BetterHelp: Is it a good idea?
We’ve all seen the ads on Google, streaming platforms, social media for BetterHelp. I’ve been working with the platform since October 2021 and here’s my experience with it.
First as a client, I did not care for it. BetterHelp (BH) offers a free subscription to their therapists, so I took advantage of it. I figured I’d at least see the client interface and be able to direct clients to the features easier.
I put in some things that I wanted help with and was matched to a therapist who only met one word of my list. I asked for someone who can understand LGBTQIA+ issues, understood private practice, provide decision making support and goal setting. Support was the only thing the therapist I was matched to was listed for. I talked with them briefly but wasn’t able to schedule with them because of extremely limited availability. It was clear from talking to them that they had no experience with queer issues and business owning.
I disengaged within a few weeks. I could have requested a new therapist, but having the first one be so off the mark left a bad taste in my mouth.
Clients who pay for the service are charged even if they do not have sessions and it has been reported to me that getting a refund is difficult. The subscription model works great in theory since messaging is available 24/7 to clients. The price has been hard to pay for some clients even with the financial aid available. At least with a traditional therapy structure clients would only pay for sessions they actually attend.
As a therapist, it sounds great. You get to set your own schedule, have no limits to what you can earn and they even throw in a few perks. When I was first starting out in private practice, I wanted something a little stable when it came to referrals, so I went through their vetting process and was approved.
At first, I was fully booked inside of a week with clients. Then I realized that the compensation seemed off. To their credit, they spell it out in their therapist’s terms of service, but it’s not written in a way that makes sense. You have the potential to earn $70+ per hour, but you need to have 40 hours per week in to reach that. This is 40 hours of client contact, not just sessions. To make that number you need 53 sessions per week (at 45 minutes per session, though a 30 minute session length is available).
On top of this, BH has an algorithm for messaging that will not compensate for “unbalanced” communication, so if a therapist has a client who prefers to text, the therapist ends up doing work for free. Anything copy/pasted does not count when it comes to compensation; this may include the templates used when a therapist first contacts a client that are encouraged by BH.
BH additionally does not require documentation for sessions, meaning no notes. Even if a therapist does take notes, they do not transfer to a new therapist if the client chooses to change therapists. It is also incredibly difficult to transfer a client out of your caseload, which is great for clients, but may have the therapist working outside of their scope of practice if the client does not want to change therapists.
BH does not provide therapists with contact information about clients outside of their listed first name and age. To request any other information such as their address to confirm they are in the state the therapist is licensed in, you must confirm that the client or someone else may be in danger. This leaves the therapist to confirm information needed and this is often unpaid since the therapist needs to do additional work to do so.
The perks mentioned are not worth the lower than average compensation. One was the free subscription, they gave all of the therapists upgraded webcams, provide delivered meals with the virtual townhalls and occasionally give away prizes like gift cards or goods.
My overall experience as a client left something to be desired. Current and future clients should read their terms of service carefully and make sure that BH will provide what they need. Clients who are court ordered to therapy, require a diagnosis or already have a diagnosed mental illness should not use the platform. While that is spelled out in the terms of service, it is not written in plain language that a client new to therapy can understand.
My experience as a therapist has been overall positive. I’ve had a great run of clients through the platform and have done some great work with them. The platform is fairly user friendly for therapists and clients, has a lot of integrated resources and scheduling built in. Would I continue to work with them as a therapist? Maybe if there were some changes to the compensation structure and better documentation requirements/client contact info availability.
As a client, a more traditional therapy model was a better match for me since I did not need weekly sessions and offers more say in who I work with.
Of course, everyone’s experience is different and there may be some therapists/clients who enjoy the structure and interactions with others on the app.
#onlinetherapy #betterhelp #therapy #mentalhealth
