Fotini Arvanitaki
Thessaloniki, GreeceMember since February 2018

Reviews (1)


    • Feb 26, 2018
    • Verified Reviewer

    BetterHelp

    The illusion of therapy

    Overall Experience:

    First of all, this is NOT in any way legitimate counselling.

    Everything was great at the beginning. The staff would send emails to check up on me, make sure I'm satisfied with the service, the counselor I was matched with was very polite, punctual and compassionate, albeit a little laconic. While her replies were not much (a single question here and a "oh good for you" there), I thought that maybe that's to be expected and that a therapist won't have much to say during the initial stages of therapy, possibly because they need to get to know me a little better. So, I thought I'd give it a little time.

    During that time (weeks really), certain unfortunate things happened. I needed support, and I was paying for said support but was NOT getting any. She'd either respond with a single sentence after three whole days, when she was supposed to reply in less than 24 hours (we'd established that from the beginning), or she'd ask a question which didn't really indicate that she'd even read what I'd written in my previous message. Or, I'd ask questions and wouldn't get ANY answers at all!

    What happened with the second therapist was similar in many ways but maybe even worse. While this therapist would send longer replies, I noticed something suspicious; those messages looked legit at first but were in fact template texts she'd use for every online client, she'd only have to change the name and a few minor details, and her job's done. How do I know this? After sending a reply, I got an even longer reply from her within 4 MINUTES! There's no way she was able to read, process or decide how to respond to me (or even spellcheck) in just a few minutes! She obviously had her reply ready, which by the way was full of generalizations and "anxiety management" approaches you read about on popular psychology related websites. I can do that myself, thank you very much.

    Hopefully, not all counselors do that, but I've completely lost my faith, and I'm not willing to get scammed ever again.

    After 6 weeks of "counselling" and two therapists, I can honestly say that I'm so much worse than when I started. Now, why would I stick with a therapist who doesn't even read my messages?

    Also, they offer "unlimited access" to your therapist, but they don't tell you how how often your therapist will be able to communicate with you, could be every 24 hours, every two or even three days. Since when is that unlimited?

    Keep in mind that many of these counselors are in reality life coaches who have their own private practices and use online platforms like BetterHelp to get new clients, so make sure their credentials are legitimate. It's easy to get confused with all the LMSW, ACSW, MFT, MS CMHC, NCC, LPC, CAATC, RAS, Ph.D. titles, so do your homework first. You see a Master's degree, but it's possible it's irrelevant with clinical psychology, and in reality, they have more experience in other somewhat related fields.

    Also, they claim they have experience dealing with problems relevant to your needs, but that's definitely not the case. No clue as to how they match members with counselors. No wonder you pay $180 a month; the counselors simply don't have to really deal with every online client, I doubt they'd ever find enough time. Their regular clients obviously take up much of their time while the rest of us pay smaller fees in order to get the illusion of therapy.

    I feel so much worse than when I started "therapy," because back then I felt hopeful, but now, since I can't afford traditional counseling, I've really hit rock bottom. So, if you're just looking for someone who is NOT allowed to diagnose you (no idea why though), but make some assumptions concerning your issues (if they ever read your messages), then this website is for you. If you're in need of actual help, don't waste your time and money. The worst thing that happened to me was that I opened up and was so unbelievably and painfully ignored. I was tricked into thinking I was being supported by true professionals.

    Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

    23 people found it helpful

    Link to this Review
    • Mar 7, 2018

      Company Response from BetterHelp

      We are so sorry you had this experience Fotini. You may reach us and contact@betterhelp.com if you'd like to try to find a counselor that might be a better fit. All of our counselors are licensed counselors in their respective states, and we are so sorry if you felt you were not heard by the counselors that were assigned to you.


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