BetterHelp Reviews

BetterHelp
( 341 reviews )

BetterHelp Customer Reviews

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Never Ever Try BetterHelp
May 22, 2023

I will give them 0 stars if I could. My husband is looking for a therapist and decided to check betterHelp. We just got charged $288 for therapists that simply reached out to offer their services by email???? my husband hasn't had a single therapy session with anyone. This is causing him so much anxiety, so much for better help, they are horrible.

Worthless at best / Triggering at worst
February 3, 2023

I have tried BetterHelp twice. First time, person was 20+ minutes late. Her microphone only worked half the time. She said it was her first time EVER using the platform. Unfriendly. Never apologized for being late. I went in ready to be vulnerable and feeling hopeful. I came out feeling angry and triggered.

Next time, person didn't even show up for our scheduled appointment. Canceled again. It's far too expensive to work like that.

Valentino June 06, 2023

Exact same thing happened to me last I eventually just canceled and went do go and look for something else it's not worth the app half of time hardly ever works

Scam Scam Do not sign up so not give them your cc
September 30, 2022
Signed up, they quickly matched me with a therapist, who messaged a great deal, I booked a session, she never turned up, no message, emailed the company and they haven't responded either. I've requested a refund for the month they charged me for. Cancelled my membership going forward. Feel totally scammed. Ripped off and abused. Do Not Trust this company

Ignored
August 31, 2022

They literally just ignore me.

Better Help replied to my original review (below) and apologized for my experience where my concerns expressed were ignored. They offered to set me up with a new therapist.

I have since replied multiple times asking them to discuss this option more and they have ignored me.

It is ridiculous that the only time they respond is via a public review website and the proceed to ignore any communication opportunities otherwise.

It is completely unprofessional and I feel the service should be ashamed of the behavior they have shown toward me claiming to be a service which provides care and mental health therapy. I am not sure why they keep ignoring any questions I have but here I am.

_________________________________________________

Original: This service is good for venting, but not much else.

Therapist always responded to messages.

My big problem was that I had a mental diagnosis that I shared with my therapist prior to starting and we discussed frequently together. After six months she told me that she could no longer see me because I had never told her about my diagnosis. It was just a ridiculous idea and if it were true would mean that she pretty much ignored everything I said.

I didn't really make much progress with any of my issues. It was difficult to get specific recommendations outside of what could be found via a Google search to work on problems.

They left me with no referrals or alternatives. I expressed my concern with this outcome with the site administration but they never acknowledged what I wrote. I only got an automated message that said thanks for your message.

It's always easier to just ignore someone because BetterHelp knows that person is no longer their problem and doesn't have to take any accountability then it is to address legitimate problems and show someone facing difficult problems respect.

How to reach a live person @ BetterHelp
June 8, 2022

VERY difficult to contact them for billing issues or getting a receipt to claim for Insurance! Phone number also VERY hard to find, here is their contact phone # 1-888 688 9296.

Therapy was terminated with no prior notice.
June 4, 2022

I had therapy with BH for 2 years. It is a long time, but felt comfortable with her. I didn't want to start over with a new therapist. We got along well and had nice video or chat sessions. All of a sudden, I receive a message stating that I need to pursue “ in-person.” No explanation as to why. She wouldn’t tell me why when I asked and then became distant and only will message me pressuring me and asking me if I found a therapist.

I am I'm a waiting list for 2, but she said continuation is based on how long that will take and now only talk to me at a week session. She is very cold. I know she is taking on many patients, as states before. I don't understand why the 180 and no explanation why!

If you are complex, this is not the place for you
April 18, 2022

Scam. Everyone I was connected with spent multiple appointments adding no value.

1 star, do not recommend.

JaneDoe June 04, 2022

Agree. No notice. Was kicked off with no notice. Everything before was good. No mention of this. I was told, we needed to talk about therapy on the text, and proceeds to tell me to find a new therapist. No warning, no explanation.

Do No trust this company with you credit card
October 15, 2021
This is a complete scam. Months after cancelling my subscriptions they decided to charge my card 3 times the monthly fee. After contacting them numerous times, they re-credited my card for 2 days and then charged it again. A handful of emails and I am still waiting for my money. They keep saying they have refunded me, but they have not. DO NOT SIGN UP WITH THEM. You'll really need counseling after they are done with you.

They seem like crooks
October 15, 2021
I wanted help with the painful melancholy I was feeling from COVID. I signed up thinking it would be a zoom meeting and tried to cancel a number of times with the therapist and company. They have given me the run around and continue to charge my credit card 220.00 a month since January. 10 months plus interest.

Moredepressed from betterhelp.com October 15, 2021

I never received counseling tho they continue to charge me.

Scam. Fraud. Failure. Worthless.
February 26, 2021
Basically a scam. Took my money and had not matched me with a counselor within 70.5 hours out of their promised 24 to 48, "but in most cases it is faster." They're dragging their feet on responding to my demand for a full refund, of course.

Rip off
December 5, 2020
Rip off. If you pay for a month then cancel in the middle for the following month. They cancel all your sessions you’ve already paid for.

Manipulative user interfaces, hard to change counselors
August 6, 2020

First, let me say that if you get matched with a good counselor, or one you mesh well with, it will probably be fine. However, if you want to change counselors, it may not be as easy as their marketing or previous reviews make it sound. The "change counselors" option was not available, and, after discussions with their customer service, they reluctantly admitted that the availability of counselors in my area was not very good. When trying to change counselors, the support rep asked about my preferences for matching with a new counselor, but seemed to ignore when I asked if I could see the preferences I'd already put in when signing up, so I could decide if I wanted to change anything. If the feature wasn't available, that's fine, but just be straight with me about it.

Another thing that came up in the support conversation was that you can only be matched with counselors licensed in your area. Which might make sense from a legal perspective, but I wish they'd been up front about it on their site, so I wouldn't have expected to have a national selection of available counselors (not everybody lives in a wealthy, high-population state).

I didn't actually go through with changing counselors (they said there were none available, so I decided to try again with my counselor and then ended up canceling my account), but the support rep also said you lose your previous entire conversation with your counselor when you change, and therefore have to back it up yourself (e.g. File->save page in the browser) if you want to keep a copy.

One last thing: Some aspects of the user interface seem manipulative, particularly in the onboarding and exit survey process. Questions where there is no option to decline to answer, or the available answers seemed limited. At the beginning of the conversation with my counselor, there was a popup with a consent form (something about being able to share the conversation with a mentor), but there was no information about whether declining would mean I couldn't continue counseling. When answering questions in the exit survey, there were popups with other questions, and it seemed there was pressure to review your counselor even if you don't want to. When I did finally got to click the link or button that cancels the account, since I had paid for a month, it said "you can continue until your service expires", and, without asking, dropped me right back into the conversation with my existing counselor. (It's made to look like a chat type interface, but seems to work more like email.) This was after I had clicked a button like "no, I don't want to resume with , after I restart my service". I think BetterHelp's product team should think about how important consent is to a healthy experience, particularly in a counseling setting.

Side note for context: The only way I interacted with my counselor was through this messaging interface, which, as I said, was made to look like chat but worked more like email (more of a daily interaction rather than a real time interaction). I did have an issue where it seemed like the counselor hadn't seen one of the messages I spent a long time writing, because they only responded to the one after it. You can also make an appointment for a live chat, phone call, or video conference with a counselor, but I didn't use those. However it did look like those appointments would be easy to book, if desired.

Good enough, but not going to be a solution for bigger issues.
March 8, 2020

I've been using BH for about a year now. The counselor I have had usually gets back within 24 hours and she forewarns her clients ahead of time if she won't be able to communicate (say,while on a trip). I think this should be standard practice, as a lot of people seeking help have attachment issues.

I don't expect online counseling to be like in office counseling, even when the the fit is okay. However, sometimes I wonder the reasons she brushes off or doesn't address some of the things I write about... I mean, basic ones, like social anxiety and low confidence.

Otherwise, I appreciate a platform where I can write things out to a counselor. My last experience with a therapist in an office didn't go so well after a year of seeing her, so this has been a good place, at least for me and with the counselor I was assigned , to say some things I was too anxious to say in an therapist's office. After my last in office therapist experience, I sort of swore I'd never seek therapy again, but I'm starting to lose that sense of aversion to seeing a therapist as I work with the counselor on better help.

Don't go to betterhelp hoping to work out/heal major issues or disorders. It has its purpose, but its not a panacea for the most difficult issues.

The billing is sort of shady, yes. I didn't appreciate being billed so much at once when I signed up, without my knowledge. I believe they post the billing schedule somewhere, but it's not glaringly obvious, and that sucks because people who are emotionally distressed sometimes aren't looking for the 'fine print' when they sign up and give their card #.

I haven't tried phone or video counseling, so I have no comment about that, except the counselor I am working with feels like she would be dependable (would show up on time) in that regard.

Predatory and Dangerous
February 24, 2020
These services prey on people's desperation and need for some kind of help. Further, they seem tailored towards very specific types of illnesses or disorders. Some depression or anxiety might benefit from one of these online outlets, but someone with a severe psychotic disorder such as a schizo-spectrum disorder or bipolar would probably find little relief. Real face-to-face time with a psychiatrist and care team is needed. But I suppose adding that caveat to their webpage might hurt sales. Remember with these companies it always about the bottom line.

Wasted my Money
January 21, 2020

The service is worthless. I didn't received any response from them even after paying for their subscription.

Counselor dialogue not related to subject
December 16, 2019

I am glad that others are getting help with these people. We were not so fortunate.

My adult child was matched to a counselor and after the initial dialogue establishing the issues she needed help with the counselor did not appear to read the latest response from my child. It seemed that the counselor was recording the previous responses. Did not ask questions if she understood what was being said by the counselor. She allowed me to read the last responses from the counselor. I could not figure out what the counselor was trying to say. The response was so unrelated to the statements made by my child I could not figure out what was being said. We tried three times to contact them through the website. The only response we received was the automated response that says we will get back to you in one business day. That was almost three (3) months ago. Still waiting for a response.

To whom it may concern
July 27, 2019

I have been amazed by how insightful Merlena has been. She has challenged me when I needed it, then supports me with kindness and respect when I am in a vulnerable place. I am so grateful to have been paired with Merlena and am very much reaping the benefits of this astonishing agency.

Would recommend BetterHelp and Merlena James Leger, LPC to everyone who wants some mental health support.

Thank you for the time to share my perspective.

Amazing service!
June 27, 2019
I'm REALLY pleased with the service BetterHelp provides so far. I've been in and out of therapy my whole life and the two main reasons why I haven't gone consistently are: the money and the inconvenience of having to commute to an appointment. This app is revolutionary, especially for people like me who really value therapy but can't afford $200/hour, plus I love writing vs. talking in person because I feel like I can be more open and think clearly about my answers and not be caught off guard or go on the defensive while answering a question face to face. Thank you!

Mary December 11, 2019

I agree as well about the safety of being more open being supportive of when to video chat or just message I just started and have been in constant contact with my therapy! I don't like to travel but find this o helpful she is supportive telling me its ok to feel how I fee.

Worth every cent
June 26, 2019
Christine Garnett is 3000000/10. She gets all the stars. I have not ever opened up so quickly to anyone in such a short period of time. I feel like I am finally in a place where I can acquire the tools to help myself while also being supported by a professional.

Perfect timing
June 25, 2019
I’m so glad to have found out about Better Help when I did. It absolutely feels like it was meant to be. I am more than happy with the care and service I’m receiving and finding this platform invaluable. I am singing it’s praises to anyone who will listen.

Mary December 11, 2019

I definitely agree