Frequently asked questions
Therapists must also undergo a background report, and are subject to periodic checks via the NPDB (National Provider Database) registry. In addition to these checks, potential providers must also complete a case study graded by a licensed clinician. The result of this rigorous process is that only about 25% of applicants who apply to work as therapists through BetterHelp are accepted to the platform.
We also show the full credential information for each provider to make it easy for you to do your own due diligence on your therapist.
BetterHelp is not the right solution for you if any of the following is true:
- You are a minor or you are under the care of a legal guardian
- You are in an urgent crisis or an emergency situation
- You were required to undergo therapy either by a court order or by any other authority
- You do not have a device that can connect to the Internet or you do not have a reliable Internet connection
BetterHelp accepts HSA/FSA cards and is recognized as an eligible expense by most HSA/FSA providers.
- Exchanging messages with your therapist
- Chatting live with your therapist
- Speaking over the phone with your therapist
- Video conferencing with your therapist
You can send messages to your therapist at any time, from any location, using any Internet-connected device. You can log in to your room at any time and since messaging is not in real-time it doesn't require scheduling. Instead, you can choose whenever you want to write or respond to your therapist. You will get a notification by email when the therapist has sent you a message.
To have a live chat session, you will first need to schedule a time with your therapist. At the scheduled time, log in to your account to start typing and chatting with your therapist.
To talk with your therapist over the phone, you will need to schedule a time with your therapist and log in to your therapy room at that time. The therapist will prompt you to start the phone session and the system will ask you for your phone number. The system will then call you at that number and connect you with your therapist to start the phone session. Please note that the phone number you enter will not be shared with the therapist.
To talk with your therapist via video, you will need to schedule a time with your therapist and log in to your therapy room at that time. Your therapist will then prompt you to start the video session. After you confirm, you will immediately begin video chatting with your therapist.
Coverage and benefits for traditional therapy and therapy services change from one health insurance company to another and from plan to plan, but generally the following rules apply:
- With many health insurance plans, coverage can be partial or very limited.
- Even if your plan covers all your costs, the co-pay that you would be required to contribute may be higher than the entire cost of BetterHelp.
- In many cases, before you can get reimbursed by your insurance company, your therapist would have to diagnose you with a mental disorder or issue. This diagnosis would be sent to the insurance company and recorded in your medical file. In some cases the therapist would also have to provide additional clinical information to the insurance company, such as treatment plans, summaries or copies of the entire record.
Our confidence in the platform comes primarily from the feedback and testimonials we receive from users. Every day we are excited to hear from more people about the way this service helped them make a tremendous change in their lives.
Generally, the therapist will keep what you tell them confidential, but there are limited exceptions. For example, if you threaten grave harm to yourself or to an identifiable victim the therapist is required to report this information to relevant authorities. Before starting therapy, please discuss with your therapist their legal obligations to confidentiality if you have any concerns or questions.
For more information about how BetterHelp protects your therapist interactions, please review our Privacy Policy.
The information that you share is also protected by data privacy laws, for more information see our Privacy Policy. Here are some things that might be helpful to know:
- We have built state-of-the-art technology, operations, and infrastructure with the goal of protecting your privacy and safeguarding the information you provide
- You can always select the "Remove Message" button to remove messages that you’ve sent to your therapist.
- All the messages between you and your therapist are secured and encrypted by banking-grade 256-bit encryption.
- Our servers are distributed across multiple Tier 4- AWS Data Centers for optimal security and protection.
- Our Platform is HITRUST Risk-based, 2-year (r2) Certified.
- Our browsing encryption system (SSL) follows modern best practices.
- Our databases are encrypted and scrambled so they essentially become useless in the unlikely event that they are stolen or compromised.
- We don't work with any insurance companies so nothing needs to be shared, reported or filed with them.
For additional information about how BetterHelp helps protect your privacy, please review our Privacy Policy.