Everyone deserves to be happy and healthy. Still, not everyone can get the emotional support they need to cope with life’s challenges and boost well-being.
Some people might not have anyone to turn to. Some can’t access professional mental health care. Others might be afraid to open up about their mental health because of the stigma, while many of us feel uncomfortable sharing our personal problems with someone altogether.
Whatever the reason, it’s important to remember that you’re not alone. If you or someone you know needs support, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. It could make all the difference in your life.
So, for many people, talking to a therapist is the best way to get the much-needed care. A mental health professional can provide a safe space to talk about difficult topics, offer acceptance and support, teach helpful coping strategies, and help you understand your emotions and work through them better.
With online therapy, it’s never been easier to find a therapist and connect with them. Online therapy may be a good option for you to cover your specific needs – whether you need online grief counseling, relationship counseling, or depression therapy. Yet, it can feel like a challenge to find the right platform.
Luckily, we’ve rounded up six of the most popular online therapy services in 2022 so that you can easily find a professional available now to help you.
If you’re in crisis, call 911 or use this list of emergency resources.
6 Top Picks of Online Therapy Platforms for 2022
- Calmerry – Best online therapy platform overall
- Online-Therapy – Best for holistic self-care
- BetterHelp – Best service with the most extensive therapists pool
- 7 Cups of Tea – Best for getting free emotional support
- ReGain – Best for couples therapy and relationship counseling
- TalkSpace – Best for therapy + psychiatric services
Let’s take a closer look at them.
1. Calmerry
As their team states, Calmerry’s mission is to make quality mental health care accessible for everyone – from any device, anytime, in any place, and covering all the specific client’s needs.
The company connects people with licensed therapists who cover a wide range of specialties and can treat various mental health issues.
Pros:
- Background-checked, licensed therapists
- Unlimited messaging and live video therapy
- Personalized matching within a few hours
- Responsive 24/7 tech support
- Free app for Android & iOS
- Helpful educational and self-care resources
- Flexible scheduling
Cons:
- Therapy via phone calls and emails is unavailable
- The platform is relatively new
- No medication management services
Who Is It For?
Calmerry takes background checks seriously and only hires fully-licensed mental health professionals (LCSW, LSW, LPC, LCPC, LMFT) with the necessary expertise and experience in evidence-based therapeutic approaches – CBT, DBT, EMDR, SFT, etc.
They specialize in:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Grief & loss
- Sexuality
- Emotional abuse
- Self-esteem issues
- Eating disorders
- Personality disorders
- Trauma
- LGBTQIA+ issues
- Anger management issues
How Much Is Calmerry?
Calmerry offers 3 subscription monthly plans, each discounted the first month for the new clients:
Messaging therapy – $167.96 ($227.96 full)
Messaging + 1 live video – $207.96 ($297.96 full)
Messaging + 4 live videos – $269.96 ($359.96 full)
2. Online-Therapy
Online-Therapy is a comprehensive therapy platform that provides mental health tools to help people overcome their emotional problems.
The site offers self-assessment tools, an 8-section program, worksheets, journaling, CBT activities, and yoga and meditation videos to help clients improve their mental wellness.
Pros:
- Comprehensive mental health toolbox
- Additional assignments to improve your progress
- Trained CBT therapists
- Various communication options
- Focus on independent and therapist-guided work
Cons:
- You can’t write your therapist anytime with a Basic plan
- No mobile app available
- Therapists are available only 8 hours on Mon-Fri
Who Is It For?
Online-Therapy has up to 100 carefully vetted licensed CBT therapists. All of them have a minimum of 3 years of experience. You can find their bios on the platform’s site. They specialize in treating:
- Depression
- Phobias
- Stress
- Addictions
- Anger management issues
- OCD
- PTSD
- Sleeping disorders
- Eating disorders
- Relationship issues
- Procrastination
- Weight management issues, etc.
What’s the Cost of Online-Therapy?
You can enjoy 20% off on all 3 subscription plans offered by this online therapy platform. Their plans include:
- Basic (about $160 per month): Full access to mental health toolbox, only messaging sessions from Monday through Friday, no live sessions, and no option of getting express replies.
- Standard (about $240 per month): Everything from the Basic plan + weekly live sessions and ability to write to your therapist anytime. No express replies.
- Premium (about $320 per month): Everything from the Standard plan + express replies and two 30-minute live sessions per week.
3. BetterHelp
BetterHelp is an online counseling service that provides affordable therapy to people around the world since 2013. They strive for an anti-stigma environment, so those who seek help can do it in safe settings. And they have hired over 20 thousand licensed therapists for now!
Pros:
Multiple pricing plans
- Several client-therapist communication channels
- Over 20,000 fully-licensed therapists
- Financial aid if needed
- Webinars and groupinars available
Cons:
- Clients report unresponsive customer service
- No visible subscription plans available
- Only one subscription plan
- Prices can change depending on your location
Who Is It For?
BetterHelp is a great resource for those looking to find help with any type of mental health concern. They offer individual therapy as well as couples and teen counseling. Their licensed mental health professionals are experienced in treating a wide range of mental health issues:
- Anger management issues
- Anxiety
- Eating disorders
- Intimacy issues
- Family conflicts
- Sleep disorders
- Abuse counseling
- Depression
- Trauma
- Grief counseling
How Much Is BetterHelp?
BetterHelp offers only one monthly therapy package with unlimited messaging and one live therapy session a week. The price for BetterHelp depends on your location and the therapist’s availability, ranging from 240 to 360$.
You can choose to pay monthly, quarterly or yearly.
4. 7 Cups of Tea
7 Cups of Tea is a platform that provides the opportunity to talk with trained listeners or join group chats for free. It also offers access and guidance from licensed counselors if you need professional mental health care.
Pros:
- Affordable monthly plan for professional counseling services
- You can make new friends and develop your support system
- Active listeners are available 24/7
- Free emotional support options (listeners and group chats)
- The platform provides self-help guides for well-being improvement
Cons:
- Confusing user interface
- Listeners – are not licensed professionals and may not provide non-judgemental space
- Most therapists don’t answer more than once a day
- No video/audio sessions
- A small network of therapists
Who Is It For?
7 Cups of Tea offers a place for expression and validation. You can always find someone there who offers you a listening ear to be heard out and understood through open dialogue about what’s going on in your life.
The app is a safe space for people who are struggling, whether it’s with mental health or just problems in their everyday life. You can find friends and learn from others’ experiences by joining their community.
The licensed counselors can help you work through any personal emotional or mental health issues.
What’s the Cost of 7 Cups of Tea?
The cost of 7 Cups of Tea is $150 per month for professional counseling services. This includes unlimited text messaging therapy.
Getting emotional support from listeners or the community is free of charge.
5. ReGain
ReGain is an online platform that connects individuals with therapists for relationship counseling services. There are over 8,000 licensed and trained mental health professionals who can provide guidance with specialized training in the relationship area.
Pros:
- Dedicated to couples and relationship therapy
- A detailed assessment before the therapy start
- User-friendly app and web accessibility
- You can invite your partner to the therapy process later
- Professional mental health help from licensed counselors, not coaching
Cons:
- Short live video sessions for couples therapy
- No live customer service support
- Not many subscription plans
- Automated, no human-operated matching
Who Is It For?
No matter if you’re single or coupled up, ReGain counselors can provide individualized support to help people solve their relationship issues and lead a more happy, fulfilling life.
At ReGain, mental health professionals can help you or you and your partner to:
- Build and maintain a healthy connection
- Get guidance on resolving conflicts
- Improve well-being
- Resolve intimacy issues
- Overcome relationship challenges
- Find a better understanding of each other
- Bring harmony into relationships
What Are the Prices of ReGain Therapy Services?
ReGain has only one monthly plan, with costs between $240 and $320, depending on the therapist you’re matched with and your location.
With your all-inclusive subscription, you can get individual therapy services or start couples therapy, inviting your partner to join without the price changing. Your plan includes unlimited messaging and a weekly live session.
6. Talkspace
The fast-growing Talkspace was launched in 2012 and has already helped over 1 million people improve their mental well-being since then.
The company provides individual therapy, couples counseling, teen therapy as well online psychiatry consultations.
Pros:
- Wide range of communication ways: text messaging, video, voice messaging
- A free consultation with an expert matching agent
- Licensed therapists
- Individual, couples, teens therapy, and psychiatry services
- User-friendly app
Cons:
- No refund for the unused therapy time
- The matching process can take up to several days
- May not be covered by insurance
- Medication management services may turn out to be costly
Who Is It For?
Talkspace is an online counseling service that can be used by anyone, no matter the issue. The platform’s mental health professionals cover a great spectrum of mental health issues. Here are some of them:
- Anger management
- Chronic illness
- Parenting
- Relationship issues
- Gender identity
- Childhood abuse
- Mood disorders
- Eating disorders
- Anxiety
- Trauma
- Bullying
Also, it can be hard to find a psychiatrist who will fit your schedule. But luckily, TalkSpace psychiatric services for evaluation and medication management.
How Much Does Talkspace Cost?
They have three different subscription plans (from $65 to $99 weekly) for individual therapy sessions, with the cheapest one including only unlimited messaging. You can read more about them at drmental.org.
Couples counseling costs about $396 a month. And teen counseling plan has the same cost as the Basic individual plan, with no live sessions.
The cost of each plan depends on how long you need it. You can be billed monthly, quarterly, and biannually.
As for the Psychiatry services, the initial evaluation costs $250, and every follow-up visit is $125.
7 Major Benefits of Online Therapy
Although therapy can be expensive and inaccessible for many, the Internet has opened up a world of possibilities for people seeking mental health care – online therapy can be a great option for everyone who’s unable to access traditional therapy, or for people who prefer the convenience of receiving therapy from home.
Online therapy has made it possible for everyone to get quality mental health care no matter where they are. And it shares its benefits:
- It makes the much-needed professional help more affordable.
- It can help you to find a therapist who specializes in your specific issues quickly.
- It can fit in almost all busy schedules.
- It solves the problem of the distance between clients and licensed mental health professionals.
- It reduces the stigma associated with mental health issues.
- It provides even more anonymity.
- It’s proven to be as effective as traditional therapy.
So, while online therapy does have some drawbacks, such as the lack of face-to-face interaction, it may be a good option for people who cannot access traditional therapy.
Conclusion
Life can be stressful and overwhelming, and sometimes we need a little extra help to cope. That’s where online therapy comes in.
The platforms that provide access to virtual therapy sessions from the comfort of your own home are becoming increasingly popular. These services offer a variety of features that can be customized to meet your specific needs.
If you’re considering virtual therapy, be sure to research the different platform options to find one that’s right for you. We’ve done the first-line research for you and highlighted the top 6 services for 2022 – each with its own set of features.
In 2022, the most influential online therapy services are Calmerry, Online-Therapy, BetterHelp, 7 Cups of Tea, ReGain, and Talkspace. Choose the one that fits you best – and start improving your well-being right now!
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