TalkSpace is ranked as one of the leading online therapy platforms with its welcoming environment and wide range of services. It has made a name for itself in psychiatry, helping more than a million people treat problems of anxiety, depression, anger and substance abuse. You can start with a plan for individuals or couples. BetterHelp is one of the largest and most reputable online therapy platforms, giving you access to more than 12,000 experienced mental health professionals.
You can trust the therapist you work with through BetterHelp therapists, thanks to experience requirements and a thorough selection process. Each therapist has a minimum of three years and 1,000 hours of practical experience. Talkspace is one of the most versatile online therapy platforms with several communication methods, therapy options and pricing. With Talkspace, you get message-based therapy, which is a great option for those who are comfortable sharing content via video or have a changing schedule and can't commit to weekly sessions.
Pride Counseling, a subsidiary of BetterHelp, offers specialized inclusive and accessible virtual counseling for the LGBTQIA+ community to address issues such as gender identity, stigma, eating disorders and stress. Every therapist you encounter using Pride Counseling has extensive experience working with the LGBTQIA+ community. ReGain, a sister site of BetterHelp, is a virtual therapy platform with experts specializing in relationships, intimacy and family issues. That's why it's our pick for the best online therapy for couples counseling.
All ReGain therapists are licensed and qualified as licensed marriage and family therapists or clinical social workers. It's very difficult to be a person, and therapy can help. When you can't access a therapist in person, video appointments can be just as effective. Online therapy services can even make the process of finding someone to talk to easier by expanding the number of licensed mental health professionals you can choose from, eliminating the need to go to a physical facility to schedule an appointment, and perhaps even reducing your out-of-pocket costs.
After spending more than 75 hours researching for three years and testing appointments on six platforms, we recommend that you start searching for an online therapist with Amwell. Teladoc offers an accredited and secure video therapy platform across the country, with more total therapist options than Amwell, but lacks the ability to hide the vision of your own face on the screen. The Doctor On Demand platform also meets our basic security and accreditation requirements, but sessions cost almost twice as much as through Amwell and you can't hide the view of your face on the screen. Our tests provided an opportunity to examine the processes and video interfaces of each online therapy platform to ensure their ease of use and to be generally enjoyable, as well as to get an idea of what it's like to see a therapist online.
Although only Amwell offers the option to hide your own video (so that the therapist can continue to see you, but you can't see yourself), with other services you can always place a sticky note on the part of the screen that shows you, as a therapist from another platform suggested to one of our evaluators. Psychologists cannot prescribe medication. For prescription drugs, you should contact a healthcare provider capable of prescribing medications, such as a psychiatrist. Because psychiatrists usually don't offer therapy, most health professionals suggest seeing both a psychiatrist and a psychologist if you (or your therapist) think you could benefit from medications.
Ideally, the two professionals should work together and be able to share notes on their progress. Amwell, Teladoc, MDLive and Doctor On Demand offer a standalone, more expensive option for people who want to see a psychiatrist (and possibly have medications prescribed or administered), while neither BetterHelp nor Talkspace have the independent option of specifically consulting a psychiatrist. If you're uncomfortable or unhappy with the services of a therapist, all of our selections offer ways to report questionable practices. Amwell makes it easy to change status to see providers and book appointments elsewhere, which is an advantage for those who travel frequently and want to plan therapy sessions for when they are in different states (licensed therapists are required by law to provide therapy only to patients in states where they are licensed).
If your experience with therapy is not good (something that one of our evaluators experienced on this platform), if you file a complaint with Amwell, its quality management team initiates an investigation, according to a company representative, which “determines if the concern seems valid and the seriousness of the violation.”. If an Amwell therapist believes that you would benefit from additional medical tests or care, they can refer you to another specialist on the platform. During our evaluator's therapy session, held on a computer, several push notifications appeared on the evaluator's phone distracting him from the Teladoc app, reminding him to log in to his appointment even when he was already talking to the therapist. You can disable notifications after the initial configuration of the application.
Like our other options, Teladoc accepts some insurance and also offers virtual access to all types of medical specialists. Like Amwell, MDLive allows you to easily switch between states to check with providers and book appointments in different states. If you're in a different state than the state you're booking an appointment for, MDLive will ask you to confirm what state you're in and suggest that you change to the state you're currently in, but that doesn't stop you from booking an appointment in another state. The Doctor On Demand registration page has a field for the genre called “other”, a feature that makes this platform appear a little more inclusive than Amwell's.
Online therapy gives you the convenience and care of a therapist's office directly through video chat. People of all ages with a reliable Internet connection and a camera device can gain access to quality mental health care with one of our licensed therapists. Call us today and find out how easy it is to get started. It's like a diary that gives you great feedback.
If I had to balance dating in my life, I'd be stressed out. I can write to him whenever I want and whenever I can think of something. Whether you're new to therapy or curious to know how online counseling works, you'll want to take some time to research what's available. The convenience and flexibility of online therapy are quickly making it one of the most popular ways to connect with mental health professionals.
And many online therapy sites allow you to communicate with your therapist on a daily basis, while most in-person sessions are only held once a week. If you're tired of the process of sending emails and calling new therapists to see if they're available, booking online therapy platforms can be quick and easy (though it depends on the availability of therapists in your state). Online therapy means that days of waiting for weeks for an in-person appointment with a mental health professional are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Online therapy, or teletherapy, involves remote therapy sessions conducted using video calls, chat rooms, email, or phone.
We focus on online therapy platforms that have a large list of therapists available with various areas of training, including licensed clinical social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, and licensed professional counselors. The online therapy platforms on this list follow federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines for encrypting information and maintaining the privacy of health data. Some online therapy companies, such as Talkspace, have worked with health insurance companies to form part of the network of several health plans. Online therapy is very convenient, affordable, and accessible, no matter where you live, if you have access to public transportation, or if you work overtime.
Online therapy is a safe space where you can address topics such as depression, anxiety, stress, anger management, insomnia, panic attacks, eating disorders, trauma, relationship problems, life transitions, grief and more. Unlike many other online mental health services, Teladoc can connect people with licensed psychiatrists who can provide a great advantage to therapy applicants who don't have the time, energy, or ability to find a psychiatrist in another service. However, as with health insurance in general, you'll need to verify that the specific online therapy company you're interested in is part of your Medicare network. While online therapy isn't the best solution for everyone, it's quickly becoming one of the most popular ways for people to seek mental health services.
Online therapy also raises questions about regulation when a therapist is in one state and the patient is in another. . .
