What Types Of Therapy Are Available Through BetterHelp?

When it comes to online therapy, one might assume that all sessions follow the same format, but leading platforms like BetterHelp can provide connection to therapists from hundreds of disciplines, hundreds of disciplines, for both individuals and couples, tailored to meet individual needs. BetterHelp therapist's provide various modalities of therapy, such as: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), couples therapy, Trauma-informed therapy, Eye movement reprocessing and desensitization therapy (EMDR), Internal family systems (IFS) therapy, Narrative therapy, Person-centered therapy, Interpersonal therapy, Cognitive processing therapy (CPT), and more that will be explored in this article.

What is BetterHelp? 

All therapists on BetterHelp have at least a master’s degree, but many also have doctorates and specialty licenses. When you sign up through this platform, you can be matched with a therapist based on your answers to a short questionnaire about your goals, personality, and preferences. Once matched, you can start messaging your therapist and schedule your first session via:

• Phone call
• Video call
• Live chat

All that said, BetterHelp does not only offer therapy. In addition to your weekly sessions, you also have the option to:

• Use the journaling feature in the BetterHelp app
• Receive worksheets from your therapist
• Participate in goal-tracking
• Schedule weekly group sessions based on topics you connect with

Outside of these options, you can also go back and review past messaging conversations with your therapist to remember the topics you discussed and review your progress as you go through sessions.

BetterHelp is not dedicated to only one type of talk therapy. Therapists on the platform are trained in one or more of the over 400 modalities of therapy practiced today. Some therapists offer an integrative approach, tailoring each session to the unique client’s needs by using multiple modalities at once. 

Still, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) remains the most common type of therapy practiced today, as research suggests it to be one of the most effective modalities available for addressing a variety of common mental health conditions and challenges. Below is more about some of the specific types of therapy you may find on BetterHelp. 

What is Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as an online therapy format?

Cognitive behavioral therapy is an approach to talk therapy that can help clients understand their emotions and behaviors through the lens of how they think about themselves and their environment. With a CBT provider, you may be able to learn how your thoughts impact your feelings and how you may be able to shift your thoughts to change your emotional reality.

CBT is often performed in the format of individual therapy, but couples may also benefit from CBT techniques. Many other modalities are also based on CBT techniques, such as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), and trauma-informed CBT. 

What is couples therapy with couples therapists?

Some BetterHelp therapists offer couples therapy, and you can sign up through BetterHelp’s partner site, Regain, to get matched with one. An online couples therapist can often be as effective as an in-person provider, as they can offer many couples therapy modalities—including emotionally focused therapy (EFT), the Gottman method, Imago therapy, and other popular methods.  

What types of therapy are available through BetterHelp besides the above?  

CBT and couples therapy are only two of the many options BetterHelp therapists may offer. You may also be able to find some of the following: 

• Trauma-informed therapy
• Eye movement reprocessing and desensitization therapy (EMDR) 
• Internal family systems (IFS) therapy
• Gestalt therapy
• Narrative therapy 
• Person-centered therapy 
• Interpersonal therapy 
• Cognitive processing therapy (CPT)
• Psychoanalysis 
• Brief systematic therapy 
• Attachment-based therapy
• Integrative therapy 
• Exposure therapy 
• Mindfulness-based therapy 

Your therapist will tailor their approach based on your needs. You can also ask your therapist to provide homework that reflects the modality you’ve been working through in sessions, which may include worksheets and goal tracking through the BetterHelp app or website. 

What types of therapy does BetterHelp not offer?

BetterHelp offers many modalities. However, there are a few that aren’t currently offered due to technology, distance, or availability, including the following. 

Does BetterHelp offer family therapy sessions for mental health conditions or conflict?

Family therapy is not offered through the BetterHelp platform at this time. This is because it typically involves more than two clients and can involve children, and BetterHelp is currently not able to support children under 13. However, In general, BetterHelp is less expensive than traditional face-to-face therapy without insurance. Financial aid is also available to those who qualify.

Does BetterHelp offer in-person modalities like animal-assisted therapy that can’t be offered by BetterHelp therapists?

Some therapy modalities require a person to be physically present to achieve the therapeutic benefits. For example, in equine therapy, a client cleans, bathes, and interacts with a horse to create a connection with the animal. Other in-person forms of therapy you wouldn’t find online can include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Massage therapy
• Tapping therapy
• Animal therapy 
• Some forms of EMDR (though research suggests that certain forms of online EMDR can be effective) 
• In-person VR exposure therapy with a therapist present 

Does BetterHelp offer medical treatments, mental health medication, and psychiatry?

What does research show about therapy options?

When seeking a particular therapy modality, you may be curious about what the research says. Below are a few statistics on different modalities to be aware of:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy with exposure therapy techniques can often be effective for treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). 
• Compassion-centered therapy may help treat a range of mental health challenges and potentially increase self-worth.
• Internal family systems therapy can be highly effective for those with complex trauma. 
• Dialectical behavior therapy is often effective for people living with borderline personality disorder (BPD). 
• Online therapymay be a safer alternative to in-person therapy for people who are experiencing or have fled domestic violence. 

How can one use BetterHelp's group support feature?

BetterHelp doesn’t only offer individual sessions. Each week, you can schedule a group session through the scheduling portal on the app. You can choose between topics like LGBTQ+ identity, parenting, love and relationships, trauma, leaving abuse, divorce, and many other areas of life. Below are the instructions for joining and participating in a group: 

• Navigate to the scheduling tab in the app.
• Select “group session.”
• Scroll through the sessions available and find one that resonates with you at a time that works for you to join. 
• Click on a session you want to schedule and click the “schedule” button. 
• When the time for the session arrives, you’ll be prompted to join on your main screen in the app after logging in. You’ll also receive an email with a link to join the chat. 
• In the video call, you can set your nickname and see who else has entered. 
• The facilitator therapist will introduce themselves and the purpose of the group. They might offer some introductory questions or activities. Although they are a therapist, they aren’t there to fully lead the group. The group discussion depends on what the group wants to talk about. 

If you’re nervous about joining a group, know that you don’t have to talk at first. The group leader may ask everyone to put their camera on so that everyone can see each other, but you are not obligated to do so. 

During the call, you may be able to send chat messages to the group instead of speaking. You can unmute yourself if you want to speak and mute yourself to keep your background quiet when others are speaking. You can also send reactions to other people’s stories by selecting emojis in the menu. 

It can be advisable to always be respectful, kind, and thoughtful when talking to others in group sessions. The facilitator is there to moderate, and no aggressive, hateful, or unkind language is allowed. 

What does research say about different ways to meet with therapists?

A growing body of research suggests that, even across many modalities, online therapy can often be as effective as face-to-face therapy—and sometimes more so. For example, in one meta-analysis of 17 studies on online therapy for depression and anxiety, online therapy was reported by many participants to be potentially even more effective and enjoyable than in-person care.