The No-BS Review for BetterHelp You’ve Been Searching For – Trust me, this is not sponsored.
Use my referral link to get one free week of therapy (p.s. you’ll also help me out). Thank you in advance!
So I’ll start off by keeping to my word about the whole “no-bs” thing: Yes, BetterHelp is very much legitimate. While the app doesn’t accept insurance, it offers low-cost online counseling services to individuals by licensed professionals (LSW, LC, Ph.D., Psy.D., etc.).
I began therapy with BetterHelp in August of 2022, starting with the free trial. This blog will discuss my personal experience with the app and my therapist. All confidential details, including personal identifiers [aside from my own], will be left out.
Phew. Let’s begin.
How It Began
Well, it didn’t begin good- otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have sought out a therapist. However, I have to say that I am a huge advocate of going to therapy for self-care instead of always treating a mental illness.
For myself, I went into therapy narrow-minded. I’ve had handfuls of poor experiences, some of which I’m going to list here:
3rd place: Compared life to a wheelbarrow of shit and asked for $100
2nd place: Ran into my therapist at college
1st place: One therapist pulled out the DSM-V right in front of me when attempting to make a diagnosis
oh, and a runner-up medal to all of the therapists that didn’t know how to interrupt my blabbermouth.
I knew I wanted a therapist that would not only be highly educated and experienced with my diagnosis but also matched my energy and was willing to work on a strict therapy plan. After talking with local resources, I found that there were absolutely zero in my area. I mean none at all.
So I took a leap of faith and signed up for BetterHelp.
The Process
First, they’ll match you to a therapist within 24-48 hours of signing up. This is based on a few criteria, such as gender, diagnosis, goals, and schedule.
Honestly, it took me until just at the 48-hour mark to get matched with my therapist. From there, I introduced myself and vice versa, all while giving bits and pieces of my background over text. I scheduled my first appointment two weeks out because it was the soonest evening appointment.
During those two weeks, I occasionally messaged my therapist and would send voice memos with information.
How It’s Going
As I write this, I’ve officially attended my first session with my therapist. God, do I love her! She is everything I could have asked for in a therapist, which makes me all the happier that we were matched right off the bat. Quirky, cool, and even has tattoos + ample experience (as many years as I’ve been alive) working with my diagnosis.
What I love is that while I have the freedom to change my therapist at any time, I was properly matched with someone who fit the criteria I checked off. That was extremely important to me, and BetterHelp came out 5/5 with my first week so far.
After my first session, I set up a reoccurring schedule with her moving forward. Yay!
Update | Sept. 24, 2022
I completed my second therapy session on Monday and can still confirm it’s going great. Although I’m not sure if all mental health professionals on BetterHelp offer this option, but mine offered me homework. In other words- skills/goals I can work on and talking points for the next session.
Since I’m all for school, I was obviously all over that option. After doing homework every day (maybe 15 minutes or so), I can confidently say this is the most engaged I’ve ever been with a therapist. In all honesty? All thanks to BetterHelp.
Pros of BetterHelp
- Video/Telehealth Option
- Messaging/Texting Available 24/7
- Live Messaging Appointments
- Phone Appointments
- Help for a VARIETY of different issues
- You can choose your therapist
- You can change your therapist
- There are discount options for unemployed and low-income individuals
- Cost
- Convenience
- Quick
- You get matched to your therapist within 24-48 hours of signing up- usually sooner.
- Journal in-app
- In-app scheduling (you don’t need to speak with the therapist)
- Upload attachments
- Send voice memos
- Option to send “urgent” messages
Cons of BetterHelp
- Number of available therapists to choose from
- Filter options
- There are few options to choose from when filtering for a therapist. I wish you could choose based on education (i.e., Psychologist vs. LSW).
- Hey BetterHelp, if you see this, you should also add a schedule filter, so I don’t waste any time sorting therapists out based on their availability.
- Glitches
- Accidentally matched to a therapist whose schedule was already full
- No physical address/in-person appointments
- BetterHelp does not accept insurance
- BetterHelp can not prescribe medication
Is BetterHelp Actually Affordable?
BetterHelp costs $60 to $90 per week on average, but can be lower if you qualify for special discounts:
- Unemployed ($50’s)
- Low-Income
- Student Discounts
- Promo Codes (Check online!) (30% off, free week, etc.)
- Referral Codes (Get your first week free)
Compared to a regular therapist, I’d say this is an excellent option for many people. However, there are a lot of insurance companies now that cover therapy, so I would recommend this to those who…
- Have higher copays
- Are uninsured
- Need a therapist ASAP
- Looking for therapy with ample options (text, message, video, call)
With my insurance, therapy would be around $150 per week if I don’t reach my deductible (which rarely happens). So for me, this was a great option.
Final Thoughts
So, is BetterHelp legit? YES!
My final thoughts would be to sign up! If this is something that you believe can help you, I can confidently so far recommend it to anyone who crosses paths with me. Overall? I give BetterHelp 4.5/5 star rating.
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