So My Talkspace Therapist Barely Responds… constantly extremely sceptical of individuals who are either really very professional or really very versus online psychological healthcare.|Then, I’m always very sceptical of individuals who are either extremely extremely pro or really very versus online mental health care.} It’s a case of asking the best questions.”|If it’s rolled out just to save money and there aren’t vital questions being asked about these services, that’s not great. Then, I’m constantly really sceptical of people who are either really really professional or extremely very against online psychological health care.}
Well, if the future of mental healthcare is everything about IMs, FaceTime and ‘OMG, which neuroses R U?’ tests, I decided I ‘d discover what that brave new world would resemble. I registered for 4 really different online mental health services– ranging 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 discovered.
Does BetterHelp use licensed therapists? My Talkspace Therapist Barely Responds
What I’m doing here is examining my experience of using each mental health service, instead of its effectiveness – because even the most wizard-like therapist isn’t going to ‘cure’ you in just one week. I’m simply comparing each service to the experience of sitting in a room and blarting on about yourself to a therapist. If you’re with me, nod. Okay, cool – let’s mental health!
BBC
How does it work?
As seen on FB (by me, anyway), US business is the corporate behemoth of the e-counselling game. They claim to have 500 certified counsellors working for them, each with a minimum of 3 years of experience.
After filling out a questionnaire to determine what specific flavour of psychological you are, you’re paired with a counsellor, who you can mercilessly swap for a different one at any time. (I got Dr. Laura Dabney, from Virginia). You then kick off an immediate messaged therapy session that both you and your counsellor can drop in and out of, and which could, in theory, go on and on until among you eventually passed away.
What does it cost?
You get a complimentary seven-day trial – similar to a free Netflix or Amazon Prime trial, except with way more questions about what your youth resembled. After that, it costs from , 24.50 a week for unrestricted message-based counselling and one ‘free’ phone session with your counsellor per month. Yeah, I do not get how it’s complimentary either, however whatever.
How much is BetterHelp monthly?
Filtering that through immediate messaging may be practical if you discover the concept of baring your soul to a stranger a bit awks. You won’t get the same connection just like in person counselling, but the semi-anonymity may make it easier to open if you’ve been consuming 2 bottles of rum and dancing around in your dead nan’s wedding dress every night.
She first ascertained the scale of my stress and anxiety, what triggers it– social circumstances, satisfying individuals for the very first time– and after that dived headlong into my fractious youth (separated parents, stretched familial relationships, bullied in junior school). She was quite nosey tbh, but then that’s her task, isn’t it?
Overall, the service is remarkably slick. The discussion can be a little stop-starty at times, however it was really a far smoother and more on-tap experience than I expected. I even got fast actions to messages over the weekend, which was unexpected.
Talkspace vs Betterhelp
The reality you can edit messages prior to sending them indicates you’re not likely to blurt out something revealing and vulnerable in the heat of the moment. So profound moments of realisation might be difficult to come by if you can’t get an unwinded flow going.
Who do I believe it might it benefit?
Anyone with a low-end psychological health issue who’s cool with getting counselled in a very internet-y, 2016-y method. If you’re living under the blackest, bleakest cloud imaginable and require severe attention (and possibly some medications), probably isn’t for you My Talkspace Therapist Barely Responds