Online-Therapy.comOnline-Therapy.com is a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) platform offering individual and couples therapy, worksheets, yoga classes, and even a digital journal. Its services are provided worldwide.Pros & ConsKey FactsPros & ConsProsLots of resources in addition to therapy sessionsEasy sign-up process that matches you with a therapistOffers individual and couples therapyDiscount offered for first month and when canceling the subscriptionAffordably priced subscriptionAll therapists practice cognitive behavioral therapyTherapy sessions via video, voice, or textingConsCannot pay per sessionDoes not accept insuranceTech issues with the sessions held on the platformNot appropriate for those in a mental health crisisTherapists cannot provide mental health diagnosesNo group therapy offeredNo medication management offeredKey FactsPrice$200-$440 per monthIs Insurance Accepted?NoType Of TherapyCouples Therapy, Individual TherapyCommunication OptionsAudio, Messaging, Video ChatHIPAA Compliant?N/AIs There an App?NoSIGN UP NOW82Companies reviewed8,400Total users surveyed350Data points analyzedWe surveyed 100 users from 55 online therapy companies and 27 therapist directories to understand their experiences with these services. Then, we tested the services ourselves across multiple states, conducted comprehensive data collection research, and evaluated our results with the help of a licensed therapist.
Online-Therapy.comOnline-Therapy.com is a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) platform offering individual and couples therapy, worksheets, yoga classes, and even a digital journal. Its services are provided worldwide.Pros & ConsKey FactsPros & ConsProsLots of resources in addition to therapy sessionsEasy sign-up process that matches you with a therapistOffers individual and couples therapyDiscount offered for first month and when canceling the subscriptionAffordably priced subscriptionAll therapists practice cognitive behavioral therapyTherapy sessions via video, voice, or textingConsCannot pay per sessionDoes not accept insuranceTech issues with the sessions held on the platformNot appropriate for those in a mental health crisisTherapists cannot provide mental health diagnosesNo group therapy offeredNo medication management offeredKey FactsPrice$200-$440 per monthIs Insurance Accepted?NoType Of TherapyCouples Therapy, Individual TherapyCommunication OptionsAudio, Messaging, Video ChatHIPAA Compliant?N/AIs There an App?NoSIGN UP NOW
Online-Therapy.comOnline-Therapy.com is a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) platform offering individual and couples therapy, worksheets, yoga classes, and even a digital journal. Its services are provided worldwide.
Online-Therapy.com
Online-Therapy.com is a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) platform offering individual and couples therapy, worksheets, yoga classes, and even a digital journal. Its services are provided worldwide.
Pros & ConsKey FactsPros & ConsProsLots of resources in addition to therapy sessionsEasy sign-up process that matches you with a therapistOffers individual and couples therapyDiscount offered for first month and when canceling the subscriptionAffordably priced subscriptionAll therapists practice cognitive behavioral therapyTherapy sessions via video, voice, or textingConsCannot pay per sessionDoes not accept insuranceTech issues with the sessions held on the platformNot appropriate for those in a mental health crisisTherapists cannot provide mental health diagnosesNo group therapy offeredNo medication management offeredKey FactsPrice$200-$440 per monthIs Insurance Accepted?NoType Of TherapyCouples Therapy, Individual TherapyCommunication OptionsAudio, Messaging, Video ChatHIPAA Compliant?N/AIs There an App?No
Pros & Cons
ProsLots of resources in addition to therapy sessionsEasy sign-up process that matches you with a therapistOffers individual and couples therapyDiscount offered for first month and when canceling the subscriptionAffordably priced subscriptionAll therapists practice cognitive behavioral therapyTherapy sessions via video, voice, or textingConsCannot pay per sessionDoes not accept insuranceTech issues with the sessions held on the platformNot appropriate for those in a mental health crisisTherapists cannot provide mental health diagnosesNo group therapy offeredNo medication management offered
ProsLots of resources in addition to therapy sessionsEasy sign-up process that matches you with a therapistOffers individual and couples therapyDiscount offered for first month and when canceling the subscriptionAffordably priced subscriptionAll therapists practice cognitive behavioral therapyTherapy sessions via video, voice, or texting
Lots of resources in addition to therapy sessions
Easy sign-up process that matches you with a therapist
Offers individual and couples therapy
Discount offered for first month and when canceling the subscription
Affordably priced subscription
All therapists practice cognitive behavioral therapy
Therapy sessions via video, voice, or texting
ConsCannot pay per sessionDoes not accept insuranceTech issues with the sessions held on the platformNot appropriate for those in a mental health crisisTherapists cannot provide mental health diagnosesNo group therapy offeredNo medication management offered
Cannot pay per session
Does not accept insurance
Tech issues with the sessions held on the platform
Not appropriate for those in a mental health crisis
Therapists cannot provide mental health diagnoses
No group therapy offered
No medication management offered
Key Facts
Price$200-$440 per monthIs Insurance Accepted?NoType Of TherapyCouples Therapy, Individual TherapyCommunication OptionsAudio, Messaging, Video ChatHIPAA Compliant?N/AIs There an App?No
Price$200-$440 per month
Price
$200-$440 per month
Is Insurance Accepted?No
Is Insurance Accepted?
No
Type Of TherapyCouples Therapy, Individual Therapy
Type Of Therapy
Couples Therapy, Individual Therapy
Communication OptionsAudio, Messaging, Video Chat
Communication Options
Audio, Messaging, Video Chat
HIPAA Compliant?N/A
HIPAA Compliant?
N/A
Is There an App?No
Is There an App?
SIGN UP NOW
82Companies reviewed8,400Total users surveyed350Data points analyzedWe surveyed 100 users from 55 online therapy companies and 27 therapist directories to understand their experiences with these services. Then, we tested the services ourselves across multiple states, conducted comprehensive data collection research, and evaluated our results with the help of a licensed therapist.
82Companies reviewed8,400Total users surveyed350Data points analyzed
82Companies reviewed
Companies reviewed
8,400Total users surveyed
Total users surveyed
350Data points analyzed
Data points analyzed
Online-Therapy.comLearn MoreIn This ArticleView AllWe Tried Online-Therapy.com - These Were Our ExperiencesCompare ProvidersOur Most Recent TestingJulia’s TestingOur Other Testers' Experiences with Online-Therapy.comQuality of Care and User SatisfactionPrivacy PoliciesOnline-Therapy.com vs. Its CompetitorsFinal VerdictMethodology
Online-Therapy.comLearn More
Learn More
In This ArticleView AllWe Tried Online-Therapy.com - These Were Our ExperiencesCompare ProvidersOur Most Recent TestingJulia’s TestingOur Other Testers' Experiences with Online-Therapy.comQuality of Care and User SatisfactionPrivacy PoliciesOnline-Therapy.com vs. Its CompetitorsFinal VerdictMethodology
In This ArticleView All
View All
We Tried Online-Therapy.com - These Were Our Experiences
Our Most Recent Testing
Julia’s Testing
Our Other Testers' Experiences with Online-Therapy.com
Quality of Care and User Satisfaction
Privacy Policies
Online-Therapy.com vs. Its Competitors
Final Verdict
Methodology
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.
To deepen our understanding of how useful its services are, we tested the platform ourselves multiple times throughout 2022, 2023, and 2024, received insight from one of our subject matter experts, and surveyed 102 Online-Therapy.com users about their experience. Here’s how the company stacked up to its competitors.
In the summer of 2024, we asked a tester from New York to try out Online-Therapy.com’s CBT-based online therapy services for a month. This was her first-hand experience.
Why I Chose Online-Therapy.com
I liked the previous counselor that I worked with, but I did not like the video chat platform. It was sometimes buggy and hard to connect. I also have always found it uncomfortable talking with a counselor from my home where it doesn’t feel like there is as much privacy as in a therapist’s office. I wondered if Online-Therapy.com would feel different.
Signing Up for Online-Therapy.com
Before signing up you have to chose what plan you would like to sign up for. The different plans give you different levels of access to your counselor and a different number of sessions throughout the week.
The sign-up process did not work the first day I tried. It kept sending me back to the same page over and over. I had to reach out to tech support to get it set up. I never ended up using the tech support, but it seemed to work after coming back to it a few days later. Once the platform was working correctly it was fairly easy to sign up.
Next, I was asked to fill out a questionnaire in order to match me with a therapist. It asked a variety of questions about behaviors or feelings that I would like to address. It also asked what gender or other qualities I would prefer in a therapist.
After signing up and filling out the questionnaire, I was matched with a counselor and given some initial information about them. I was given the option to switch counselors if I wanted, but there was not a list of people to choose from.
I did appreciate that there was a lot of flexibility in my therapist’s schedule. There was an option to chose sessions from very early in the morning through 9 p.m.
It seemed like almost anyone could find a time within their schedule to meet.
I could also chose if I preferred to communicate over text, voice, or video calls. Many of the plans included unlimited texting along with a weekly voice or video call.
My Therapy Sessions
My therapist reached out very quickly after I signed up and directed me to schedule a session and to fill out some worksheets that I was supposed to continue working through each week. I was not able to chose the modality my therapist would use with me.
The platform only uses CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) and part of its program is educating people about CBT and how it works.
The first session was mostly my therapist introducing themselves and asking a lot of questions about my background in order to have a better idea of my history. They also asked questions about why I wanted to talk to a counselor. Some of the questions were similar to the initial intake questionnaire, but more detailed about my family, background, and current life.
I felt like the first session was interesting—I thought my counselor was friendly and had some useful insights on the dynamics that my childhood played on my current life.
However, as the sessions went on, I noticed my therapist seeming distracted.
I could hear their car door beeping and sounds that made me think they were driving while we were talking. On another session it sounded like they were repeatedly getting texts throughout the session. Because of this, I felt shut down and like I didn’t want to really put too much into the session.
I also felt like my therapist was talking at me a lot more than they were listening or helping me work through my own thoughts or feelings.
My counselor supposedly was trained in CBT, but I didn’t really see that approach in the way they communicated with me. It felt more like a parent or friend telling me what they think I should do.
Online-Therapy.com does provide homework and worksheets to go through, and after each session my therapist would give me something that they wanted me to work on throughout the week. However, they did not seem to specifically remember what homework they gave me and would ask me what my homework was. So the homework was not very useful. I also felt as though the videos the company offers about CBT are generic and unhelpful, and the worksheets just seemed like busywork.
My therapist did not seem well-trained in CBT or counseling in general. I have seen other therapists in the past that I didn’t connect with, but I never doubted that they had actual skills in counseling.
This therapist seemed unprofessional and as though they had not had formal training.
It took me a few sessions to determine if my initial feelings about my therapist were accurate or if I just had a bad first impression. At that point, I didn’t really feel like I had time to switch counselors.
How I Felt About Online-Therapy.com
Considering how much you would typically pay for counseling services, I do think the cost of this service was fair. My monthly subscription cost $256 and included weekly talk sessions.
However, I would definitely not see this therapist again because they seemed untrained and unprofessional, and I would not use this service again because it felt like a lot of the homework it was giving was very general and not specific to helping me achieve my therapy goals. I also occasionally experienced technical difficulties.
This service would be helpful for someone who wants constant contact with a counselor because many of the plans include a lot of access to your therapist. It would also be helpful for someone who only has availability at unusual times. Otherwise, I can’t recommend it.
In 2022, we asked Julia to try out Online-Therapy.com in order to learn about the quality of care the company can provide. These are her personal insights.
What Is Online-Therapy.com?
Carl Nordstrom founded Online-Therapy.com in 2009 after he read a compelling study celebrating the benefits of virtual CBT. He wanted to make cognitive behavioral therapy a mainstream and accessible option for people looking for mental health care.
What Services Does Online-Therapy.com Offer?
The company currently offers individual and couples sessions along with the cognitive behavioral therapy program. These sessions can be held via voice, video, or texting. Clients are also free to message their therapist at anytime in between sessions. Services are not available to anyone under the age of 18 at this time.
As with all online therapy companies, Online-Therapy.com is inappropriate for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis or suicidal ideation.
How Much Does Online-Therapy.com Cost?
Here are its plans:
According to our2022 Cost of Therapy survey, the average price per month of therapy is $178, making Online-Therapy.com’s offerings more affordable than the cost of a similar number of sessions per week. This is likely why the users we surveyed also found it generally affordable—21% ranked it as somewhat affordable, 39% classified it as affordable, and another 40% identified it as very affordable.
Does Online-Therapy.com Take Insurance?
No, Online-Therapy.com does not accept insurance, though users can use a health savings account (HSA) card or a flexible spending account (FSA).
In our Cost of Therapy survey, 71% of those attending therapy said they used their insurance to fund their treatment. The inability to use insurance to pay for Online-Therapy.com may pose a great disadvantage to some. Therapy seekers may be able to find companies or therapists that offer sliding scale rates for less out-of-pocket than the cost of an Online-Therapy.com subscription.
Navigating Online-Therapy.com’s Website
The landing page is colorful and inviting. It includes tones of green and orange, but it also has lots of white space so the text is easy to read. Diversity is lacking a bit, though—there are no BIPOC people included anywhere on the landing page.
As soon as you head to Online-Therapy.com, you are also invited to join the platform with a 20% discount on your first month. It is straightforward in setting itself apart from other therapy sites, noting how it offers a “complete happiness toolbox” in addition to its therapy sessions.
The website is very easy to navigate. As you scroll down the page, you can read reviews from Online-Therapy.com users and take a peek at all that is included in its program. There is even a quiz to assess how you’re doing in your daily life.
“What is interesting about Online-Therapy.com, and what it makes very clear on its homepage, is that it has a holistic view of mental health,” says our subject matter expertHannah Owens, LMSW.
While it doesn’t necessarily have an explicit mission statement, it has a video featuringElizabeth Lombardo, PhD, explaining the program and how it can benefit others. Lombardo is a CBT consultant to Online-Therapy.com.
The website features afrequently asked questions section, though it is at the very bottom of the homepage and is easy to miss. It is also challenging to find out how much a subscription costs. To do so, you have to head to the frequently asked questions page.
You can’t book with the therapists directly. I found this a bit disappointing. I can see how it might be easy to deeply connect with a therapist’s bio based on all the information they provide and then experience disappointment upon realizing you can’t instantly move forward with working with them.
A critical component that is missing from Online-Therapy’s website is a sense of diversity and inclusion. All the marketing images depict White individuals, leaving those with marginalized identities out. There are also no accessibility functions on the website, another strong indicator of diversity exclusion.
The company features great social media content, particularly onInstagram. Though the account only has 486 followers, the company regularly posts educational content that takes a holistic approach. Its social media presence suggests the company prioritizes health from a mind, body, and soul perspective. For example, see posts about thebest essential oils for sleepand instructions on creating asustainable self-care plan. The companyFacebook pagehas the same content as its Instagram, just reformatted for easy reading.
How Do You Sign Up for Therapy at Online-Therapy.com?
Signing up at Online-Therapy.com is a speedy and easy process. You are asked if you’d like to engage in individual or couples therapy. After making that selection, you are asked to identify issues you’re struggling with.
It offers an exhaustive list of topics that can be addressed in therapy, including:
I do have some concerns with this list. Online-Therapy.com’s website states that if you are experiencing a crisis or are suicidal, its services are not a good fit. However, if you select domestic violence or trauma/abuse as areas of concern, no further screening is done to ensure you aren’t in immediate crisis. These categories do not specify if these issues are currently occurring or have occurred in the past. Someone presently experiencing domestic violence or abuse will be in a crisis situation. Recent research states that women experiencing domestic violence are at an increased risk for suicide.Furthermore, diagnoses like bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder can involve suicidality, making this platform an inappropriate treatment option.
I do have some concerns with this list. Online-Therapy.com’s website states that if you are experiencing a crisis or are suicidal, its services are not a good fit. However, if you select domestic violence or trauma/abuse as areas of concern, no further screening is done to ensure you aren’t in immediate crisis. These categories do not specify if these issues are currently occurring or have occurred in the past. Someone presently experiencing domestic violence or abuse will be in a crisis situation. Recent research states that women experiencing domestic violence are at an increased risk for suicide.
Furthermore, diagnoses like bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder can involve suicidality, making this platform an inappropriate treatment option.
It is not reiterated throughout the sign-up process that these services are not for you if you’re in crisis. While someone could be dishonest when signing up for Online-Therapy.com, they could also not be aware of what constitutes a crisis or suicidality. This lack of targeted screening could lead to those who need more intensive care unknowingly signing up for the platform.
During the sign-up process, you’re also asked what gender you’d prefer your therapist to be and the type of therapy format you’d like (video, voice only, text chat). It is worth noting that its options for the gender of the therapist were not inclusive. You could only choose male, female, or you’re not sure.
This lack of inclusivity was a general theme within the intake process. Online-Therapy.com did not ask any questions about client preference on therapist identity beyond the limited question about gender. It also didn’t ask any questions about client identity.
Matching With a Therapist
After signing up, you are immediately matched with a therapist. This is a great aspect of Online-Therapy.com. Its competitorTalkspacetakes up to 48 hours to match a client with a therapist, and another competitor,BetterHelp, can take up to a few days.
You cannot schedule a session or access the entire private user portal until submitting payment, but once you have, you can access all parts of the user portal, sign up for a session with your therapist, message your therapist, and fill out worksheets.
Once payment is submitted, you will be encouraged to complete a brief intake questionnaire. It is labeled as a “Getting to Know You” worksheet and isn’t mandatory to fill out prior to the session. It has open-ended questions about any history of hospitalizations, mental health diagnoses, and reasons for seeking treatment.
The first therapist I matched with was not a good fit. As a Black woman, I value having aBIPOC provider, and the first provider I matched with was not a member of the BIPOC community. When switching therapists, I was only offeredone BIPOC providerwhile the rest were White.
Despite my concerns regarding the diversity of therapist options, users of Online-Therapy.com were generally satisfied with the choices provided. For example, 40% rated the diversity of therapists as excellent, and another 28% rated them as very good. In addition, general provider satisfaction was also very high; 97% were either very satisfied or satisfied with the therapists presented.
How Do Therapy Sessions Work at Online-Therapy.com?
Then, if you scroll down slightly, you can access the CBT program, worksheets, journal, messaging portal with your therapist, and schedule a session with your therapist.
You can attend sessions in one of three ways: audio call, video call, and live chatting. I tried out sessions with two different therapists and used all available forms of therapy sessions, including video, voice, and text. You’re able to notate your preferred format of the session when booking.
Live Video Sessions
After selecting my preference for having a live video session when booking the appointment, I was immediately sent a confirmation email with information on how to start my session. The session day and time were automatically saved to my calendar, a detail I appreciate.
To get started, I simply log into my account dashboard and click a button that says “live sessions.” From there, I am able to join the appointment. My appointment began on time, with my therapist drinking a cup of tea in what looked like a well-put-together home office. Her approach to our time together was solution-focused, dealing with the here and now. I really appreciated her thoughtful questions, and I noticed she was doing a fair amount of history-taking while keeping the focus on my current stressors. Overall, our time together felt productive and helpful.
Live Audio Sessions
The booking, confirmation, and initiation of the live audio session were the exact same as when I was booking a video session. When I logged onto my session, my provider was right on time. Where the video was during my last session, there was now just a blank screen with a microphone. There was some occasional clanging in the background of the session, which made me suspect that there was some multitasking happening.
I found it hard to focus and connect during the audio session since I was essentially talking to my computer. If this platform had an app, I could see the live audio sessions being very convenient. That being said, the audio sessions simply weren’t for me.
Text Chat
Again, scheduling and logging onto the text session was the same process as with thelive video and audio sessions. However, there were some significant technical issues with this session format. The live chat is different than the general messaging portal where you can send a therapist notes in between sessions. Upon logging into the live chat, I waited for over five minutes with no response from my therapist.
I ended up going to my general messaging portal to send her a note, which she responded to. She let me know that she was experiencing technical difficulties and then shortly after logged into the live chat section. What ensued was a session filled with long lapses between message responses, with the therapist stating there was an ongoing technical issue. I found the experience a bit frustrating. However, she offered me an additional free session that week to make up for it, which I really appreciated.
We tested Online-Therapy.com four other times in 2022 and 2023 from Pennsylvania, Michigan, South Dakota, and New York, and overall, our experiences with the company were fantastic—standing in stark contrast to this particular experience. We tried out both the company’s individual therapy and couples therapy services, each to equally successful outcomes.
Although we had some technical issues starting out (our audio cut in and out and our video initially wasn’t working, and neither was our therapist’s, making her 10 minutes late to our session), our experience in individual therapy was great overall.
One of our therapists focused on CBT techniques—living up to the company’s promises—and was insightful and highly qualified, and seemed to truly understand the needs we brought up in our sessions.
She was also patient and helpful when it came to our technical problems—she even gave us our full 45-minute session when our computer glitches delayed our start time, which she wasn’t obligated to do.
We didn’t always hit it out of the park in the first shot, though. When we had a chat session with one therapist, the appointment felt more like a text conversation with a friend than a therapy appointment; she opened with some chit chat and never really let us dig deeper into the issues we had come to the appointment wanting to address. In addition, she was cagey about her qualifications—we asked her about her licensure and experience in the field and she batted the question away saying that we were getting off-topic. However, once we switched therapists, we had a much better experience. This provider was great about getting to the heart of the topics we really wanted to focus on, and gave us useful suggestions for being more mindful about a particular problem, referenced a popular CBT-based book and offered to use it to structure our sessions, and taught us breathing exercises that really helped in moments of stress and anxiety.
We also came away with some important realizations: one, that it was our perception of events that was distressing us, not necessarily the event itself; and two, not to get down on ourselves for being “judgy,” because judgments are important and teach us to listen to our gut. This is CBT at work.
This experience erased the first one from our minds, and we ended up being incredibly impressed with Online-Therapy.com’s CBT-focused services.
We had similarly great experiences with couples counseling. Although, again, it wasn’t perfect—one of our follow-up sessions was plagued with connectivity issues to the point that we simply had to cancel the appointment altogether, and we weren’t able to reschedule due to our and our partner’s busy schedules—the time we actually had with our providers was wonderful.
We felt like our couples therapists were listening attentively and actively cared about what we had to say (something we didn’t always feel in past couples counseling sessions).
One of our therapists, himself married for 50 years, shared personal anecdotes and useful tried-and-true tricks, which made us comfortable and helped us feel like we could really trust him.
Another of our couples therapists immediately put ourselves and our partner at ease—she was punctual, calm, and impressive right off the bat. She created a space where we felt it was safe to share our individual ideas and perspectives, and she even made a point of asking in-depth questions about our partner’s culture (he’s Moroccan) so that she could better understand where he was coming from and how that might be affecting our relationship. Her questions were deep but never intrusive, and we left our session feeling as though we had a better handle on the issue we had come to therapy for and were walking away with actionable advice.
Our opinion on Online-Therapy.com’s CBT-based resources was mixed, however.
Switching Therapists at Online-Therapy.com
Switching therapists is simple. As soon as you log into your account, you will see a pop-up message from your therapist welcoming you back to the platform. On that message, there will be a button that reads “change therapist” located right under your therapist’s profile.
After clicking it, you are shown a few available therapists. Simply pick which one you want to move forward with, and then you can schedule a session immediately. I loved how quick and seamless this process was. There were no questions asked, no wait time, and no awkwardness.
This system for quickly switching therapists is in place for good reason–it isn’t uncommon to need to try out a few different providers before finding a match. Forty-eight percent of Online-Therapy.com platform users tried out two to three therapists before meeting the right fit. Eighteen percent of users saw four to five different therapists before they settled on a selection.
When switching therapists, I was given about five other options to choose from. I noticed that none werelicensed in my state, which raises an ethical red flag for me. Mental health professionals are generally only allowed to provide psychotherapy to residents who live in states they are licensed in. It is worth noting that all therapists on the website were licensed and had an advanced degree related to psychology, mental health, social work, or counseling.
I reached out to the Online-Therapy.com team to clarify this discrepancy. A member of its team responded within 24 hours. “When you signed up, you were signed up with a therapist from your state… Unfortunately, we don’t have therapists onboard from [your state] except for the selected therapist,” she explained. I found this response odd—I was still able to hold sessions with a therapist licensed in a different state and a therapist living in a different country, making it clear that the platform itself is not assuming the ethical responsibility of acting in accordance with each state’s licensing laws.
What Happens If I Miss a Session?
If you need to miss a session, you are asked to give your provider 24 hours notice. If you cancel with less than 24 hours notice or forget a session, you will have forfeited a session for that week.
Cancelling Therapy
Cancelling your Online-Therapy.com subscription is also very easy. Once logged into your account, there is a tab at the top of the page labeled “subscription.” You can see your current subscription plan and billing information if you click on it. You can cancel at any time.
Be sure to cancel before your next billing date to avoid being charged for the month ahead. When canceling, you are offered a 25% discount, providing a price break for anyone needing to terminate their care for financial reasons.
While much is positive about Online-Therapy.com, I left my experience with the platform feeling concerned about its quality of care.
Additionally, I am concerned about theethics of therapistsholding sessions with individuals who reside in states they aren’t licensed in. This presents a potential safety risk. If a client were to experience a crisis during a session and require emergency support, the onus would be on the therapist to coordinate that care. If the therapist resides out of the country, they may not be versed in contacting emergency authorities overseas.
I reached out to Online-Therapy.com providerSofia Schuringa, ADMH, RHC, RHNCto ask her about her experience working with them.
I asked Schuringa and the Online-Therapy.com team about what happens to a client should a therapist terminate employment with the platform. They both stated that the client is contacted and invited to transfer to a new therapist if a therapist leaves.
When asked to rate Online-Therapy.com overall, all 100% of our users felt the company was good, very good, or excellent. Additionally, 62% of our respondents reported that they found a therapist who met all of their needs, while another 33% said that most of their needs were met.
Online-Therapy.com uses 256-bit encryption for all communication between clients and therapists. It adheres to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), ensuring that it is taking steps to maintain the confidentiality and protection of client information. Additionally, it automatically deletes users’ accounts and all associated information after two years of inactivity. Clients can update their settings to adjust this timeframe.
Its privacy policy statement is somewhat difficult to decipher and is written primarily in legalese. However, it does state the purpose and legal basis of each aspect of its privacy policy. For example, it is adamant that personal data is only shared when essential and is never sold. Circumstances that deem sharing personal data essential include sharing personal information with your provider, disclosing concerns to legal authorities, and with the new owner of the company, should the company ever be sold. This is a rather standard privacy policy statement.
One of Online-Therapy.com’s biggest competitors isBetterHelp, which also offers video, voice, and text sessions and a similar subscription model. Each company’s pricing is relatively similar. Online-Therapy.com ranges from $50 to $110 weekly, while BetterHelp is $60 to $90 weekly, though BetterHelp does practice surge pricing (charging more for its services in areas where mental health care is in high demand). BetterHelp also offers therapy for teens, making its services slightly more accessible than Online-Therapy.com’s.
Talkspace, another Online-Therapy.com competitor, offers subscriptions from $69 to $129 weekly. Talkspace provides both teen therapy and psychiatry.
When it comes to deciding between these three companies, it will come down to the services you need, and if you’re interested in accessing the additional mental health resources Online-Therapy.com offers.
Online-Therapy.comis a unique platform that provides excellent value for its price. Its affordability and wealth of coping tools set it apart from some of its competitors. However, with its lack of diversity in providers, murky ethical protocols regarding therapists practicing in states in which they are not licensed, and my personal experience of lackluster care, I am hesitant to recommend this platform to therapy-seekers.
It is worth noting that 57% of users suffer from anxiety while another 58% suffer from depression. Given that cognitive behavioral therapy successfully treats these conditions, it isn’t surprising to hear that many are satisfied with the care they receive. Ninety-nine percent of Online-Therapy.com clients are likely or very likely to recommend the platform to others.
Specifically, we evaluated each company on the following factors: website usability, the sign-up and therapist matching processes, therapist qualifications, types of therapy offered, the service’s quality of care, client-therapist communication options, session length, subscription offerings, client privacy protections, average cost and value for money, whether it accepts insurance, how easy it is to change therapists, overall user satisfaction, and the likelihood that clients would recommend them.
We also signed up for the companies to get a sense of how this process worked, how easy to use the platform is, and how therapy takes place at the company. Then, we interviewed one therapist who currently works for this company and worked with one subject matter expert to get their expert analysis on how suited this company is to provide quality care to therapy seekers.
Best Online Therapy Programs of 2023
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