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MyCounselor.Online combines evidence-based techniques and Biblical wisdom to provide individual, couples, and family therapy. Unlike many competitors, it also offers sex therapy. However, the service may be too expensive for some, and its Statement of Faith and Code of Ethics are not LGBTQIA+ friendly.Pros & ConsProsIndividual, couples, sex, and family therapyLicensed counselors and resident counselors working toward their licensesHIPAA-compliant video sessionsIn-person counseling centers open in four U.S. citiesSessions available in English and SpanishExtensive, informative websiteCounselors’ biographies available without signing upMultiple tiers of providers with different rates to fit your budgetPayment plans and scholarships availableYou can pick your own therapistVideo sessions are available to users internationallyIts third-party medical biller can submit insurance claims for youProvides individual counseling for children 12 and upConsNot recommended for the LGBTQIA+ communityLimited number of therapists available, especially in personAdvanced therapists’ rates are expensiveDoes not take insuranceScholarship recipients and Spanish speakers may only see unlicensed resident counselorsStatement of Faith and Code of Ethics promote Biblical literalismStaff is not very diverseMay not be for non-ChristiansNo psychiatric or medication management servicesNo messaging or audio communication0
MyCounselor.Online combines evidence-based techniques and Biblical wisdom to provide individual, couples, and family therapy. Unlike many competitors, it also offers sex therapy. However, the service may be too expensive for some, and its Statement of Faith and Code of Ethics are not LGBTQIA+ friendly.
Pros & Cons
ProsIndividual, couples, sex, and family therapyLicensed counselors and resident counselors working toward their licensesHIPAA-compliant video sessionsIn-person counseling centers open in four U.S. citiesSessions available in English and SpanishExtensive, informative websiteCounselors’ biographies available without signing upMultiple tiers of providers with different rates to fit your budgetPayment plans and scholarships availableYou can pick your own therapistVideo sessions are available to users internationallyIts third-party medical biller can submit insurance claims for youProvides individual counseling for children 12 and upConsNot recommended for the LGBTQIA+ communityLimited number of therapists available, especially in personAdvanced therapists’ rates are expensiveDoes not take insuranceScholarship recipients and Spanish speakers may only see unlicensed resident counselorsStatement of Faith and Code of Ethics promote Biblical literalismStaff is not very diverseMay not be for non-ChristiansNo psychiatric or medication management servicesNo messaging or audio communication
ProsIndividual, couples, sex, and family therapyLicensed counselors and resident counselors working toward their licensesHIPAA-compliant video sessionsIn-person counseling centers open in four U.S. citiesSessions available in English and SpanishExtensive, informative websiteCounselors’ biographies available without signing upMultiple tiers of providers with different rates to fit your budgetPayment plans and scholarships availableYou can pick your own therapistVideo sessions are available to users internationallyIts third-party medical biller can submit insurance claims for youProvides individual counseling for children 12 and up
Individual, couples, sex, and family therapy
Licensed counselors and resident counselors working toward their licenses
HIPAA-compliant video sessions
In-person counseling centers open in four U.S. cities
Sessions available in English and Spanish
Extensive, informative website
Counselors’ biographies available without signing up
Multiple tiers of providers with different rates to fit your budget
Payment plans and scholarships available
You can pick your own therapist
Video sessions are available to users internationally
Its third-party medical biller can submit insurance claims for you
Provides individual counseling for children 12 and up
ConsNot recommended for the LGBTQIA+ communityLimited number of therapists available, especially in personAdvanced therapists’ rates are expensiveDoes not take insuranceScholarship recipients and Spanish speakers may only see unlicensed resident counselorsStatement of Faith and Code of Ethics promote Biblical literalismStaff is not very diverseMay not be for non-ChristiansNo psychiatric or medication management servicesNo messaging or audio communication
Not recommended for the LGBTQIA+ community
Limited number of therapists available, especially in person
Advanced therapists’ rates are expensive
Does not take insurance
Scholarship recipients and Spanish speakers may only see unlicensed resident counselors
Statement of Faith and Code of Ethics promote Biblical literalism
Staff is not very diverse
May not be for non-Christians
No psychiatric or medication management services
No messaging or audio communication
In This ArticleExpandFirst ImpressionsPlans & PricingEase of UseQuality of CareServices OfferedPrivacy PoliciesUser SatisfactionThe CompetitionFinal VerdictSpecs
In This ArticleExpand
Expand
First Impressions
Plans & Pricing
Ease of Use
Quality of Care
Services Offered
Privacy Policies
User Satisfaction
The Competition
Final Verdict
Specs
A Word of CautionMyCounselor.Online’s Statement of Faith and Code of Ethics, based on Biblical principles, explain how counselors are expected to approach homosexuality, abortion, premarital sex, divorce, and other topics in therapy. To ensure the company is the right fit, we suggest that everyone read the code of ethics and statement of faith before signing up.
MyCounselor.Online’s Statement of Faith and Code of Ethics, based on Biblical principles, explain how counselors are expected to approach homosexuality, abortion, premarital sex, divorce, and other topics in therapy. To ensure the company is the right fit, we suggest that everyone read the code of ethics and statement of faith before signing up.
Licensed professional counselor and ordained minister Josh Spurlock founded MyCounselor.Online in 2007 to provide individuals, couples, and families with access to affordable, evidence-based therapy sensitive to their Christian values and ethics.
The company has since grown to offer virtual counseling to clients in the U.S. and abroad, as well as in-person services at its locations in Centennial, Colorado; Kansas City, Missouri; Springfield, Missouri; and San Antonio, Texas. As of September 2022, the company employed 32 counselors, some of whom were pre-licensed (but undergoing training and certification).
MyCounselor.Online’s website states that all counselors are professing Christians whose faith and practice are in alignment with theAmerican Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) Code of Ethicsand theFocus on the Family (FotF) Statement of Faith.Both organizations believe that God has ordained marriage to be a sacrament between one cisgender man and one cisgender woman, so we cannot recommend an online therapy service with these underpinning values to members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
MyCounselor.Online’s website states that all counselors are professing Christians whose faith and practice are in alignment with theAmerican Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) Code of Ethicsand theFocus on the Family (FotF) Statement of Faith.
Both organizations believe that God has ordained marriage to be a sacrament between one cisgender man and one cisgender woman, so we cannot recommend an online therapy service with these underpinning values to members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
MyCounselor.Online did not respond to the questionnaire we sent as part of the research for Verywell Mind’s 2021 Online Therapy Awards, despite multiple attempts to contact the company, giving us less insight into the online therapy service beyond our survey results and the information available on its website.The company did not respond to our questionnaire in 2022 either, and we did not ultimately decide to perform new user testing on its services. However, the review below has been updated for accuracy. Keep reading to learn more about MyCounselor.Online.
MyCounselor.Online did not respond to the questionnaire we sent as part of the research for Verywell Mind’s 2021 Online Therapy Awards, despite multiple attempts to contact the company, giving us less insight into the online therapy service beyond our survey results and the information available on its website.
The company did not respond to our questionnaire in 2022 either, and we did not ultimately decide to perform new user testing on its services. However, the review below has been updated for accuracy. Keep reading to learn more about MyCounselor.Online.
MyCounselor.Online’swebsiteis informative and comprehensive.
Unlike many of its competitors that put their prompts for users to sign up at the top of their homepages, MyCounselor.Online does not link to the intake coordinator scheduling function until you’ve scrolled about halfway down the page.
The company also has a show called MyCounselorLIVE, where rotating hosts and MyCounselor.Online therapists answer user-submitted questions. The company also maintains varying levels of active presence on itsFacebook,Twitter,YouTube, andInstagramaccounts.
Seventy-six percent of users surveyed reported that they either had a very good or excellent experience signing up for MyCounselor.Online’s services.
Unlike many of its competitors that use matching algorithms to pair therapy seekers with their new therapists, MyCounselor.Online clients choose their own providers with the help of the company’s matching specialists. All counselors’ bios are available to filter and browse without signing up for the service. Whether you click “Get started” in the sidebar menu or click “Schedule / Wait List” on a specific provider, you will be sent to the scheduling page forNew Client Matching meetings.
Here, you’ll provide contact information, fill out a form of mental health history and therapy goals, and indicate whether you are planning to seek out-of-network reimbursement.
During your free 20-minute call (held viaHIPAA-compliant Zoomor phone call), your matching specialist will help you choose a new provider, walk you through the remaining steps that you must complete before scheduling your “Right for You” assessment meeting (a no-obligation, but paid, opportunity to make sure you and your counselor are a good fit)t, and answer any other questions you might have. Finally, before you can have your first real session, you must pay for your first month and the Assessment fee.
When asked in 2021 how long it took for MyCounselor.Online clients to speak with their therapists for the first time:
A new feature on the Pricing page in 2022 is an estimated wait time for each type of counselor. At the time of updating this review in September 2022, Resident counselors were advertised as having immediate scheduling availability, while Certified counselors had a waitlist of at least one to two weeks, and Advanced Practice counselors were scheduling at least one to three months in the future. (More on the differences between these providers below.)
Sixty-one percent of users in 2021 rated the services as being either a very good or excellent value, compared to that year’s overall survey average of 68%, likely because MyCounselor.Online’s overall prices were higher than most of its competitors. The company also charges a nonrefundable assessment fee of $35, an expense that most of its competitors do not require.
Our survey respondents (to all companies) were disproportionately middle- or upper-class. Seventy-nine percent of MyCounselor.Online users in 2021 earned more than $74,999 annually, while one in five made $150,000 or more. Considering that the average U.S. household income in 2019 was $68,703, not everyone will be able to afford to see Certified and Advanced Practice counselors.
What Are MyCounselor.Online’s Prices?
ThePricing pagestates that the typical client sees their counselor two to three times per month and spends a total of $220 through $390 per month on services through the company.
Fees depend on the type of provider you want to see, and whether you opt to pay per session or enroll in a monthly membership, which is a new offering for 2022.
Non-member prices per 45-minute session are as follows:
As mentioned previously, a one-time assessment fee of $35 will be added to the price of your first session.
What Subscription Plans Does MyCounselor.Online Offer?
Choose from three memberships that offer reduced rates compared to the company’s a-la-carte prices:
Each plan includes two 45-minutes sessions per month, but clients are also given the option to combine both sessions into one 90-minute session.
You can also cancel your membership and switch to a pay-as-you-go agreement at any time. As the FAQs state, though, “most people prefer the savings that come with membership.”
No. However, the company has a risk-free guarantee, so if you’re not satisfied after your first appointment, you will be completely reimbursed for the cost of the session. Many of the other services we have reviewed in the past do not offer refunds.
Is There a Free Trial?
No. However, the company has a risk-free guarantee, so if you’re not satisfied after your first appointment, you will be completely reimbursed for the cost of the session. Many of the other services we reviewed do not offer refunds.
Does MyCounselor.Online Accept Insurance?
MyCounselor.Online itself does not bill insurance companies, but its third-party biller can submit claims to your insurer for a fee of $5 each. Outpatient therapy is sometimes fully or partially covered as an out-of-network benefit, though faith-based counseling is less frequently covered, so contact your insurer’s customer service to see if you can expect any reimbursement.
Seventy-six percent of users in 2021 were able to receive at least partial reimbursement from their insurance company. They also reported an average monthly out-of-pocket cost of $188.
Can You Change or Cancel Your Subscription?
If you want to cancel or reschedule a session, you can do so for free: Just click the cancellation link in your confirmation email or reach out to the member support team at least 24 hours in advance. You’ll be on the hook for any changes made after this 24-hour window, however.
MyCounselor.Online states on its FAQ page that people who miss sessions due to mental health crises or other emergencies will also be charged the full session cost. Many, if not most, of the companies we reviewed in 2021 and 2022 do not make this stipulation. It seems odd that a service dedicated to accessible therapy services explicitly does not allow free cancellations due to medical emergencies.
Are There Discounts Available?
Also available are scholarship sessions with a pre-licensed Resident counselor. At $55 per session, this could be a more affordable way to access treatment; however, you will be assigned a counselor, rather than choosing one yourself.
An additional caveat about the scholarship: Recipients may only book with unlicensed resident counselors, and do not get to choose their own providers.
The company also offers payment plans starting at $50 per week.
Previously, seventy-one percent of surveyed users reported that the sign-up process was either very good or excellent. This satisfaction rate is slightly lower than the average of all 33 companies we reviewed in 2021.
Unlike the vast majority of other therapy platforms, you do not need to create an account during the initial sign-up process: Simply schedule a New Client Matching Meeting, and a MyCounselor.Online specialist will assist you in the next steps. MyCounselor.Online’s FAQs note that if you don’t have specific therapist requirements, you may be able to see a counselor the same day you see your matching specialist.
MyCounselor.Online conducts sessions via HIPAA-compliant Zoom technology using itsMyDevicevideo platform,available on desktop and mobile, as well as Firefox and Chrome browser extensions. Eighty-nine percent of users rated the user-friendliness of MyCounselor.Online’s video calls as either very good or excellent.
In 2021, 79% of MyCounselor.Online users described the wait time to hear from their therapist for the first time as either very good or excellent.
If you don’t feel your new counselor is a good match, don’t worry. One advantage MyCounselor.Online has over most of its competitors is that all of itstherapists’ direct phone numbers and extensionsare available on its site, making it easy to reach out to a specific counselor.
Some may like the option to switch therapists themselves immediately, while others may find it difficult to pick a new provider on their own and would feel more comfortable with some guidance, which MyCounselor.Online’s specialists are happy to provide.
Sixty-seven percent of users in 2021 thought that it was either easy or very easy to change therapists at MyCounselor.Online.
Therapists’ Qualifications and Quality of Care
Seventy-three percent of MyCounselor.Online respondents reported that education and qualifications were important to them when choosing an online therapist.
When asked about the qualifications of therapists available, 86% of users reported they were either very good or excellent. This was a higher-than-average rating across all 33 companies surveyed in 2021.
All therapists and counselors at the company are practicing Christians who have studied Scripture closely enough to be able to apply it to therapy sessions.
Although freedom of religion laws do not require religious counselors to have licensing, MyCounselor.Online’s residency program was created specifically to meet or exceed the requirements for licensure in all 50 U.S. states. Additionally, the company strongly encourages its employees to continue on to seek official state licenses.
MyCounselor.Online only employs two percent of job applicants who pass its highly selective interview and vetting process. All incoming interns and Resident counselors complete a two-year residency on the NICC treatment model, which combines theology with science-backed methods ranging fromaccelerated experiential dynamic psychotherapy(AEDP) tointerpersonal neurobiology(IPNB) topolyvagal theory.
Certified counselors are fully licensed in their respective states, have earned a minimum of a master’s degree, are MyCounselor.Online-certified, and have completed at least 1,200 hours of clinical experience.
Advanced Practice counselors have the same credentials—with 5,000 to 10,000+ clinical practice hours—and the addition of at least one advanced certification, such asemotionally focused therapy(EFT),sex therapy, or AEDP.
Every therapist is also required to complete at least 100 hours of continued education training each year.
Many therapy seekers end up seeing more than one provider at a service or switching services altogether. However, MyCounselor.Online had one of the highest percentages of 2021 survey respondents who were currently working with the same therapist they initially chose:
Types of Therapy Offered
Despite MyCounselor.Online’s relatively small pool of counselors, seventy-nine percent of users reported considering the types of therapy services on offer in 2021 to be either very good or excellent.
MyCounselor.Online offers counseling for clients aged 13 and up, but its longstanding specialization is in marriage counseling and other relationship concerns. These include affair recovery, premarital and dating counseling, sex therapy, communication skills, andpornandsex addictions.
Counselors working with individual therapy seekers can treat:
As the team does not include life coaches, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, or medical doctors, the company can only provide talk therapy and counseling. Clients who need medication management and/or psychiatric evaluation will be referred to local resources.
NICC certificationtrains counselors in science-backed techniques that include:EFTAEDPSex therapyInternal family systems(IFS)Cognitive behavioral therapy(CBT)Dialectical behavior therapy(DBT)Psychoanalytic therapySchema therapyThe Gottman method
NICC certificationtrains counselors in science-backed techniques that include:
While it’s likely that some counselors are more LGBTQIA+-competent than others, the LGBTQIA+ community should take caution when considering this company’s services.
We cannot find any evidence that MyCounselor.Online offers conversion therapy—a harmful and ineffective practice that even theAACC disavowed in 2014. However, the company does utilize sexual identity therapy (SIT), a framework for therapy seekers who want to align their sexuality with their values, whether that means embracing or “changing” it.
TheSIT advanced informed consent agreementstates upfront that the company does not believe it is possible to provide value-neutral counseling, which may be another red flag for LGBTQIA+ therapy seekers who only want to work with affirming providers. To be on the safe side, we do not recommend MyCounselor.Online to members of that community.
MyCounselor.Online does its best to protect client privacy and data using 256-bit encryption, and its MyDevice video platform uses HIPAA-compliant Zoom software. However, like the other companies we reviewed, itsinformed consent policynotes that no transmission of data is guaranteed to be completely secure.
Although there’s no need to create an account or otherwise sign up, use of MyCounselor.Online’s services are not anonymous. You must provide payment information and your social security number at the time of intake. That said, the company does its best to ensure confidentiality. If, for instance, you would be in trouble (or even danger) if someone in your household discovered you’re in therapy, you can request the bill to be sent to another address entirely.
We had another concern—namely, how much privacy clients under age 18 can expect. It can be difficult for kids and teens to be honest in therapy if they’re afraid of getting into trouble or don’t want their parents to know certain things about them.
It’s up to each provider’s professional judgment to determine if their clients are in danger. In this case, a minor’s counselor will do their best to speak with their client first regarding what will be discussed with the parents/guardians in their life, and if there are any specific reasons the minor is opposed to their counselor disclosing this information.
Overall Client Satisfaction
Seventy-one percent of 2021 survey respondents reported having either very good or excellent overall satisfaction regarding MyCounselor.Online’s services. This was a slightly lower rate of satisfaction than some of its competitors received the same year— for instance, compared toCornerstone Christian Counseling’s78%—but higher than others, such asFaithful Counseling(formerly a subsidiary of BetterHelp, which has now been folded into its parent company), only 67% of whose surveyed users rated their satisfaction equally highly.
However, only sixty-four percent of users said the value of MyCounselor.Online’s services were very good or excellent for the price. This percentage was lower than the total 2021 survey average of 73%.
Seventy-nine percent of users who had tried other online therapy services said that MyCounselor.Online was better or much better in comparison.
Most of the company’s clients seemed to use the service for up to a year or two:
Only eight percent reported having used the company’s services for two to five years (or more) at the time of being surveyed.
Since MyCounselor.Online did not respond to our questionnaire in 2021 or 2022 to provide information on the rate of staff turnover or how long its clients stay with the company, we can only venture the guess that the percentage drop off may either be due to the comparatively higher costs or the fact that clients felt that their issues had been resolved within a shorter time frame.
Eighty-four percent of MyCounselor.Online users reported they were either likely or very likely to still be seeing a therapist within the company 12 months after being surveyed, which is lower than our total 2021 survey’s average.
Ninety-one percent of users said they were either likely or very likely to recommend someone like them to MyCounselor.Online.
Is MyCounselor.Online Right For You?
MyCounselor.Online may be a good option for individuals and couples who want Christian therapy.
Interestingly, 24% of our respondents in 2021 were of religions that fell outside of the broad umbrella of Protestant Christianity (a group that includes Catholicism)—with 4% reporting they were atheists or agnostics.
Since the company has not answered our questionnaire, we have no insight into what led these clients to seek Christian-based therapy, nor how long the average non-Christian uses the service.
The MyCounselor.Online Statement of Faith is seven bullet points that begin with the belief that the Bible is the infallible word of God, meaning that literalist interpretations of Scripture could be used to discriminate against LGBTQIA+ clients. It is for these and other reasons that theSouthern Poverty Law Center,PFLAG, and theHuman Rights Campaignhave deemed FotF an anti-LGBTQIA+ organization.
In addition, the much more comprehensive AACC Code of Ethics specifically mandates that Christian therapists must not condone activities that are not “Biblically prescribed.” Just a few examples of these behaviors include premarital sex, affairs, divorce, sex between two or more people who are not straight and cisgender (non-transgender), “transgendered behavior” in general, and abortion.
The AACC Code does instruct Christian Counselors to use compassion to help their clients work through these issues while bearing in mind that their clients are the final arbiters of their own lives. But there may be variations in how individual therapists relate to, understand, and speak to and/or about their clients.
Though its site stresses that its therapists are trained to be open-minded, non-judgmental, and accepting that their clients have their final say over their own lives, the company’s values are still centered on Biblical literalism, which is often used to justify anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiment and discrimination.Therefore, we cannot recommend MyCounselor.Online to the LGBTQIA+ community.
Though its site stresses that its therapists are trained to be open-minded, non-judgmental, and accepting that their clients have their final say over their own lives, the company’s values are still centered on Biblical literalism, which is often used to justify anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiment and discrimination.
Therefore, we cannot recommend MyCounselor.Online to the LGBTQIA+ community.
The company does not offer life coaches or address any self-improvement techniques that are unrelated to mental health and cannot provide medication management due to the lack of medical doctors or psychiatrists on staff; those who are seeking those services will need to look elsewhere.
MyCounselor.Online’s therapists, however, can refer their clients to psychiatrists who can write prescriptions.
The Best Online Christian Counseling Services, Tried and Tested
MyCounselor.Online vs. Faithful Counseling
Twenty-nine percent of both MyCounselor.Online and Faithful Counseling clients rated the qualifications of their therapists as either good or very good in 2021 (when Faithful Counseling still existed as a separate company from BetterHelp).
The decision to choose one company over the other will come down to cost, type of therapy offered (individual, couples, family), and your specific needs and goals for therapy. Neither company offers psychiatrists or medication management.
MyCounselor.Online’s relatively small staff of therapists and counselors offers memberships and pay-as-you-go video and in-office sessions to individuals, couples, and teens. Its dedicated intake specialists are available to answer your questions and guide you through the process of choosing your own therapist.
Potential—and even current—clients will likely appreciate the comprehensive and informative nature of MyCounselor.Online’s website, ThriveNOW blog, and weekly “Ask a Therapist” livestream.
BetterHelpuses an algorithm to match therapy seekers with one of its thousands of affiliated providers. Unlike MyCounselor.Online, clients must pay the full out-of-pocket fee once a month for four weekly appointments. Its website is much sparser on the details and does not contain therapist bios.
The companies also diverge when it comes to price:BetterHelp is a subscription-based service that offers individual sessions only, with final costs ranging from $240 to $360 per month.MyCounselor.Online memberships range from $220 to $349 per month, and pay-as-you-go sessions are priced at $55–$195 each, depending on the qualifications you prefer in a therapist and whether you’re pursuing the Strong Families Scholarship. There is also a non-refundable, one-time $35 setup fee.
The companies also diverge when it comes to price:
Our 2021 survey found that the companies have similar levels of client satisfaction in several aspects:
Finally, of respondents who had tried other therapy services, 79% of both MyCounselor.Online and Faithful Counseling users reported that the services they were receiving at the time were either better or much better than prior companies’.
Some couples and individuals seeking spiritually informed, evidence-based therapy may benefit from their experiences with MyCounselor.Online counselors. But without further information from the company, particularly regarding its use of SIT, we cannot recommend its services to all therapy seekers—particularly not LGBTQIA+ people.
MyCounselor.Online was also one of the more expensive online therapy services we reviewed in 2021, particularly for those who choose a therapist from the top tier of providers. If you’re looking for basic anxiety and depression management skills, you may be able to find this elsewhere at a lower cost.
Methodology
Ourmethodology for evaluating online therapy companiesin 2021 was comprehensive and data-driven. We sent questionnaires to 33 companies and surveyed 100 current users of each in order to gather qualitative and quantitative data about each company and its users’ experiences.
Specifically, we evaluated each company on website usability, sign-up process, subscription offerings, client privacy protections, and how easy it is to change therapists. We then looked at therapist qualifications, the types of therapy offered, quality of care, client-therapist communication options, session length, and the therapist assignment process. Finally, we reviewed cost, value for money, whether the company takes insurance, overall user satisfaction, and the likelihood clients would recommend them.
Though we did not ultimately select MyCounselor.Online for user testing in 2022, this review has been otherwise updated for accuracy.
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