When I was signing up for BetterHelp - the first very question was reflected in two buttons: "I am seeking Individual Therapy" or "I am seeking Couple’s Therapy". I chose "Couple's Therapy".
After I was assigned with a therapist after TWO WEEKS - I scheduled a session with her, and I assumed I will start the first session on my own, and then my wife would join on a second session.
The first session went well, but when I asked the doctor as for how do we proceed since the goal was a therapy for me and my wife as a unit, she was surprised to even hear that I’m requesting a therapy for a couple, and told me that BetterHelp assigned me as a patient to her for individual therapy, and that she will cordially agree to see me and my wife just one time as a "favor".
When I contacted support about it - they told me to register at their sister site Regain Us, which turns out to be 3 times more expensive.
I wrote support that I’d like to continue therapy at the BetterHelp site, not their sister site, to what I signed up for - a couple’s therapy, and now I’m waiting for a response from support.
Also, BetterHelp has terrible regulations about the length of a session.
Supposedly, they advertise that you get weekly hour-long sessions which makes sense for me pricing wise, because $360 for 3 months was supposed to buy me 1 session a week for $30, which is the same as what I would pay for therapy through my Health Insurance (Aetna) for a copayment for each session.
However, when I did a session with a doctor, and it was an hour long, then when the whole question arose about a couples therapy and seeing me and my wife for a next session, and I also brought up a length of session - Dr. Garceau got snarky and irritated writing that it is "up to her schedule to extend a session to one hour or not" and that she has a feeling "I will never be content."
In which universe do you pay one price, and you get twice longer, or twice shorter amount of service?
This is a very awkward policy, and doesn’t make sense. And how is this ok for a therapist to say to her patient that she has a feeling that I will never be content? That’s an awful thing to say to someone.
I might just stick to a therapist through my health insurance. Thanks, BetterHelp, for your poor customer service and poor regulations for turning me off from your platform!
Length of Use: Less than 3 months
Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend