Online therapy is becoming a new normal and makes it easier than ever to get mental health care when you need it most from the comfort of your home via phone, messaging, or video sessions. Many people prefer using online therapy platforms because having online appointments with a therapist is often more convenient, private, and affordable than face-to-face sessions.

Teletherapy can be a good option for those who work nonstandard hours, have a busy family, live in a rural or remote area, or have chronic illnesses or disabilities. Research has also shown that when you can’t access a therapist in person, online therapy sessions can be as effective as in-office psychotherapy sessions in treating different mental health conditions. But with many new online counseling services appearing in recent years, choosing the right one for your specific needs can be challenging.

If you’re thinking about trying online therapy, we recommend doing extensive research to compare different providers. To help you get started, experts from therapy-reviews.com analyzed the most popular telehealth platforms. They reviewed their reputation, technical features, ease of use, cost, the qualifications of their clinicians, user reviews, and other factors, and selected the best ones for different needs and preferences.

Here are 5 of the best online therapy platforms out there today, and a quick summary of what they offer to help determine which of them is best for you.

Top Picks for the Best Online Therapy Platforms in 2022

• Best online therapy platform overall: Calmerry
• Best online therapy covered by insurance: Talkspace
• Best guided program for CBT: Online-Therapy.com
• Best for convenient communication: BetterHelp
• Best for online psychiatry: MDLive

Calmerry – Best Online Therapy Platform Overall

Pros:

• Unlimited messaging therapy (text, audio) and live video sessions
• Licensed therapists with experience in different fields
• You are matched with a therapist by Calmerry staff, not algorithm
• Multiple subscription plans to choose from
• Good resources available on the easy-to-navigate website
• Mobile apps for iOS and Android
• Free mood tracker and journaling app

Cons:

• Although messaging is unlimited, therapists only respond 1-2 times per day
• No psychiatrists or medication management

Calmerry is an online counseling platform that was launched in October 2020 and now provides services in all 50 states. It offers subscription-based online therapy services to individuals and couples and matches clients with vetted licensed mental health professionals from their states. Clients can’t choose their provider, but they can switch to a different counselor without paying additional fee.

Calmerry only employs clinical psychologists, marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, or licensed professional counselors who have a master’s or doctorate degree in their field. All mental health professionals are trained in a variety of evidence-based therapies and can provide emotional support with different mental health problems. This platform is a good option to get professional help if you are looking for grief and trauma counseling or need to address relationship problems, depression, anxiety, OCD, and other mental health issues, or want to find a counselor with experience in working with the members of LGBTQ+ community.

Once you sign up and pay for your subscription, you’ll be able to contact your counselor and manage your account through your personal portal. It’s a safe space that organizes everything you need: subscription details, scheduling, and therapy performance. You can message your counselor here and schedule live video sessions. Calmerry also gives you access to Reflection Helper. It’s a free chatbot that was designed to help users track their mood daily and create journal entries to self-reflect on their therapy journey.

Talkspace – Best Online Therapy Covered by Insurance

Pros:

• Multiple communication options: text, audio, video
• Individual, couples, and teen therapy
• Psychiatry services
• Clients can choose their therapist from recommended suggestions
• Medication management services
• Employee assistance programs available
• Resource library

Cons:

• No free trial
• No therapist bios on website prior to signup
• Response time depends on the individual therapist

Founded in 2012, Talkspace is a well-known subscription-based online therapy company that offers individual therapy, psychiatry, medication management, couples therapy, and teen therapy. You can talk with your therapist using different communication options, including video, audio, live chat, and unlimited messaging. The company works with some EAP plans and insurance providers and accepts payments from HSA and FSA cards. That means you can enjoy all benefits of therapy without breaking the bank.

Talkspace has an extensive network of licensed therapists who can treat a variety of conditions or concerns, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, PTSD, addiction, relationship issues, and more. It also offers personalized psychiatric treatment. Psychiatrist can provide mental health diagnoses and write prescriptions for medication. Talkspace therapists are expected to respond to a client’s unlimited messages 1-2 times a day. As to video chat, it’s available only on mobile devices.

Users can choose from several subscription plans, all priced differently. They can also change their plan at any time to meet a different therapy goal or change the focus areas of their mental health care.

Online-Therapy.com – Best Guided Program for CBT

Pros:

• The whole self-guided program is based on CBT
• Daily contact with a therapist Monday through Friday
• Unlimited messaging with an assigned therapist
• Three subscription plans available
• A great suite of self-care tools you can use outside of session
• 20% discount first month

Cons:

• The Basic plan doesn’t include live video conferencing with a therapist
• Doesn’t accept insurance
• Doesn’t operate in every state

Online-therapy.com is a good option for self-motivated people who are interested in cognitive behavioral therapy. CBT is an evidence-based approach that helps you identify and challenge negative thoughts and behaviors. This mode of treatment is effective when addressing a variety of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, phobias, eating disorders, and alcohol and drug issues.

The Online-Therapy’s program based on CBT is presented as a “toolbox” of resources that includes self-led worksheets, an online journal for tracking emotions and thoughts, a 30-minute weekly live chat with your therapist, messaging, activity plan, tests as well as yoga and meditation videos.

Online-Therapy.com offers 3 subscription plans based on your individual mental health needs and goals. By signing up for the services, you will have full access to the online therapy program, which you can complete at your own pace. Your therapist will also give you feedback on your progress after you finish any of the activities in the portal.

BetterHelp – Best for Convenient Communication

Pros:

• Unlimited messaging and live video sessions
• Individual therapy, couples therapy, and therapy for teens
• A large provider network
• All therapists are licensed
• You can request financial aid
• No extra charge for changing therapists

Cons:

• No medication management
• Doesn’t accept insurance
• You can’t choose which counselor you’re paired with

BetterHelp touts its platform as the largest online counseling service in the world and boasts a huge network of online therapy providers who have gone through an exhausting vetting process. Prior to signing up, you can browse through the detailed bios of the therapists that work with the company and feel more confident that you’ll be able to find someone you can build a therapeutic relationship with.

BetterHelp therapists specialize in addressing different mental health and emotional issues, including anxiety, depression, stress, eating disorders, addictions, family conflicts, grief & loss, LGBTQ+ issues, and more. The platform uses an algorithm to match you to a provider, but if you find that your therapist isn’t a good fit for you, you can request to change them. You can also easily cancel your subscription any time. Although the company’s services aren’t covered by insurance, it’s possible to apply for financial aid when you sign up.

BetterHelp only offers one subscription plan that includes a variety of communication options for talking to your therapist: video, audio, live chats, and unlimited messaging. Weekly live video or phone sessions last 30- to 45-minutes. There are also 150 digital worksheets and free live interactive group seminars available weekly to supplement therapy.

MDLive – Best for Online Psychiatry

Pros:

• Talk therapy and psychiatry
• Appointments available on nights and weekends
• You can choose your own provider
• Users can choose a different therapist at any time
• Accepts some insurance plans
• Medication management services

Cons:

• No monthly subscription option
• No email or chat support option
• Rather expensive without insurance

MDLive is a general-purpose platform that provides medical and mental telehealthcare, including both psychiatry and therapy. All MDLive therapists and psychiatrists go through a background check for licensure, education and training, and work history. They all also go through specialized telehealth training in communication, diagnosis, and treatment by video or phone. MDLive therapists offer support for PTSD, bipolar disorder, substance use, anxiety, eating disorder, relationship concerns, and more.

MDLive offers access to therapists and psychiatrists on a per-session basis. Typically, you can’t book an appointment immediately. Instead, you have to request an appointment time and wait for the therapist to get back to you. After you sign up, you’ll be able to search for therapists by specialty, available date, language, gender. But you’ll need to select a reason for scheduling a therapy session from a drop-down menu before you can see a list of providers. If you need different types of medical tests, an MDLive therapist can refer you to other specialists on this platform.

Bottom Line

The benefits of online therapy are now widely recognized, both pragmatic such as cost and convenience and emotional, such as feeling at ease opening up and building the therapeutic relationship. So it’s not surprising that more and more people are turning to the web for mental health support.

There are a lot of online therapy providers out there, so you may feel somewhat at a loss for which one to choose to connect with a therapist. We suggest that you use our recommendations of the top online therapy platforms to look for a therapist and do your own research. It’s important to look for services that employ only licensed mental health professionals and follow the best practices to keep your information safe.

In many cases, it’s all about finding the right therapist who will provide you with support and guidance to achieve your goals. And although finding a therapist you click with can often be a case of a trial and error, many platforms allow you to switch therapists for free if it doesn’t feel right the first time around.