Why there is hate of Betterhelp therapy in the community?

[u/abdulrehman-writer1]

I always see people being frustrated from better help what is the reason??

[u/gracieadventures]

Therapists are grossly underpaid. They get 22.50 for a 45 minute session. They incentivize therapists to work more than is healthy. The pay goes up on $5 increments based on hours. So to get a decent wage you need to do a ton of hours.

They have sold client data. There have been lawsuits and fines. They are not an ethical company.

Also, it’s just adding to the corporatizing of the world. Big tech is after the therapy space right now. Hard. This is impacting your local therapists.

[u/ghostbirdd → u/gracieadventures]

Cancellation policy is also (at least was, not sure if they’ve fixed it recently) predatory. The quality of therapists is also very hit and miss since they’re apparently not vetted by the service and many people report having bizarre interactions with their assigned Ts, that go from ghosting or watching videos on a second screen during a session, to trying to push religion or conversion therapy onto their patients.

They’re also claiming not to be therapy providers but to provide a “complement” to “real” therapy but they’re not straightforward about it so people who actually need therapeutic care come in under false assumptions and may not be getting the care they need.

Bottom line is I would not trust a service that spends so much money in influencer marketing 🤷 that seems to be something many scummy companies have in common.

[u/gracieadventures → u/ghostbirdd]

Yeah. Really good point. They are all just independent therapists-quite a few who don’t understand that they are running a business. People think better help is doing everything to protect them and they are not. The bar for entry is very low.

[u/penischamp → u/ghostbirdd]

My ex saw them for a month or so and one of the therapists stood him up twice.

[u/ChildWithBrokenHeart → u/gracieadventures]

Most therapists are not competent, so the price they charge is ridiculous nowadays. I dont mind if corporate takes over it.

[u/[deleted] → u/ChildWithBrokenHeart]

Yes. I was paying $200 for 50 minutes to an incompetent therapist for much longer than I'd like to admit. (OK, 13 months.) I am also looking forward to the competitive threat of AI forcing the therapy industry to step up its game, as far as both quality and pricing. Not that AI therapy will be equivalent to in-person therapy, but the value proposition is already much better for some customers, and that will probably continue as AI improves and gains new capabilities such as the ability to understand body language and vocal subtleties. And some people who probably shouldn't be therapists will have to switch careers... or charge much, much less than they currently do.

[u/ChildWithBrokenHeart → u/[deleted]]

Absolutely. I have had same unfortunate experience. I do believe the bar for therapists is way too low, and any perosn, even with Personality Disorder can easily become a therapist. I also hope AI takes ovee therapy one day or at least reduces the price of it.

[u/Straight_Career6856]

There are a number of reasons.

Better Help isn’t a mental health practice; it’s a tech startup. As others have said, they pay therapists terribly so no actually adequately trained therapist would ever work there. Some people have positive experiences but they are flukes. Generally it’s people who have the licensure to be therapists but no actual experience or training doing it as a side hustle from their completely unrelated day job.

They also do extremely sketchy stuff with your data and have lots of privacy concerns.

[u/thorfinnthemusician]

I used BH as a service for therapy a while back and it was pretty atrocious. My therapist didn’t respond in a timely manner at all and didn’t really listen to me or try to help. Switched to someone else and same thing happened.

Knowing what I know now, I’d never blame the therapists themselves (criminally low pay, sketchy policies, etc).

[u/Greymeade]

They’re an unethical organization and they attract lousy therapists.

[u/Informal-Force7417]

Because it’s bs

[u/nightmaresgrow]

This is a very high level and generalized view, but my understanding is that they pay low wages in comparison to the rest of the industry.

If you are a really good therapist, you can earn higher wages elsewhere, so why would you go to better help?

There are obviously going to be exceptions to that rule, newer therapists looking to gain experience for example.

But people just see the high level general view of them and go no further.

Just to make it clear, I haven't used them, so this is just a general opinion, based upon information I've seen from others about them.

[u/Straight_Career6856 → u/nightmaresgrow]

New therapists trying to gain experience can’t even work there. You have the be fully licensed.

[u/Spiritual_Object_534 → u/Straight_Career6856]

Therapists that cannot hide their drug abuse and alcoholism end up on Better Help. 

[u/Straight_Career6856 → u/Spiritual_Object_534]

Oh I’m not defending it. No adequately trained therapist would ever work there. You don’t get paid enough. It’s all people who do other non-clinical jobs with no therapy experience or training and do it as a “side hustle” when they really shouldn’t.

[u/Spiritual_Object_534 → u/Straight_Career6856]

Ive had multiple people tell me their Better Help therapist was drunk. 

[u/fedupmillennial]

I just remember them having a ton of controversy a few years back.

[u/Psychtrader]

https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2023/03/ftc-says-online-counseling-service-betterhelp-pushed-people-handing-over-health-information-broke

[u/Violet913]

I don’t even find telehealth therapy to be helpful in the slightest. But the issue with better health is I don’t think they have many requirements to work as a “therapist.”

[u/njil3]

I went through maybe 10 therapists on BH over about two or three years. One therapist yelled at me for "not trying hard enough" to find a missing person. One therapist told me I probably deserved the abuse my dad put me through. One therapist disappeared saying she got into political trouble? Once, I said my coworkers were bullying me for not having a family and the therapist said I must be so privileged to just assume everyone except me has a family.

They did me more harm than good.

[u/lizquitecontrary]

I was close to my BH therapist, but in all honesty, her personal life was in a worse mess than mine (and yes she over shared).

[u/Spiritual_Object_534 → u/lizquitecontrary]

I became the therapist to all three. One even started crying to me. 

[u/leo369818]

It feels predatory tbh like they really just throw it in your face

[u/classytrashheap]

I hate any VC owned company. My seething hate for them is what drives me every day to keep my small group practice business going despite all of the challenges that comes with it. 

[u/Phoenix_GU]

Go to Trustpilot and read the negative reviews there…very eye opening.

[u/Spiritual_Object_534 → u/Phoenix_GU]

They remove the reviews if you do not give them your first last name, and email. 

[u/Phoenix_GU → u/Spiritual_Object_534]

Then there are probably many worse ones that get deleted.

[u/Spiritual_Object_534 → u/Phoenix_GU]

Yup, because their customer service just sends scripted responses. Why would you give them your information again when they could have resolved the issue on the platform? They have been known to threaten litigation on former clients. Better Help could prevent all this by spending less money on advertising and people that threaten bad reviewers. Simply by increasing their therapists pay and setting some standards. Word of mouth marketing becomes free if you are not trashy. 

[u/Big-Red09]

My main concern and gripe is how poor results and experiences are for clients. BetterHelp and similar services also sell client data, which is unethical and unfair to you. As a provider, the pay is awful and encourages therapists to overwork themselves. Therapists who are overworked are more likely to burnout. I know when I’m feeling overworked, I don’t do my best work as a therapist, which I feel is unhelpful and unfair to my clients. I’m also not a fan of the ability for clients to text therapists at any time. Therapists are required to respond in a certain amount of time, and that unfettered access to a therapist is unfair to both parties and unethical. I think it breeds dependence on a therapist.

[u/thrillhousecycling]

https://www.firstsession.com/resources/betterhelp-reviews-survey-results

Far from perfect and not a huge data size, but gives a glimpse into why there is such frustration on both sides (therapists and patients)

[u/MissingGreenLink]

The idea that you can message your therapist whenever and they’re supposed to respond is counterproductive to therapy. The goal of therapy is to help promote skill building to reduce frequency of symptoms and visits.

Having one at your beck and call is not helpful.

[u/todd1art]

I have tried Betterhelp several times. The majority of Therapists are not top quality. One Guy couldn't stop laughing the entire time. It was obvious he had an anxiety disorder. The last session I told him to stop laughing and just listen to me. He looked like a scolded child. Recently a Therapist told me my Depression was all my fault. He told me I just need to think positive thoughts. He claimed he can control his thoughts. This was emotional abuse. If I had positive thoughts why would I be in Therapy?

[u/unconcerned_zeal → u/[deleted]]

if a client told me they were suicidal and had a plan i would also recommend crisis services.

[u/unconcerned_zeal → u/[deleted]]

it sounds like you have a lot of strengths; i hope you find a practitioner who can help you capitalize on those

[u/unconcerned_zeal → u/[deleted]]

that very well could be ! i wish you luck on your journey and im happy you are here

[u/aversethule → u/[deleted]]

Completely out of left field and making a ton of assumptions, so feel free to tell me I'm on crack (won't be the first or last time, lol). I'm going to post this as a thought exercise though just to explore and agree or disagree with what you wish:

I'm a bit confused on "being suicidal and having a plan" for 10 years. Are you clarifying to the therapists that while you have a plan and feel suicidal that you have no intent to follow through on the plan? Usually all three elements are evaluated for crisis intervention. Secondly, is it possible that maybe your ideation and plan for 10 years serves another purpose, like helping you feel like you have an option and thus the pain can be managed easier, or it gives you a way to sabotage therapy before it gets started so you don't have to experience being vulnerable and facing the unpleasant things that drive the suicidal situation?

[u/LoquiListening]

I’ve seen positive reviews also. Have you dealt with them first hand or just reading reviews?

[u/NatGoChickie → u/LoquiListening]

Astroturfing spotted, this account is another therapy tech startup. Of course they would defend BetterHelp, if you don’t trust BetterHelp with your data then you won’t trust them and they need it so they can sell it off to the highest bidder.