How Much Does Betterhelp Cost Monthly?(A Complete Guide)

This article will discuss what Bettehelp costs on a monthly basis and what services it offers. Furthermore, it will highlight the benefits of paying on a subscription basis rather than adopting a pay per session model. The article will also explain how clients can pay for these services on a monthly basis and whether or not this company accepts insurance to cover monthly costs.

How Much Does Betterhelp Cost Monthly?

This company offers different subscription packages that affect the amount of money you need to pay them at the end of the month. The details are given below for each subscription offer:

  • Weekly Plan: It costs $80/week where you subscribe to their services for a week only and can avail whatever and how many sessions you need. In case you subscribe every week, you will have to pay $320 at the end of the month.
  • Monthly Plan: It costs a total of $260 per month which breaks down to $60/week. The client is billed monthly as well – this is pretty straightforward
  • Quarterly Plan: This plan costs a total of $540 but the weekly costs breaks down into $45 a week only because of the longer subscription availed by the client. At the end of the each month the client must pay $180
  • Annual Plan: For clients who need long term services, they can pay $1820 which results in only $35 per week which is extremely cheap. At the end of each month the client is liable to pay $140 only which is the cheapest option.

Hence depending on what subscription offer they uptake, the client can either end up paying $320, $260, $180 or $140 per month. Of course these costs are subject to change depending on company policy.

Monthly Services Available At Betterhelp!

  • Chatrooms: These are open 24/7 and you can drop a message any time you feel like doing so. However, your counselor will only get back to you once they have the time or chance to. Usually people like dropping questions they want opinions on from their counselor and don’t mind waiting a bit.
  • Live Chatting Sessions: here you can chat with your counselor in real time and there really is no limit on the number of messages exchanged or time spent talking here. It depends on the needs of the client and the nature of the problem.
  • Live Phone Calls: Kind of like Skype this platform has their own system set up where you can have audio sessions with your service provider. It does not show your contact details to the counselor for reasons of privacy and in case the counselor and counselee become direct. 
  • Video Sessions: clients who are more comfortable or want a more personalized experience can also opt for video sessions. Like other mediums of interaction, there is no limit on these although people mostly hold the opinion that 6-8  sessions per month are sufficient.

How Can You Pay For Monthly Services – 3 Methods

You can pay for services at Betterhelp through the following methods:

  • Credit Card: This is one of the options you have through which you can pay for your membership at this online company that provides mental health services
  • Paypal: It is an online payment method that the company accepts.
  • Financial Aid: This is an option Betterhelp provides to individuals who are not in a position to avail mental health services due to financial limitations. This financial aid can reduce your counseling fees from $280 to as low as $216 but applies to people based on their financial status and income.

Does Betterhelp Accept Insurance?

Betterhelp does not accept insurance nor are its services covered by Medicare or Medicaid.

There are a number of reasons for this which have been highlighted on their website but they include the following:

  • Health insurance plans have partial or limited coverage so it really isn’t useful
  • In the case that your health insurance plan covers all costs of the services, the copay of insurance may be higher than the entire cost of Betterhelp’s services – this is due to the generally low cost services of Betterhelp due to it’s online nature and ease of accessibility for all.
  • Clients at Betterhelp may not be able to use insurance because insurance companies often require that the diagnosis of a patient and their future treatment plans are sent to them. However, at Betterhelp service providers are not allowed to diagnose patients for a number of reasons. 
  • Betterhelp emphasizes that their costs for services are very low hence it is not advisable to use insurance.

Let us take a look at what Betterhelp basically is and why its subscription offer is better than the traditional pay per session model!

What Is Betterhelp?

Betterhelp is one of the largest online platforms that provides multiple services for all types of people who are suffering from mental health problems and require counseling. What is great about this service is that it is online hence it is available anywhere and every time. You do not have to go to the doctor’s office to get an appointment or wait in line for your turn. This is great if you feel pretty down and getting out of bed is a challenge for you!

With approximately 1700 licensed therapists available online at the click of a button, Betterhelp ensures that its clients receive the best help they can get by connecting them to professional therapists and counselors who know what they need to do This is apparent by the total number of sessions which Betterhelp has already conducted from their platform; a whopping 70 million sessions already completed!

This is possible because the company understands the needs of clients well and hence provides therapy related services to them online and not just at  physical location. In a world where things are changing constantly and the unknown is always around the corner, it is becoming more of a need rather than a desire to get services online and at your doorstep – we simply don’t have time nowadays!

Subscription Vs Pay Per Session Model – Which Is Better?

There are a number of benefits of using Betterhelp’s subscription model rather than traditional pay per session models that brick and mortar clinics use. Firstly, it is much more cheap as we discussed above whereas the costs for traditional in person therapy for each session range between $60 to $150 and can vary upon the time taken.

Furthermore, as a person you do not know how many sessions you will need and how much assistance you require from your counselor. However, with Betterhelp’s model, you can avail unlimited services within a certain time period for which you have paid in lump.

Availing services and paying for each session can be financially straining and this can add to stress or the mental health issues someone is already facing. Betterhelp realizes it needs to provide services in the most comfortable manner.

How To Pay Betterhelp?

The subscription period at Betterhelp starts after you have been signed up with a counselor! Let us take a look at the process of signing up with Betterhelp and paying for their services.

Here are the steps to availing services at Betterhelp and  when exactly are you required to pay for them:

  • Intake Form: Information is collected about you in terms of your demographics, mental health needs and status, preferences for your counselor and what type of help you are basically looking for.
  • Matching: After sufficient information has been gathered from you, the platform attempts to match you with a counselor and this may take minutes or even hours depending on your preferences, location and needs. You are matched to a counselor in your state however, if you live abroad then you are matched with a counselor in a suitable state.
  • Subscription Plan: Once you are matched with a counselor, you need to select a payment option or subscription plan. After this section we will explain what options a person has.
  • Payment: As a client, although your identity will be hidden from your counselor if required (you can use a nickname), you will have to provide your actual information to the company in order to pay for the services you avail. You can use paypal or your credit card.
  • Start Your Sessions: Once you have subscribed, you will be given 24/7 access to your counselors. Clients are billed weekly or monthly.

Conclusion

This article looked at the monthly costs clients must pay according to their subscription packages. Furthermore, the article highlighted what services they can avail and how to pay for these services and whether Betterhelp accepts insurance. The article introduced the audience to Betterhelp and explained why it’s subscription model is better than the traditional pay per session model.

References

https://thervo.com/costs/how-much-does-therapy-cost

https://blog.zencare.co/betterhelp-vs-talkspace/

https://www.verywellmind.com/betterhelp-review-4777097

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