Reviews (1)

I first encountered BetterHelp through an ad in my Facebook feed. I decided to try it out because it seemed like a good fit to talk to someone while remaining anonymous, and easier to fit into my schedule since I didn’t have to take time out to go to an office somewhere for talk therapy. It is also cheaper than having a therapist in person and is more accessible. For someone who has received a lot of judgement and avoidance when reaching out for help or has an inadequate or nonexistent support system, this may help.

I want to stress that BetterHelp is not meant to replace in person therapy or in depth professional psychotherapy and psychiatry or someone who is in an acute psychiatric situation (including people who may have untreated personality disorders). I personally use it because I need a safe space to express myself without judgement and because it validates me and makes me feel listened to as a highly sensitive person who is prone to get depressed easily. It also gives me an easily accessible resource to help me cope with issues and relationships and other things in my life. During the times that I’ve gone through a more dangerous mental state, I did not use the app and took myself to the hospital. The app specifically states this upon making an account. If someone lacks the self-awareness when to take yourself to the hospital or is mentally unable to do so, then this app is not for you. If you are in an acute psychiatric situation or have some type of untreated personality disorder, then you’d probably benefit from in-person therapy and talking to a doctor who is qualified to deal with those issues. I overall am high functioning even through my depressive episodes so I like this app because it helps prevent me from getting in a low mood and helps me cope with things in life that may trigger this.

I tried BetterHelp when I was in an emotionally vulnerable time in my life and wanted some self-improvement. The first therapist I had was great and helped me through that vulnerable time and I got to the point where I didn’t need to use the app anymore. The good thing about BetterHelp is that they have different types of payment plan options (weekly, monthly, biannual, and annual, if I’m not mistaken) and you can easily stop the payments in your profile to discontinue the therapy.

I’m currently using BetterHelp again due to needing more coping mechanisms for drastic changes in my life and my current therapist is great and helping me through that.

Upon signing up, the app matches you with a therapist and you can see their profile and their credentials. In the case that you’re not satisfied with your therapist, you have the option to change the therapist at any time to find a better match for you. I haven’t had any issues with the two therapists I’ve had or with the payment system. The good thing about the app is that there are also group therapy sessions you can sign up for, however, I did have an issue navigating this and with the group session I signed up for, the person hosting either never showed up or the program wasn’t working properly.

Overall I’d give BetterHelp 4 stars. It’s good for people who tend to be busier and work more and need someone unbiased to talk to to get through a tough time, or for someone who doesn’t have many understanding or nice people in their life and need someone to vent a little and lean on through harder days. The therapists overall seemed qualified to me and communicated effectively and were very validating and empathetic. However, I do feel like this will unintentionally open doors to people who may not be in the right mental state to know the difference and may mistake this for replacing medical attention. I’m sure BetterHelp and the counselors there will redirect these people, but there’s no real way to completely safeguard that. They also need to improve the group sessions part of the app to either make it easier to navigate or check the conscientiousness of the hosts.

It’s been a good support system for me though! Would recommend it to most people!