Welcome to BetterHelp!

BetterHelp is the largest online therapy platform worldwide that makes mental healthcare more convenient, discreet, and accessible to a licensed therapist. Professional therapy is available anytime, anywhere, through a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Online therapy should not be considered for meeting requirements for employment, school enrollment, disability, or legal documentation.

After you sign up, you will be matched to a fully licensed therapist who fits your objectives, preferences, and the type of issues you are dealing with. Different therapists have different approaches and areas of focus, so it's important to find the right person who can achieve the best results for you. We have found that we are able to provide a successful match most of the time; however, if you start the process and you feel your therapist isn't a good fit for you, you may elect to be re-matched to a different therapist, or select one yourself.

Therapists on BetterHelp are licensed, trained, experienced, and accredited psychologists (PhD / PsyD), licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFT), licensed clinical social workers (LCSW / LMSW), or licensed professional counselors (LPC). All of them have a Masters Degree or a Doctorate Degree in their field. They have been qualified and certified by their state's professional board after successfully completing the necessary education, exams, training and practice. While their experience, expertise, and background vary, they all possess at least 3 years and 1,000 hours of hands-on experience. Learn more about the therapists

Our team ensures that every provider we bring to the platform is licensed and in good standing. Providers who apply are required to provide a valid license and proof of identity. We then cross-check their licensure information with their respective state licensing board.

Therapists must also undergo a background report, and are subject to periodic checks via the NPDB (National Practitioner Data Bank) 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 less than a third 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 may be right for you if you're looking to improve the quality of your life. Whenever there is anything that interferes with your happiness or prevents you from achieving your goals, we may be able to help. We also have therapists who specialize in specific issues such as stress, anxiety, relationships, parenting, depression, addictions, eating, sleeping, trauma, anger, family conflicts, LGBTQ matters, grief, religion, self esteem, and more.

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

It generally takes around 24 hours to be matched with a therapist, and on some occasions might take a little longer depending on which qualifications and expertise you prefer in a therapist.

You can receive therapy in four ways:

• Exchanging messages with your therapist
• Chatting live with your therapist
• Speaking over the phone with your therapist
• Video conferencing with your therapist

You can use these different methods of communication as you wish based on your needs, availability, and convenience.

Once you are matched to a therapist, you and your therapist will get a therapy room, which will be your personal and secured place to communicate. In this room, you will write about yourself, the things going on in your life, ask questions and discuss the issues that trouble you. Your therapist will then read your messages, and respond with questions, feedback, insight, and guidance.

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 when you want to write or respond to your therapist. You will get a notification by email (you can set up your account to get notified by SMS as well) when the therapist has sent you a message.

You will sometimes want to have a text conversation with your therapist in real-time. This way you can still enjoy the convenience and privacy of messaging but also enjoy a "live" interaction that allows instant response and feedback from your therapist.

Scheduling a live session couldn't be easier! Log in to your account to view your therapist's availability and choose a day and time that works for you. That's it! At the scheduled time, log in to your account to start typing and chatting with your therapist.

Phone sessions are a great way to conveniently speak with your therapist by simply using your landline or cell phone, no matter where you are.

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.

You can also have a video session with your therapist where you will be able to see each other and talk with each other in a virtual face-to-face setting (similar to Skype). To talk with your therapist via video, you will need to schedule a time with them 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.

• If you're using a computer or laptop: Make sure you are using Chrome or Firefox as your web browser. Video sessions are not currently supported in Internet Explorer and Safari browsers. You can download Chrome for free from here
• If you're using an iPhone or iPad: Make sure you use the BetterHelp app, which you can download from the App Store
• If you're using an Android phone or tablet, Make sure you use the BetterHelp app, which you can download from the Google Play Store

You will sometimes see a box at the bottom of your therapy room with the dates and times that your therapist is available. If one of these options works for you, you can simply go ahead and schedule the session.

If you don't see that box, or if none of these options are good for you, simply send a message to your therapist with your request for a live session and suggest available times. Your therapist will then schedule the session for you.

Either way, after the session is scheduled you will receive an email confirmation with your session's date and time. If you need to cancel or reschedule your session, you can do so in the therapy room.

Yes. You can always login to your account and read all the therapist's messages to you. This may help you in reflecting and remembering some of the guidance and input that you received. This is one of the main advantages of e-therapy.

There are many studies that confirm the effectiveness of the online medium for making life changes. For example, a study published by JMIR Publications and conducted by researchers from University of California - Berkeley, University of California - San Francisco, and the San Francisco General Hospital, concluded that "users of BetterHelp experienced significantly reduced depression symptom severity after engaging with the platform." here. Users also post feedback and testimonials of their experience.

BetterHelp has built a state-of-the-art technology, operation, and infrastructure with one thing in mind: protecting your privacy and safeguarding the information you provide. Their privacy and confidentiality standards exceed what is required by law or regulations, so you can feel safe and comfortable.

• You don't need to identify yourself (see more about staying anonymous here).
• Everything you tell your therapist is protected by strict federal and state laws.
• We don't cooperate or work with any insurance companies or employers, so nothing needs to be shared, reported or filed with them.
• You can always click the "Shred" button next to each message that you've sent so it will no longer show in your account.
• All the messages between you and your therapist are secured and encrypted by banking-grade 256-bit encryption.
• Our browsing encryption system (SSL) follows modern best practices, providing world class online security and encryption.
• Our databases are encrypted and scrambled so they essentially become useless in the very unlikely event that they are being stolen or inappropriately used.

If you wish for any of your information or records to be released to a third party, please let your therapist know. Your therapist will send you an authorization form that you will need to fill and sign before your information can be released

When you sign up we do not ask you for your full name or contact information but rather a "nick name" created by you that will be used to identify you in the system. When you decide to start the therapy process, we will ask you for your contact information for emergency situations only, such as if your therapist believes that you or someone else might be in danger. This data is protected by our robust security infrastructure at all times.

In certain situations, your therapist may request additional information about you as required by their licensing board guidelines. All of this data is protected by therapist-patient confidentiality laws which your therapist is legally bound to abide by.

For additional information about how BetterHelp helps protect your privacy, please review our Privacy Policy.

Yes – the platform is delivered in English, but the BetterHelp therapist network provides services in over 44 different languages and over 168 countries. Please note, however, that BetterHelp therapists reside in U.S. time zones. If you are requesting therapy in an alternate language, we will work to meet your request while still adhering to the requirement that the therapist be licensed in their state of residence. International borders are not typically a barrier to receiving support. When matching you with a therapist, BetterHelp abides by all applicable international laws and requirements.

Yes — BetterHelp offers relationship (couples) therapy.

BetterHelp is currently only provided to adults who are 18 or older. Similar to the face-to-face therapy experience, informed consent to begin therapy is required. Your household dependents and spouse (18+) have access to BetterHelp. BetterHelp should not be considered for meeting requirements for employment, school enrollment, disability, or legal documentation.

The access code is used to verify that your organization is eligible for BetterHelp services. If you are unsure which "Access Code" to use, please contact your Human Resources department or call the EAP Help Line at New Directions Behavioral Health at 800-624-5544.

Online therapy cannot be used to fulfill any condition of employment. If you are "mandated" to use EAP services by your employer, please contact the New Directions EAP at New Directions Behavioral Health at 800-624-55444.

Yes. You can continue to access BetterHelp online therapy after the EAP sessions have ended. An email will be sent by the BetterHelp Team notifying you of this and after 3 days, you will be prompted to enter payment information to keep your account active. You may continue working with the same therapist via BetterHelp at a discounted rate. You can also call the EAP Support Line at New Directions Behavioral Health at 800-624-5544 to discuss options for additional no-cost services, including getting access to other EAP benefits such as work/life services.

BetterHelp is not a crisis hotline and should not be used in a crisis situation. Anyone requiring immediate assistance is encouraged to contact local authorities and dial 911, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) or get help with these other resources. Like face-to-face therapists, BetterHelp therapists are individually licensed, follow clinical and legal protocols if a person is at risk of harming themselves or others, and are available at flexible hours per their posted availability calendars that all clients can access. You can also reach our EAP Help Line at New Directions Behavioral Health at 800-624-5544.

BetterHelp defines a session as:

• An asynchronous messaging exchange over seven (7) consecutive days with a therapist (anything under 500 words exchanged would not be considered a session)
• At least one scheduled live telephone call with a therapist
• At least one scheduled live video chat with a therapist
• At least one scheduled live real-time chat with a therapist

If asynchronous messaging and a scheduled live option is utilized in the same week, then it will only count as one session.

First, register your account at https://www.BetterHelp.com/newdirections then download the BetterHelp app from your device's app store.

You will need to enter all required access and/or personal information asked on the platform.

You can reset your pin by first logging out of the account on the app in your account settings. Once you log back in, you will be prompted to create a new pin.

Yes. To switch therapists, please follow the steps below: Desktop:

• Log into the website directly here with your email address and password.
• Once logged in, click on your username in the upper right corner of the screen.
• On the drop-down menu, select "Change therapist."
• In the "Change therapist" section, complete the form and preferences for a new therapist, and select "Choose Another Therapist". Keep in mind that previous conversations and messages will not be available when you change therapists.

App (For iOS/Android):

• Log into the BetterHelp app with your email address and password.
• Once logged in, click on your username in the settings.
• On the drop-down menu, select "Change therapist."
• In the "Change therapist" section, complete the form and preferences for a new therapist, and select "Choose Another Therapist". Keep in mind that previous conversations and messages will not be available when you change therapists.

Desktop:

• Visit this link and click "Forgot password?"
• Enter your email address that was used to create your BetterHelp account.
• Wait to receive an email with instructions on how to reset your password.

BetterHelp app:

• Open the app and tap "Forgot password?"
• Enter your email address that was used to set up your BetterHelp account.
• Wait to receive an email with instructions on how to reset your password.

BetterHelp supports the latest version of the following major browsers: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari. Microsoft Explorer is not an optimized browser and does not support video chat.