BetterHelp therapists are board-certified and have a minimum of 3 years and 1,000 hours of experience. Each therapist also goes through a selection process before being admitted to the BetterHelp network. BetterHelp offers financial assistance to those who are eligible to receive it. With BetterHelp online therapy, messaging isn't a form of real-time communication like video is.
It's available 24 hours a day, but that doesn't mean the BetterHelp counselor will respond immediately. You'll get an email when your counselor sends you a message. Messaging is a good feature between live video, phone or chat sessions when you have a quick question or need to talk to your therapist. It also creates an ongoing conversation that you can refer to at any time.
If you want your information or record to be disclosed to a third party, you can notify your therapist, who will provide you with a form for you to fill out and sign. I had a bit of a hard time finding my therapist at BetterHelp (we'll talk about this later), but once I did, things quickly escalated. The list of therapists shown is limited to 20, although popular places tend to have more therapists available. If you were trying to access the same variety of therapists in your geographic area, you could travel long distances to do so, unless you live in a major metropolitan area.
Phone calls are also beneficial when you prefer to talk to your therapist while traveling, such as during a walk. When you receive your partner, you'll receive an email from BetterHelp followed by an automatic introductory email from your therapist with a link to see and respond. The value of BetterHelp, in particular, is high thanks to extras such as guided registration, webinars and unlimited instant messaging with your therapist. You and your therapist use a specific “room” (the main window of the Counseling tab), a virtual place for you to communicate with each other securely and privately.
You must complete an authorization form so that your therapist can share your information or records with a third party. Your success in working with your therapist will also reflect your motivation to do the work during and after sessions. However, like all therapy, value comes when you find the therapist with whom you can develop a very productive and useful routine and working relationship. BetterHelp subscriptions are a great option for those who want the advice of a licensed therapist but don't have health insurance.
Sign in and the quiz continues with another set of questions about whether you prefer a therapist from a certain background, ethnicity, religion or gender. The cost of BetterHelp's weekly online therapy subscription includes unlimited messages and one live conversation, phone conversation, or video session per week, giving you the freedom to choose the telehealth format that works best. While the BetterHelp system technically allows you to choose a licensed therapist in any state, therapists can only provide therapy to those who reside in your state (s).