On Better Help Than BetterHelp
BetterHelp has been trying to recruit me. As soon as I became licensed, they started circling. They’ve sent multiple messages to me over the last couple of years via every imaginable pathway. I get harassed on LinkedIn, my work email, and, most recently, three sequential emails sent directly to my personal email address that is not publicly available. I mention this not to shame them for aggressive recruitment tactics, but to highlight from the start that they are, first and foremost, a tech company. They are mining and using data about their customers, therapists, and consumer habits to make money, and this is, in my opinion, impossible to square with the ethics of being a mental health provider.
is betterhelp a good therapy provider?
(I’ll note here that I’m also not shaming any mental health providers for working for BetterHelp or similar companies! These mental health behemoths offer a consistent stream of clients, and provide some supports for private practice that I can see being appealing and/or necessary depending on a therapist’s life circumstances. Like any system, those who work within it are, for the most part, disenfranchised participants. At a societal level, we don’t value therapists, and so they’re unable to find sustainable workplaces. Therapists, like everyone, do what they need to do to make ends meet. It’s the same for those who use BetterHelp for therapy. This is all to say: It’s the companies themselves who should be held accountable.)
BetterHelp was acquired in 2015 by Teladoc Health Inc., a multinational healthcare company that is publicly owned and traded. This means that, at its core, BetterHelp is a for-profit company, and it shows. In its preliminary offer to me, BetterHelp said that by seeing 50% more clients than I already see, I would make less annually than I do now. Their reimbursement rate per session hovers around $30 for a fully licensed mental health professional with a graduate degree and, in the state of California, 3000+ hours of supervised postgraduate experience. This is unsustainable for the work that therapy entails, and is a set up for burnt-out, jaded therapists.
what is it like to be a therapist working for betterhelp?
On the topic of burnout, in searching forum experiences of therapists who’ve worked for the company, there are countless reports that BetterHelp demands therapists respond to any client messages within 24 hours, no matter the circumstance. One therapist wrote about being unexpectedly hospitalized and not responding within this time frame, and when they returned, being punished for six months and given no new clients. A job that doesn’t allow therapists to be imperfect humans is not sustainable or fair.
Okay but, these savings must pass on to clients, right? There must be some point in all this? The answer is a disappointing: sort of. BetterHelp quotes their session rates as $65-90, depending. For perspective, our lowest reduced fee rates here at Kindman & Co. are $80-100 depending on the experience level of the clinician, and our lowest full fee rates are around $155 as of the time of writing. So yes, sessions can be more affordable, but the level of savings is not proportional to the rate cut for providers. So when you pay for therapy, although you’re paying less, your money is going toward the company BetterHelp—its advertising, parent company investors, and overall profit, not toward paying your therapist. This will undoubtedly impact the therapeutic relationship, which is “at least as vital to a positive outcome as using the right treatment method” according to the American Psychological Association. How can your therapist show up to support you and build a connected, authentic relationship if they have no support, compensation, or flexibility?
why you should be concerned about therapy with betterhelp
And what about the quality of care? I’ve never used BetterHelp as a client and, as I said above, I’m sure there are some qualified therapists who work for them. But the underlying premise of profit on healthcare precludes the kind of care I believe in. You cannot provide ongoing, ethical, empathic care as an underpaid therapist working within a restrictive system. I’ve read accounts of therapists who feel they need to be “on” all the time, who have little agency in the clients they see. And as a further example of the profit/care conflict, in 2023 the FTC required BetterHelp to pay $7.8 million dollars to users of its therapy services whose data had been knowingly compromised and sold to third party companies for use in targeted advertising and marketing.
Therapy should be confidential. Full stop. There should be no incentive, financial or otherwise, for a therapy provider to release client data as is guaranteed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Therapists should be compensated fairly for the emotional labor that they do, and should be able to have sustainable caseload numbers that allow them to continue to serve clients for years to come. BetterHelp is not better help. It’s profitable help for those who own shares. And as consumers I think clients should know what they’re paying for.
And no one knows any of this because BetterHelp has used their profits to gain control of the therapy marketing space. BetterHelp is everywhere. It’s every Hulu ad, billboard, podcast supporter. It’s your favorite celebrity’s ad campaign. It’s trying to become synonymous with therapy. And there’s nothing us therapists can do to stop it. BetterHelp’s model is volume, which in theory means more people are getting therapy. But when the underlying premise is profit, the care provided is compromised, regardless of how convincing their ad campaigns are.
It’s even the name—BetterHelp? Better help than what? To portray yourself as a company for the benefit of mental health care that from its very name devalues the care of every other independent, group practice, or community mental health care therapist?! I want people to access affordable, quality mental health care, and I want it to be sustainable for therapists. But letting big tech into the mental health care space does neither.
better therapy alternatives to betterhelp
So what can you do if you want to go to therapy? My recommendation is to find someone local with experience that matches what you’re wanting to work on. Ask about reduced fees, out of network insurance benefits, or sliding scale if affording weekly sessions would be difficult for any reason. Seek out community mental health centers or community spaces, which often provide free support groups. Advocate for yourself and your friends. Talk to any therapist you’re wanting to work with and ask about their values around care/profit.
Don’t fall for BetterHelp. Seriously, if you want better help, look elsewhere.
Anna Kim is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a writer and an adventurer. Anna enjoys working with individuals, intimate relationships, and groups to support growth and change. She is especially interested in grief & loss, identity & authenticity and attachment, but appreciates all the infinite, complicated parts of being alive.
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We are here for your diverse counseling needs. Our team of therapists provides lgbtqia+ affirmative therapy, couples therapy & premarital counseling, grief & loss counseling, group therapy, and more. We have specialists in trauma, women's issues, depression & anxiety, substance use, mindfulness & embodiment, and support for creatives. For therapists and practice owners, we also provide consultation and supervision services! We look forward to welcoming you for therapy in Highland Park and online.