I've done therapy off and on over the years, but the biggest reasons for my inconsistency have always come down to time and money. It's very hard to be able to schedule appointments when working a typical 9-5 job without the luxury of being able to take time off on a weekly basis. The convenience of online counseling that BetterHelp offers alleviates most of that by allowing you to have the ability to do sessions by phone, chat or via video session. All of which can be done in the comfort of your own home without the hassle of driving back and forth for appointments and taking time off work.
I had a bad experience with a previous counselor on BetterHelp as I was assigned to someone who didn't clearly understand my needs and was very condescending and unhelpful. I discontinued the therapy, but for others, they do have the option to be assigned to a different therapist.
I'm so glad I decided to give it another shot because the therapist that I have now is the best. She's helped me with so many issues and is absolutely wonderful.
As for the cost, it's considerably less expensive than hourly rates for normal counseling sessions. The way the billing is set up, however, is you're charged monthly, quarterly or annually. You get a discount for quarterly billing but it's quite expensive to pay all at once. I do wish there was a way to simply pay for sessions that are actually scheduled one at a time for those trying to stick to a budget. They also have the option to try to submit your insurance for billing purposes but I haven't tried that myself, so I can't comment too much on it.
Bottom line, for those of you that work with busy schedules and are trying to be price conscious, this service is a great alternative and worth a try.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
