BetterHelp

BetterHelp can be a good place to start if you’re not interested in waiting to be credentialed by insurances. It’s an easy way to practice virtually if you’re looking for experience. They onboard you quick and client matching is very easy, however, the pay is low and their reputation isn’t great. They take pretty much anyone without much vetting and they don’t allow you to provide formal diagnoses. It blurs the lines between support and real therapy. They also offer live chat as an option, which in my experience, isn’t beneficial for a clinical session. Therapists are left in the dark about any technical or payment related questions. I felt helpless when my clients would ask me navigation questions because my platform was much different than theirs. I was only able to answer questions about membership options because friends of mine have used the platform for therapy. Some basic information around what membership options are available would have been helpful for clients looking to decrease or increase frequency of sessions. They do offer financial aid to clients who request it, which I feel isn’t advertised. Overall, I think they do some pretty great marketing, so more therapists and clients know about the service, but some of the guidelines they have around providing care makes it peculiar from an ethical standpoint.

Different from other online providers, they don’t offer supervision or peer supervision. There’s a therapist community to ask questions on their platform but nothing formal. If you’re newly licensed, I’d suggest seeking local supervision!

Better help

Low pay, no input from therapist