Reviews (1)

To be honest, I was very skeptical about teletherapy. I have been in therapy for years and couldn't imagine how therapy could be effective outside of a room with four walls and two people. However, BetterHelp has been a really pleasant surprise, and I've gotten a lot out of my time with my therapist. She's a licensed marriage and family therapist and has both on and off-line practices, so I'm confident in her expertise.

I like that you are assigned a therapist based on your personal needs and goals for therapy because it takes a lot of the guesswork out of finding a therapist. I connected well with the therapist I was initially assigned, but it seems like it would be really easy to request a new one if you don't vibe. The online element makes "shopping" for a therapist that works for you much easier.

Convenience is a big part of why I like BetterHelp. It's nice to schedule appointments on your own time week to week, and it's nice to not have to travel all the way to an office and back. One of my favorite things is that I am able to see my therapist every week, as my past therapists have only been able to see me every other week. Weekly appointments have allowed me to make a lot of progress in a relatively short amount of time.

A few other things I like about the online platform are the ease of sharing resources and increased access to your therapist. My therapist has shared PDFs and youtube videos that have been very helpful. The interface is chat-based (except for the appointments, which can be chat, phone, or video), and my therapist encouraged me to send little updates throughout the week so she has an idea of where I'm at between appointments and can offer words of support if need be. Personally, I don't really use this feature because I have learned how to self-soothe over the years, and I'm just used to getting it all out in the appointment, but I see how that could be really helpful for other people (and even a younger version of myself).

I will say that teletherapy feels a little less "confessional," more solutions-based rather than just "opening up" and talking about what's going on in my life. However, that might be due to my specific goals for therapy right now and the approach of my therapist as opposed to the online aspect. Also, I am currently quarantining because of Corona, so there's a lot less going on day-to-day to even talk about.

I would definitely recommend BetterHelp if you think it might work for you and it's an option that makes sense financially (it's free through my insurance). I don't know if overall I "prefer" it to in-person therapy, but there are definitely some big positives. I think it would work really well for teenagers in particular because it's convenient, you can be seen often, you have a lot of contact with your therapist, and it's easy to change courses if your therapist is not working for you.