapy with Betterhelp therapy if you decided to use financial aid. This is because the company judges based on your financial situation.
As we mentioned previously, the service will never be free. If you want it to be free, you will need to talk to your insurance company to see if you can be reimbursed for the costs.
Who Qualifies For Financial Aid With Online Therapy at Betterhelp?
The issue with Betterhelp is that they don’t tell you who may be able to receive a lower cost.
We assume that this is to ensure that people are not inquiring constantly. After all, Betterhelp is a business. They cannot assist everybody if they want to succeed as a business.
From experience, you seem more likely to receive assistance when dealing with serious financial woes. For example, you may be able to receive assistance if you are unemployed or you are receiving certain social benefits e.g. a disability allowance.
In many cases, the discount that you receive on your therapy will not be permanent. You may need to apply for assistance again later on.
How Do You Apply For Financial Aid With Betterhelp?
There are a couple of ways.
During The Sign-Up Process
As we have mentioned a few times, when you register for the platform, you will be asked a few questions. Some of these questions will tie into your financial situation.
During this process, you may be asked to supply documents that prove that you require financial aid e.g. papers suggesting that you are unemployed, receiving benefits, etc.
This is the simplest way to get assistance as you will not need to go out of your way to inquire.
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By Contacting Customer Support
Of course, people’s financial situation can change.
If your situation has changed and you still need therapy, you can contact customer support.
The customer support team at Betterhelp is pretty good at providing the assistance that people need.
Remember, they would rather that you keep your account and continue to receive the services that you need. They do not want you to cancel, because they know that this can be detrimental to your mental health.
You will be asked to fill in a couple of forms and provide evidence of your financial issues.
What Happens If You Are Approved For Financial Assistance?
If you are approved for assistance with your online therapy, then you will be told so.
The discount for your online therapy will be automatically applied to your account. You do not need to do anything other than this.
If you are not approved, you will be told the reasons why. In some cases, you may have an opportunity to submit further information to support your need for assistance. However, this is something that tends to only apply if you didn’t submit enough information to begin with.
Is It Worth Paying For Online Therapy With Betterhelp Mental Health Professionals?
By now, we have discussed the cost of therapy with Betterhelp. You should have a solid idea of how much you may be paying.
If you want more information on how much their service may cost, then you can start the sign-up process and receive a quote.
Your question now is likely more tied to whether it is worth it. Let’s explain.
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The Cost Is Lower Than Traditional Therapy
Because everything is done online, the cost is going to be much lower than more traditional therapy sessions (i.e. in-person meetings), which can make access to mental health assistance much easier for some people.
Remember that the online therapy sessions at Betterhelp tend to use CBT as a treatment method, much like your traditional therapist would be doing. This means that you will receive the same services as you would with an in-person session.
You Are Still Working With Licensed Therapists
All of the therapists on Betterhelp are licensed therapists. As we mentioned, many of them have their own therapy practices where they meet patients in person.
Before somebody is able to offer their services through Betterhelp, they are carefully vetted.
This means that you can rest assured that you are in the hands of some of the best therapists in the country. They know what they are doing, and you can be sure that they are offering the same quality online therapy as they would with people they are meeting in their physical location.
You Can Use Live Chat To Reach Out Whenever You Wish
This is one of the major benefits of online therapy through Betterhelp.
With traditional therapy, you are limited to only talking to your therapist when you meet them in person. This means there may be a week between sessions where you can’t get the help you need.
This isn’t an issue with online therapy. The therapist is reachable through live chat. This means that whenever you have a concern, you can get a response between your sessions. You can get the help that you need almost as soon as you need it.
When It May Not Be Beneficial
Online therapy is not for you if you need to diagnose mental health conditions.
This type of therapy may also not be for you if you need medication prescribed.
Because this is strictly talking therapy, it may not always gel with your needs.
Just because you have found online therapy at a reasonable price, it doesn’t mean it is right for you.
During the initial meeting with your therapist, they will try to ascertain your needs and whether this type of therapy will help you meet them. They will always be honest with you. They want you to be healthy, after all.
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Conclusion
The cost of Betterhelp can vary based on a number of factors. You could be paying anywhere from $60 to $90 a week (in some cases, it may be slightly higher).
While Betterhelp does not accept insurance to pay for the costs, they can provide you with receipts so you can look to get reimbursed by your policy.
Alternatively, there are financial aid systems built into the online therapy platform that may reduce the costs slightly.
In all cases, Betterhelp is one of the cheapest ways to talk to qualified therapists.
If you head to the Betterhelp website, you can get more information about how much their services will cost.
FAQs
How Much Does Betterhelp Cost?
The cost of Betterhelp can vary based on a number of factors. You could be paying anywhere from $60 to $90 a week (in some cases, it may be slightly higher). While Betterhelp does not accept insurance to pay for the costs, they can provide you with receipts so you can look to get reimbursed by your policy. Alternatively, there are financial aid systems built into the online therapy platform that may reduce the costs slightly. In all cases, Betterhelp is one of the cheapest ways to talk to qualified therapists. If you head to the Betterhelp website, you can get more information about how much their services will cost.
What Are The Benefits Of Online Therapy?
The significant benefits of online therapy are that it is more convenient than traditional therapy, you can reach your therapist through live chat whenever you need to, and the cost is lower than traditional therapy. Online therapy may not be beneficial for you if you need medication prescribed or if you need to diagnose mental health conditions.
Is Betterhelp Effective?
Yes, Betterhelp is an effective way to get therapy. The therapists on the platform are all licensed and carefully vetted. This means they can offer the same quality of therapy online as they would in person. You can reach out to your therapist through live chat if you have any concerns.
What Happens If I Can’t Afford The Cost Of Betterhelp?
If you can’t afford the cost of Betterhelp, financial aid options are available. You can fill out a form on the website to see if you qualify for a price reduction.
I’m Still Not Sure If Online Therapy Is Right For Me. What Should I Do?
The best way to determine if online therapy is right for you is to talk to your potential therapist about your needs. During the initial meeting, they will be able to assess whether online therapy is going to be beneficial for you or not. They will always be honest with you and want what’s best for your health.
Affiliate Disclosure: we may receive compensation from BetterHelp if you purchase products or services through the links provided on this page.
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References
https://streetwisejournal.com/how-much-does-a-betterhelp-online-counseling-chat-cost/
