So Alexa Talkspace… always extremely sceptical of people who are either very very professional or really extremely versus online mental health care.|Then, I’m constantly extremely sceptical of individuals who are either very really professional or really very versus online psychological health care.} It’s a case of asking the ideal concerns.”|If it’s rolled out just to save money and there aren’t crucial concerns being asked about these services, that’s not good. Then, I’m constantly extremely sceptical of people who are either really very professional or really really versus online mental health care.}
I signed up for four really various online psychological health services– varying in cost from complimentary to , 100 a month– and ran my stress and anxieties through them all, simultaneously, for a week. Here’s what I found.
Does BetterHelp use licensed therapists? Alexa Talkspace
What I’m doing here is reviewing my experience of using each mental health service, instead of its effectiveness – due to the fact that even the most wizard-like therapist isn’t going to ‘cure’ you in simply one week. I’m just comparing each service to the experience of being in a space and blarting on about yourself to a therapist. Nod if you’re with me. Okay, cool – let’s mental health!
BBC
How does it work?
As seen on FB (by me, anyhow), US business is the business behemoth of the e-counselling game. They declare to have 500 licensed counsellors working for them, each with at least three years of experience.
After filling in a questionnaire to ascertain what particular flavour of mental you are, you’re coupled with a counsellor, who you can mercilessly switch for a various one at any time. (I got Dr. Laura Dabney, from Virginia). You then kick off an instant messaged treatment session that both you and your counsellor can drop in and out of, and which could, in theory, continue up until one of you ultimately died.
What does it cost?
You get a totally free seven-day trial – just like a complimentary Netflix or Amazon Prime trial, except with way more questions about what your childhood resembled. After that, it costs from , 24.50 a week for unrestricted message-based counselling and one ‘free’ phone session with your counsellor monthly. Yeah, I don’t get how it’s totally free either, however whatever.
How much is BetterHelp monthly?
If you find the concept of baring your soul to a complete stranger a bit awks, filtering that through immediate messaging might be helpful. You will not get the same connection similar to in person counselling, but the semi-anonymity may make it much easier to open if you have actually been consuming two bottles of rum and dancing around in your dead nan’s bridal gown every night.
She initially ascertained the scale of my stress and anxiety, what triggers it– social scenarios, satisfying individuals for the first time– and then dived headlong into my fractious childhood (separated moms and dads, strained familial relationships, bullied in junior school). She was quite nosey tbh, but then that’s her task, isn’t it?
In general, the service is remarkably slick. The discussion can be a little stop-starty at times, but it was actually a far smoother and more on-tap experience than I anticipated. I even got rapid reactions to messages over the weekend, which was unexpected.
Talkspace vs Betterhelp
The reality you can edit messages prior to sending them implies you’re unlikely to blurt out something revealing and vulnerable in the heat of the moment. Profound moments of realisation might be difficult to come by if you can’t get a relaxed circulation going.
Who do I believe it might it benefit?
Anybody with a low-end psychological health problem who’s cool with getting counselled in an extremely internet-y, 2016-y way. If you’re living under the blackest, bleakest cloud you can possibly imagine and require serious attention (and potentially some meds), probably isn’t for you Alexa Talkspace