The Benefits Of Therapy Online
Talking with a therapist benefits a lot of people. Statistics show that over 40 million American adults seek therapy or counseling yearly. Looking for a therapist is a sign of strength and can result in many benefits to your mental and physical health. Through therapy, you can unlock the potential to grow stronger personally. You can learn healthy, productive coping skills, develop a positive outlook, manage symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other mental health conditions; improve communication; navigate relationships; set and reach goals, and more. Therapy of any kind (e.g., experiential therapy, talk therapy, behavioral therapy) can be a life-changing and fulfilling experience.
Potential benefits of online therapy
Online therapy has many of the same potential benefits as traditional in-person therapy, but can be even better for some people! Internet-based therapy enables people to reach out to different kinds of therapists and mental health professionals from the comfort of their homes without travel limitations.
Here are a few of the potential benefits of online therapy:
- Short-term and long-term treatment options are available
- Less time and money spent traveling to appointments
- Reach out to a wide range of trained mental health professionals
- May be easier for people with social anxiety or sensory issues
- Get mental health help without transportation limitations
- Control over your environment during therapy sessions
Why is BetterHelp beneficial?
At its core, BetterHelp works because it provides people with the tools and support necessary to face life’s challenges and improve their mental health. People seeking therapy choose BetterHelp for a variety of reasons, including:
- Effectiveness: Evidence suggests that online therapy can be as effective as traditional, in-person therapy. Both research and reviews have shown that therapy through BetterHelp can effectively help people improve their lives.
- Affordability: As a result of its reasonable pricing, a greater number of people may be able to sign up for therapy through BetterHelp.
- Convenience: Therapy is convenient with BetterHelp. Connecting with your therapist can be easy with the platform’s flexible options, such as videoconferencing, live chat, phone calls, and messaging.
- Expertise and Trust: Clients in therapy through BetterHelp can trust their therapists—and trust is an important part of therapy. All mental health providers on the BetterHelp platform are experienced and fully licensed. Reviews and testimonials show that clients find their BetterHelp therapists to be compassionate, helpful, respectful, communicative, and attentive and be experts in their fields.
Get the most from therapy
Ultimately, how well online therapy works for you can depend on the same factors that affect how well traditional, in-person therapy works.
Effective therapy involves:
- A commitment from both the client and the therapist.
- A client’s willingness to open up and communicate with the therapist.
- Developing a trusting connection between the client and therapist.
- Keeping sessions and appointments.
- Being open to new insights and healthy changes.
- Applying what you learn in therapy to real-life situations.
- Make healthy lifestyle changes to support your emotional health and relationships.
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about the affordability of BetterHelp when compared to traditional therapy.
How much is BetterHelp a month?
One of the missions of BetterHelp is to make mental health care and professional therapy widely available and affordable so that more people can get the support they want and need.
BetterHelp is a subscription-based platform. The cost of therapy through BetterHelp is approximately $65-$100 per week (based on factors such as your location, referral source, preferences, therapist availability and any applicable discounts or promotions that might apply). The exact cost depends on location, individual preferences, and therapist availability.
Is BetterHelp worth the money?
BetterHelp is an excellent value. A look at user reviews and testimonials shows that thousands of people who use BetterHelp find it worth the money and develop valuable tools to enhance their lives.
Does BetterHelp take HSAs?
Using HSA funds to cover BetterHelp fees is another way that therapy can be more affordable. With an HSA, pre-tax dollars are typically saved from being used to pay for healthcare expenses. You may be able to use this pre-tax income for effective, professional, affordable therapy.
Users can typically use their HSAs (health savings accounts) to pay their BetterHelp monthly fee. The best way to find out if you can use your HSA to cover the cost of BetterHelp is to check with your HSA administrator or HSA bank.
Is BetterHelp an affordable option for therapy?
BetterHelp has a subscription-based structure. Costs with BetterHelp are typically lower than traditional therapy sessions. While in-person therapy can cost $100-200 per session, weekly costs with BetterHelp are $65-100 per week (based on factors such as your location, referral source, preferences, therapist availability and any applicable discounts or promotions that might apply).
In other words, it was not so expensive! It’s an affordable option for individualized therapy with a licensed mental health professional.
BetterHelp prides itself on having trustworthy, professional therapists and counselors on its roster to help patients find the help they’re looking for more quickly and easily. Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about BetterHelp’s therapists.
Is BetterHelp.com legitimate?
The Better Business Bureau has accredited BetterHelp since 2015. Additionally, all therapists on BetterHelp are fully licensed, vetted, and experienced (more on this process below). BetterHelp is a legitimate company with the mission to make therapy affordable and convenient by providing a safe, safe platform for users to interact with therapists.
All BetterHelp therapists are licensed mental health professionals with at least three years and 1,000 hours of experience. Each mental health professional who works with BetterHelp is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT), licensed professional counselor (LPC), or licensed psychologist (Ph.D./PsyD).
In addition to being experienced, all BetterHelp therapists hold an advanced degree in their field (a master’s or doctoral degree at least). BetterHelp has a careful procedure to verify that every provider on the platform is up to date on their licensing and in good standing.
Therapists go through a thorough process of providing documentation of identity and licensure. BetterHelp cross-checks their licensing and identity through the therapist’s state licensing board. All therapists on BetterHelp must also complete a case study exam and are evaluated in a video interview.
Therapists who partner with BetterHelp must meet high standards of professionalism and license. Licensing information is available for users to view in an easy-to-find format.
Therapists who work on BetterHelp usually like the platform, flexibility, and ability to reach more clients in a diverse community. They find great meaning in helping others live fully and positively.
BetterHelp therapists often find that clients who feel more comfortable in their own homes may feel less hesitant and more confident about opening up and communicating. Therapists want what’s best for their clients—having a platform to support and help them can be a productive way for clients and therapists to make progress.
What about other therapy options?
There are many options for therapy. The most important thing to know is that help is available! No matter which mental health treatment option you choose, please reach out if you feel you or your loved one benefits from therapy.
If you are looking into other options for therapy, there are many resources available. The US Department of Health and Human Services has a website with affordable healthcare resources and a website for locating behavioral health treatment.
Choosing a therapist or a therapy platform has a lot to do with personal preferences. Finding a therapist who is a good fit for you—one you think you’ll feel comfortable communicating with openly, experienced in your area of concern, or who will help you achieve your therapy goals—can be a key factor for making positive progress.
No matter what option you choose, therapy with a licensed mental health professional can be very effective and help you feel better and stronger. Here are some examples of a few of the most popular treatment options.
Understanding psychotherapy is easy for most people because it is the typical form of therapy that is portrayed in movies. It involves a therapist and a client having long discussions meant to prompt increased self-awareness through open-ended questions.
Psychotherapy is another name for “talking therapy” and is used commonly used in mental health treatment for all types of mental health symptoms. Psychotherapy is practiced by a variety of mental health professionals including therapists, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, and family or relationship therapists.
Online cognitive behavioral therapy
This approach to mental health therapy is among the most popular evidence based practices for treating mental health challenges. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is often recommended as the first treatment for a mental health condition such as moderate depression or chronic anxiety.
CBT focuses on understanding the negative thought patterns behind unhelpful behaviors and feelings. Negative thought patterns are called cognitive distortions. Therapy can help individuals reshape their thought patterns in a healthy way to replace cognitive distortions with more helpful thoughts. Shifting to more positive thought patterns can result in improved interpersonal relationships and positive life changes. Research has shown that online CBT is just as effective as in-person sessions.
Online dialectical behavior therapy
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is very similar to CBT, but it is geared toward treating patients with borderline personality disorder and other mental health conditions characterized by intense emotions. The word “dialectical” means to combine opposites; DBT therapy teaches people how to accept intense emotions without acting on them with negative behaviors. DBT focuses on making positive behavioral changes by helping the client develop coping skills and emotional regulation.
Family and couples therapy
Most online therapy is individual therapy (individual therapy takes place with one therapist and one counselor). However, online therapy can also enable individuals to attend therapy sessions together even if they are in different locations. For example, the therapist can add two family constituents in separate locations into a video chat for a therapy session. Online group therapy such as couples therapy, relationship counseling, and family therapy can all be done online with many of the same benefits as in-person sessions. Attending therapy together can help resolve disputes and improve communication.
Substance abuse therapy
People with substance use disorders may also benefit from online therapy. Substance abuse therapists have specialized training in treating patients who use substances. Talk therapy can help people with this mental health condition discover the negative thinking patterns behind maladaptive coping skills and addictive behaviors, helping aid long-term recovery.
Randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews of internet-based therapy for substance abuse found that online therapy had potential benefits for treating substance use disorders. However, more research still needs to be done.
If you are struggling with substance use, contact the SAMHSA National Helpline at (800) 662-4357 to receive support and resources. Support is available 24/7.
Online therapy for eating disorders
People with eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, bulimia, or binge eating disorder may face barriers to treatment, but research shows that online therapy could potentially help people manage their symptoms and improve maladaptive eating habits.
The current research on the effectiveness of online therapy for eating disorders is still limited, but some studies have found significant symptom reduction in patients with EDs after attending online therapy. Factors such as the type of ED and the severity of the symptoms could potentially impact the effectiveness of online therapy.
In addition to being convenient and affordable, BetterHelp offers therapy that can help you change your life. Through therapy, you can grow stronger, live more positively, feel better, and work on healthy behaviors, thoughts, feelings, goals, and relationships.
Some benefits of therapy include:
- Treating mental health conditions
- Learning to productively enhance and manage aspects of life even if you aren’t experiencing mental health concerns
- Addressing relationship issues
- Strengthening family dynamics
- Learning healthy coping strategies
- Improving communication
- Setting goals and working to achieve them
- Addressing trauma and learning ways to heal
- Decreasing self-destructive habits
- Identifying problems and addressing them with healthy problem-solving techniques
- Gaining new insights into yourself and others
- Learning to set boundaries and foster healthier relationships with family and friends
- Verbalizing feelings
- Benefitting from the support, expert advice, knowledge, and experience of a licensed mental health professional
- Managing stress
- Improving productivity and increasing motivation
- Increasing joy and contentment
- Increasing understanding of experiences, symptoms, and diagnoses
- Understanding how to address negative thoughts and feelings
- Practicing mindfulness and relaxation techniques
- Improved communication skills
Therapy can be a huge step toward healthier living, relationships, and health. You can connect quickly and conveniently with licensed mental health professionals online to experience many BetterHelp benefits and therapy in general. Research shows that online therapy can be just as effective as in-person therapy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the purpose of going to therapy?
How effective is therapy?
How does therapy make you happier?
Do all people benefit from therapy?
What happens when you go through therapy?
How therapy can change your life?
Can therapy change your personality?
How do I know if I need therapy?
How long should therapy last?
Does therapy change the brain?
Can therapy change thoughts and emotions?
Can therapy Stop overthinking?
Can therapy make you smarter?
Can I go to therapy for no reason?
Is therapy just talking?
- Previous Article
- Next Article