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HealthSapiens Review

Saturday, March 25th

2023 Online Therapy Reviews

HealthSapiens Review 4.5 Star Rating

HealthSapiens

4.5 Star Rating
  • 6 video calls per month plus unlimited text/chat with your therapist
  • Lowest price per month at $197
  • Ph.D. level therapists
  • Award-winning option

Founded in 2006, HealthSapiens is the most affordable option on this list. They offer 6 visits per month for under $200. Although they are not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, they do have an "A+" rating and were voted "Best Subscription Service for Online Doctors" in 2020 and 2021. HealthSapiens' program is a subscription-based service that is available for private therapy and teen therapy. On top of therapy, HealthSapiens also provides medical appointments for a variety of non-emergency medical needs.

Straightforward subscription

HealthSapiens offers a subscription plan, and it's one of the best deals in this review. For 6 live sessions, unlimited text and chat with your counselor, you pay $197 per month. The only additional charges come if you need more than 6 sessions per month. After 6 you'll be charged per session for any extras. This price point is one of the things that sets HealthSapiens apart from its competition. It's objectively the most affordable option in this review.

Lower standard for therapists

Compared with some other online therapy providers, HealthSapiens has a lower standard for counselors to meet in order to be accepted into their service. Specifically, they require a Master's degree in a relevant field and only 1 year of professional experience. This can result in a lower standard of care that you receive, and may help explain why their prices are lower than other services. However, to be fair we did find some customer reviews that rave about their HealthSapiens therapists. We also found some counselors with PhDs in their field and 10 years of professional experience in therapy. So our advice is to keep your eyes open and be careful in who you select.

Best Online Therapy

Focused on counseling

HealthSapiens focuses entirely on counseling, so they don't have any psychiatric or prescription therapy options. However, the program does focus on cognitive behavioral therapy and other behavior-focused counseling approaches. The therapists at HealthSapiens specialize in particular areas of mental health to best serve your needs. Some of the options on HealthSapiens include:

  • Anxiety and stress
  • Depression
  • PTSD
  • Grief and loss
  • Eating disorders
  • Insomnia
  • OCD
  • Relationship issues (but no couples therapy)
  • Teen therapy and parenting issues
  • Addiction and substance abuse

Good reviews, but bad on cancellations

HealthSapiens averages four-star reviews, with most of the positive reviews talking about the helpfulness of 24/7 service and access to mental health assistance. Customers also noted that they were connected with a doctor within five minutes and were able to regularly use the services each week. However, some of the poor reviews noted that it was hard to cancel when they didn't need or want the service anymore. So, while many enjoyed HealthSapiens while they had it, some customers found it difficult to leave when they were finished.

Best value for money

As a service that offers 6 video calls a month for $197, HealthSapiens is the leader in affordable telehealth. With a variety of services, even those that include teen patients, their mental health services stand out as professional and affordable. Although they are not accredited by the BBB, HealthSapiens is an award-winning service. At this price, it is one of our top options for online therapy.

Where Can You Find the Best Online Therapy?

Have you been feeling down lately? A little stressed out? Do you feel like you want someone to talk to but you're limited by your local options? Or maybe you just don't have time for extra driving in your busy schedule? No matter what your therapy needs, if you feel like you need help, you deserve it.

Whether you're a long-time therapy patient, or you're looking to turn over a new leaf with your mental health, there are tons of online options to make your therapy journey easier. But where can you get started? There are so many online therapy choices and so many different therapy styles that it can be hard to choose which way to turn.

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Online Therapy FAQ

Therapy is for everyone. Therapy is a great place to talk through anything that might be on your mind. If you're worried about relationships, job situations, or feeling anxious in public you can start therapy. Many people attend to find solutions to mental health concerns like anxiety and depression, but you can pop in just to check up on yourself and have a non-biased listener to talk to for a while.
If you've got a good therapist or psychologist, it's not at all different. You can still talk exactly the same way you do in person, especially if you have video call appointments. However, logistically there are a few differences: you don't need to drive anywhere, but you do need to find a quiet and secluded place where you feel safe talking and won't be interrupted; there can sometimes be a little lag if your internet is slow, so save extra time for technical difficulties; and it can be harder to read expressions over the internet, so it might require a little adjustment for the first or second session.
All of these need to be licensed to practice; however, between a counselor and a therapist, the main difference is the focus. Both have Masters degrees and licenses for their particular state and type of therapy. Psychiatrists, however, have to have a medical degree, and only they are able to prescribe medication (though some certified nurse-practitioners have also taken extra coursework to be qualified to write prescriptions too).
Time and money. Before online options, in-person sessions required a drive and the cost of gas just to get to therapy. Depending on your local options, you were also limited to who was near enough to make the drive worth it. Now, you don't have to worry about traffic or the cost of gas, and you're not limited to your immediate area, opening up the therapy options considerably.
This entirely depends on the therapist and the platform. However, the average appointment is 45 minutes long with some appointments as short as 30 minutes or as long as 50.
This varies based on the platform you choose and the therapist you schedule with. Everyone has a different schedule, and some programs only offer one therapy session per month while others offer weekly sessions as part of the plan. If you work with an individual therapist instead of a platform subscription, this is something you'll talk about with your therapist during the first session.
This is something you and your therapist will discuss. If it's a matter of money, many session-by-session therapists are willing to spread out appointments for you. However, many plans offer a subscription that provides you with four sessions a month. Attending once a week is a good place to start, especially if you're coming in to work on something specific.
After submitting your intake forms, the first appointment is normally just a discussion between you and your therapist to get to know each other better. If you've never been to therapy before, it can be hard to know what to talk about, so your therapist may start by asking questions. No matter what, don't worry. There are no wrong answers in therapy. The session is for you and nobody else.
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Continued from above...

Telehealth and online therapy have become popular options. Nearly four in ten Americans (38%) have used telehealth services to meet with a medical or mental health professional, up from 31% in previous years. The majority of those who use telehealth or online therapy now started after the pandemic. Most patients are using telehealth through a video format (69%), while 38% have used phone calls only.

While many originally believed that telehealth and online therapy were lower-quality services compared to in-person treatment, the opinion on telehealth has increased by 40% since 2021. The National Center for Health Research found that online therapy is effective for treating trauma, anxiety, and depression. So, no matter what you need from your online session, you can be assured that you're getting the same treatment as an in-person session.

So, how do you choose the best online therapy provider for your needs? There are a lot of factors to consider. If you're not sure where to start your journey, here are a few things to help you decide:

  • Price: How much does a single session cost? Are there any additional fees?
  • Scheduling: Do you need an hour-long session or something shorter? Do you need a telehealth provider with flexible times for a changing schedule?
  • Style: Are you looking for a particular style of therapy? Do you want something solo or something for couples?
  • Therapist: Do you need a degree-holding psychiatrist for prescriptions, or do you want a more casual therapist to talk things over? Do you want someone who's studied particular theories like music therapy or a more generalized approach?
  • Modality options: Do you only want online sessions, or are you looking for something where you can also have in-person sessions?

To help you find the right kind of online therapy for you, Top Consumer Reviews has evaluated and ranked today's most popular providers across the US. We hope these will make it easy to start prioritizing your mental health in the best way for your needs.

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