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Sesame Review

Saturday, March 25th

2023 Online Therapy Reviews

Sesame Review 4.5 Star Rating

Sesame

4.5 Star Rating
  • BBB accredited
  • Video therapy
  • Video psychiatry
  • Couples therapy
  • Prescriptions
  • Rates typically $100-$400 per session
  • Reduced rates with monthly membership
  • In-person and virtual options

Sesame has been open for 5+ years and offers access to online and in-person medical and mental health professionals. The platform offers two options: you can book directly with a therapist or psychiatrist, or you can go through the Sesame Plus membership which makes individual visits cheaper. They offer on-demand appointments and prescription writing through their platform at competitive prices.

Wide fluctation in costs

Like many platforms that connect you with therapists, the final cost for Sesame depends on how much the individual mental health professional wants to charge. Since Sesame offers a full range of mental health professionals from licensed therapists to Ph.D.-holding psychiatrists, the price for a single session can vary significantly. We found rates that typically fluctuated from $100 to $400 per video session.

Save money with Plus membership

However, you can also get the Sesame Plus membership which costs $10.99 per month. This gives you access to a variety of benefits including:

  • $20-30 off of the regular price of appointments
  • Free lab work
  • Reduced prices for in-person MRIs, ultrasounds, and metabolic panels
  • Prescription fills that are as low as $5 through SesameRx

So, while there are still a wide range of fees, you can get reductions to those prices or narrow down your search to more affordable options. We found some of the cheapest single-option therapy sessions as low as $35 per session, so if you're willing to search through the practitioners, you may be able to find some great prices at Sesame.

Safe at Sesame

All of the doctors at Sesame are board-certified. In order to work with Sesame, the doctors and clinicians all provide information about their licenses to practice, their education, and that they have a clean disciplinary record. All of Sesame's healthcare providers, including mental health professionals, are appropriately educated and have met the requirements for experience and safety for the platform.

Wide range of options for therapy and psychiatry

Sesame offers individual therapy, couples therapy, and psychiatry with the ability to provide prescriptions if needed. In each category, you can sift through different mental health professionals. They are presented by location first, and then you can narrow down the options by when you want the appointment, in-person or virtual options, credentials for the professional, language, and gender. If you are looking for a specific type of therapy or a style, you can use the search bar at the top to limit the options only to mental health practitioners who cover the topics that are important to you.

Best Online Therapy

Most mental health topics covered here

Since Sesame works with a variety of practitioners, the topics they offer are as varied as the individuals working for them. Some of the listed topics include, but are not limited to: depression, anxiety, ADHD, couples therapy, sex therapy, stress management therapy, marriage, substance abuse, and career.

A few limitations to be aware of

There aren't a lot of limitations at Sesame, however, it's important to note that some providers won't be licensed in all states. Sesame addresses this by suggesting options within your state and area. They don't appear to serve teens. Also, if you're looking for couples therapy, both members of the couple must attend the session from the same location, even if the session is remote.

Better than traditional healthcare

While there aren't a lot of reviews on Sesame at the Better Business Bureau, the platform is accredited with an excellent "A+" rating. For customer feedback, there are plenty of reviews where Sesame averages about 4.5 stars. Happy customers noted that the service was very easy to use and to book sessions. Some patients noted that they felt more cared for by Sesame than by their regular insurance or healthcare providers. Fast service works for both the medical and therapeutic sides, and even customers with complex disorders like bipolar can get medication quickly through Sesame.

Great all-in-one package

For someone who wants to be able to fit mental health to their needs, Sesame has it all. With either single purchase options, or membership with a variety of health benefits, you can tailor your experience completely. Although some of the psychiatrists on Sesame are expensive, there are also cheaper options on the list, so you can decide what you want to prioritize in order to make ends meet. With offerings for health, mental health, individual therapy, couples therapy, and even the option to provide low-cost prescriptions, there's nothing to lose with Sesame. They are an excellent provider of online therapy needs.

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.

The Best Online Therapy Services Compare Online Therapy Services Compare Online Therapy Reviews What are the best Online Therapy Services Best Online Therapy Reviews

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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