Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow I Signed UpCancellationCouples Therapy SessionPros and ConsFinal Thoughts
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
How I Signed Up
Cancellation
Couples Therapy Session
Pros and Cons
Final Thoughts
Our Online Therapy MethodologyCurious about the extensive work we did to research and evaluate online therapy companies? Take a look at ouronline therapy methodology.
Our Online Therapy Methodology
Curious about the extensive work we did to research and evaluate online therapy companies? Take a look at ouronline therapy methodology.
When Iapproached my partnerabout couples counseling, I was a bit nervous—would he worry that I thought there was something wrong with our relationship? Would he even want to talk to a stranger about ourcommunication woes, or the same fight we’ve had for 10 years? It seemed like walking into sensitive territory at best, and I hoped for a trusted therapist on the other end who would both understand this and proceed with care and compassion.
Thriveworks
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The 10 Best Online Couples Therapy Services We Tried and Tested
Upon first glance, the website was very user-friendly and quickly walked me through the steps of signing up: inputting my insurance, providing my location, and finding a provider to meet my needs. One thing that concerned me, however, was that I wasn’t prompted to fill out any sort of mental health or medical background information. Most therapy services ask you to submit a form of this nature to give your therapist some information on your situation, history, medications, etc.
At first, I was unclear about whoseinsuranceI should use for couples therapy. I later found out that only one person’s insurance needs to be filled in and the other person is their guest. I wish this had been explained more clearly during onboarding, though.
Pricing and InsuranceThriveworks uses a pay-per-session model. The company claims that one in two Americans’ insurance is accepted, including Humana, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Tricare, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, and TUFTS. Using my insurance, I was charged my typical copay for a mental health provider.Without insurance, therapy sessions start at $200 each. According to the ThriveworksFAQ, pricing depends on a variety of factors, including your insurance, provider, location, and more. That means specific out-of-pocket session prices are only available if you sign up for the service without insurance.
Pricing and Insurance
Thriveworks uses a pay-per-session model. The company claims that one in two Americans’ insurance is accepted, including Humana, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Tricare, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, and TUFTS. Using my insurance, I was charged my typical copay for a mental health provider.Without insurance, therapy sessions start at $200 each. According to the ThriveworksFAQ, pricing depends on a variety of factors, including your insurance, provider, location, and more. That means specific out-of-pocket session prices are only available if you sign up for the service without insurance.
Thriveworks uses a pay-per-session model. The company claims that one in two Americans’ insurance is accepted, including Humana, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Tricare, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, and TUFTS. Using my insurance, I was charged my typical copay for a mental health provider.
Without insurance, therapy sessions start at $200 each. According to the ThriveworksFAQ, pricing depends on a variety of factors, including your insurance, provider, location, and more. That means specific out-of-pocket session prices are only available if you sign up for the service without insurance.
The cancellation policy seemed harsh to me: you’re charged $135 if you cancel an appointment with less than 48 hours' notice. Given this policy, I was hesitant to sign up as a parent of five children who sometimes get sick or have a last-minute meltdown. In my experience, kids never give you 48 hours’ notice if they plan on coming down with a fever, or need to be picked up from school unexpectedly.
I did appreciate the educational section of the website, though, where you can read blog posts about various mental health topics of your choosing, from relationships and grief to self-care and stress management.
How I Found Our Couples Therapist
Therapist qualifications vary greatly on the platform, depending on what you need. Providers includepsychologists,licensed clinical social workers(LCSWs),licensed marriage and family therapists(LMFTs), and various other types of licensed counselors. There are even psychiatrists to manage mental health medications.
I narrowed my search down using my location and desired therapy type:couples therapy. About four therapists came up as a match, and their schedules and profiles, which included their qualifications, were immediately available. The first therapist who came up had limited availability, but I selected them because they seemed to have focus areas that matched our needs.
Common Marriage Problems and Solutions
An Unfortunate Cancellation and Customer Service
The therapist somewhat flippantly suggested meeting in a few days, at which point I got a bit upset that I’d have to rearrange everyone again for this mistake.
Based on that conversation, I decided to switch therapists.
Luckily, customer service at Thriveworks was excellent.
Customer ServiceIf you have a problem, such as needing to switch therapists or trouble signing up for a session, there’s a number you can text to access help quickly.
Customer Service
If you have a problem, such as needing to switch therapists or trouble signing up for a session, there’s a number you can text to access help quickly.
Still, switching providers ended up being a hassle: I had to reenter my insurance information, essentially starting over on something that should have been saved for such a situation. I also had technical difficulties here, such as not being able to push the “submit” button after filling out the form numerous times. Eventually, I had to enlist help from the text line.
One thing I noticed after scheduling with two different therapists at Thriveworks was that provider availability tended to be limited (at least in my area). Our first provider only worked from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., making it difficult for anyone with a traditional full-time job to schedule appointments with them. Our second provider seemed to have availability every single hour, but I don’t think that was really accurate, as they said they had a heavy caseload with multiple patients. This made me worry that the website’s scheduler might just be perpetually inaccurate.
Inside a Couples Therapy Session
The company sent us a link and a reminder for our upcoming session. It sent another one just before the session. These made it easy to find and join our appointment. Our new provider was on time and ready to go.
The therapist made a substantial amount of small talk trying to get to know us, but didn’t really present any sort of overview of what we’d be doing.
The small talk persisted for at least half of the session before any sort of deeper conversation about why we were there began. While this seemed somewhatnecessary to establish trust, I didn’t think it worked well. Ultimately, we were just waiting for the “real” work to start.
Eventually, I brought up an issue we’d been facing for a while. The therapist basically summarized the issue back to me in an effort to understand but also jumped to some conclusions in doing so. I also felt they were using words that labeled our situation inaccurately, such as stereotyping me as an overbearing mom and using terms such as “anxiety,” which seemed rather diagnostic before really getting to know the full story.
They offered quite a few platitudes and clichéd pieces of advice, such as “be nice” and “stay calm,” which seemed to gloss over the complexities of the situations we were describing.
As such, we didn’t feel heard, but rather felt misunderstood, which led to my husband not wanting to return for a third session.
I expected our provider to go more in-depth to better figure out our individual backgrounds and our needs and goals as a couple. I expected more specific questions about our relationship’s strengths and challenges, and less stereotyping or lumping us into a category that didn’t feel applicable.
While our experience with Thriveworks was less than ideal, there are plenty of positive aspects of the service to consider.
ProsExcellent customer serviceAccepts insuranceGood communication/reminders leading up to visitEasy-to-navigate websiteCan choose your own therapistDetailed search criteria help narrow down your provider optionsEmploys many providers, making it more likely you’ll find a good matchFree resources on website, such as the educational blogConsNo mental health assessment or background information formsIf paying out-of-pocket, you won’t know your exact session price until after signing upProvider availability can be limitedChanging providers is basically like signing up all over againScheduling glitches
ProsExcellent customer serviceAccepts insuranceGood communication/reminders leading up to visitEasy-to-navigate websiteCan choose your own therapistDetailed search criteria help narrow down your provider optionsEmploys many providers, making it more likely you’ll find a good matchFree resources on website, such as the educational blog
Excellent customer service
Accepts insurance
Good communication/reminders leading up to visit
Easy-to-navigate website
Can choose your own therapist
Detailed search criteria help narrow down your provider options
Employs many providers, making it more likely you’ll find a good match
Free resources on website, such as the educational blog
ConsNo mental health assessment or background information formsIf paying out-of-pocket, you won’t know your exact session price until after signing upProvider availability can be limitedChanging providers is basically like signing up all over againScheduling glitches
No mental health assessment or background information forms
If paying out-of-pocket, you won’t know your exact session price until after signing up
Provider availability can be limited
Changing providers is basically like signing up all over again
Scheduling glitches
My Thriveworks experience was not at all what I’d hoped for. We ended up with scheduling issues and a therapist who didn’t seem able to handle what we were bringing to the table. The quality of the session we attended, coupled with the original provider canceling so unexpectedly, gives me doubts about using them moving forward.
Unfortunately, for us, the whole experience produced additional marital stress rather than relieving it. As a result, I would not recommend this service to others. However, our experience may not reflect the norm.
User Survey ResultsOf the 100 Thriveworks users surveyed, 96% said they would recommend Thriveworks to their friends and family members, 96% said their provider met all or most of their needs, and 87% said it was better than other therapy services they’d tried in the past. In addition, 95% of Thriveworks users said the service was a good value for money and 91% said they found the website either easy or very easy to navigate.
User Survey Results
Of the 100 Thriveworks users surveyed, 96% said they would recommend Thriveworks to their friends and family members, 96% said their provider met all or most of their needs, and 87% said it was better than other therapy services they’d tried in the past. In addition, 95% of Thriveworks users said the service was a good value for money and 91% said they found the website either easy or very easy to navigate.
It was hard enough to make the decision to try couples counseling, get us both on board, find someone who accepted our insurance, and had availability that worked for both of our schedules. I wouldn’t want anyone else to have to go through all that just to be disappointed like we were. Couples therapy shouldn’t feel like more trouble than it’s worth.
While I was disappointed with many aspects of the process we went through, there was a silver lining.
Since we were matched with multiple providers, if my husband and I were to continue with Thriveworks, we’d have a few more therapist options to try out to see if we could find a better match for our needs and circumstances.
Olivia Campbell
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