BetterHelp is the world's largest counseling service and is 100% online.Get professional, convenient and affordable counseling provided by licensed, accredited and vetted counselors that you can trust. Get help with a range of issues including depression, anxiety, relationships, trauma, grief, and more. With our counselors, you get the same professionalism and quality you would expect from an in-office counselor, but with the ability to communicate when and how you want.Learn more at www.betterhelp.com.
Is BetterHelp legit?
BetterHelp (www.betterhelp.com) has a 3.5 out of 5 rating on OK.one, based on 201 user reviews collected here. It is listed under Health & Medical and its reputation is mixed. Opinions are polarized: 63% rate it 4 stars or higher while 34% give 1 star; The business has replied to 94% of negative reviews; Reviews mostly discuss User experience, Customer service, Price. Last updated 2026-08-12.
What reviewers say
AI generated
Reviewers had a great experience with this company. Customers frequently praise the digital platform for its incredible flexibility, straightforward onboarding process, and extremely convenient virtual communication options that make starting therapy accessible. Many people appreciate the professional and deeply caring approach of their assigned therapists, noting how supportive and helpful the weekly sessions truly are.
However, some people mentioned significant issues regarding high pricing structures and being continuously charged full fees even for unused therapy sessions. A few other consumers also felt that customer support was completely unhelpful and unresponsive when urgent billing concerns or scheduling problems arose.
Auto-generated from all reviews of this business. For reference only.
My stepson was and is in a bad place in life in a remote part of the Country. He researched BetterHelp. Because he is financially drained he asked to use our credit card to sign up. Naturally we helped, not realizing this was a commitment to continual weekly charges. The first few sessions seemed to help and we monitored the card for those charges. Then we learned that he was not doing some of his “weekly” sessions and the therapist was sick on others. The charges still were made. Then we learned this is a charge whether use or not scheme. I imagine this helps some but it was not beneficial in our case. We have months of charges on our credit card for poor results for our son. He has suspended but not cancelled the service but we need to remove our credit card info. Privacy protection does not allow us access which I understand. My skeptical mind envisions an entrepreneur who is getting rich off this scheme, farming out service to therapists for distressed individuals , while getting a piece of the “action”, removed and oblivious to whether the service is getting results or fair to the users. Disappointed and paying for the disappointment.
Reply from BetterHelp2026-06-30
Hi Michael,
We understand and appreciate your concern here. If your son reaches out to us directly from the account linked to a BetterHelp account the owns, we can work to provide membership extensions, or help with other billing concerns as needed.
For what it's worth, we have a "Gift Membership" option that would allow you as a payer more autonomy in terms of canceling payments for a loved one. We can provide more information about this upon request - please just respond to any of the email exchanges you've had with us to learn more.
They have excellent therapists! They’re all highly professional, and mine in particular is incredibly patient, professional, punctual, and well-informed. I can’t express my gratitude enough for all his assistance over the past couple of months. Initially, I doubted that better help would make a difference, but boy, was I mistaken!
I have been doing therapy for a few months now with Dr. Whiteside and I highly recommend her. I needed clarification on things and she decodes my thoughts and helped me understand myself better. I am so thankful for her! It was a big step to start therapy and I am so glad I did and was placed with an amazing therapist.
I tried Better Help as a shot without any real hope. I tired looking for therapist myself, online and through my insurance. With BetterHelp answering their questions and being able to look through various therapist options and their background, experience and just getting a read and feel for them
Helped me pick Camille, my now therapist. I’ve tried a few therapist and never felt hopeful. It’s been just under a month and I am
Feeling hopeful and optimistic. She has really helped me understand where my emotions, feelings and reactions stem from. She has opened my eyes to see things from different perspectives. She has tied things to things I learned growing up or that I was taught and have learned to operate that way. Some behaviors are not ok and I can change but I have to understand where it comes from, why I react that way and how to start applying actions that can help me start shifting my mindset and behavior. Camille has giving me things to read, assignments to work on, and things to write down to go over weekly to make them muscle memory. For example, my triggers, I read them a few times a week. So when I see something that would trigger a reaction I recognize it and immediately, remove myself to practice a coping skill
To not get caught up in the same vicious cycle, and that can be for multiple reasons like anger, frustration, anxiety etc you name it. Oh and if for whatever reason you don’t like your therapist it’s easy to switch them, you click change therapists and you get a new list. It’s very convenient and worth trying it. I am happy I did, thank you Camille! (My therapist)
A while ago, I was in a really dark place and I finally mustered up the courage to talk ti someone about it. I signed up for better help and booked a session with my first therapist on the platform, Heather CM.
She proceeded to cancel on me three consecutive times, each time either the day before or even right before our session was due to begin. At the time, this was very distressing. I felt like I had a lot of anxious feelings building up inside me and each time she canceled on me, I felt so let down. I was also paying for the service that I wasn’t receiving.
In the end, I gave up on better help and lodged a complaint. The company handled it quickly and cancelled my membership and gave me a full refund which I am grateful for.
This whole experience really discouraged me against online therapy.
Reply from BetterHelp2026-06-30
We're very sorry to hear about the experience you've described, AS. Clinical quality is of the utmost importance, and we have a team of internal clinicians who monitor claims like this and regularly work on improvements. That being said, we understand your disappointment here.
I'm glad to hear our team has been able to take care of this from a billing/account standpoint. If you'd ever consider trying our service one more time, we have a team of matching specialists who can work with you until we find the perfect match for your needs.
I love my BetterHelp therapist. She gives me solid advice and asks lits of questions. She is active in my therapy and shows true concern. I think she has good instincts and insight. thank you Jamie!
I had better help for 4 sessions in May last year and told the councillor I wanted to cancel because I couldn’t afford the sessions anymore. I haven’t logged in or had any sessions since. Their emails went to my spam. I just looked at my annual credit card statement and they took £180 every month for 12 months out of my account even though I told them I no longer wish to continue!! I can’t get hold of anybody. There is no uk number I can call and no one is responding to my messages!!!! It’s for mental health and they took almost £2k out of my account!!!! Im
Desperately trying to claim it back but no one is responding!! Don’t use this service as they are just after your money!!!! 55 counselling sessions they charged me for!!!!! With no councillors, no calls, no nothing !
Reply from BetterHelp2026-06-30
We truly apologize for any confusion or concern! We bill for an ongoing membership to our platform and an entire suite of mental wellness features. Therapists cannot cancel a membership on your behalf, but you can do this for yourself from your "My account" page with just a few clicks at any time. It sounds like our emails were ending up in your SPAM inbox, too.
If you've already reaching out to us ([email protected]), our team should respond within 24 hours. Please look to your SPAM for our replies! Otherwise, I've requested the email address linked to your BetterHelp account so that I can have a team member follow-up with you directly.
When I used the service while dealing with SI, I was told by my therapist that I was a "liability". Which hurt. A lot. She also never read my introductory message which showed a lack of care and attention. Please, just stay away. It's also ridiculously expensive. If you want an online platform, Grow Therapy is entirely only and takes insurance!
Reply from BetterHelp2026-06-30
Hi Katie,
We're very happy to hear you found a resource that could meet your needs. BetterHelp is meant for ongoing talk therapy, and is not intended for short-term or urgent mental health treatment. If you had an experience that you felt was clinically inconsiderate or concerning, we can have our Clinical Operations team investigate further.
I've requested the email address linked to any BetterHelp account you may have so that we can take proper recourse.
I was referred by my son who said he was very happy with BetterHelp when he was seeing a therapist in the past. I have also had an exceptional experience with the platform and with my therapist! Professional and caring!!
Absolutely a rip off , I was charged when I didn’t even receive any therapy. Signed up and found that my insurance does pay for therapy , I canceled within 15 minutes and they still charged me 52 dollars for absolutely nothing , causing me to feel completely ripped off and anxiety because I was charged for something I didn’t even get it doesn’t matter the cost
Reply from BetterHelp2026-06-25
Hi Vickie,
It sounds like it may not have been clear that you'd be billed upfront for your first week of service with us, but our team has since helped you cancel, and has refunded your payment. We apologize for any confusion or concern caused by this experience!
Truly a great experience with a therapist I learned quickly that I could trust.
I was connected with a very experienced and educated therapist as well as given the option to select someone different. I did not need the option to select another because I very much connected with the first one and have had a great experience so far. Not only do I trust her explicitly, I truly appreciate her approach and kindness. But when it comes to the brass tacks as it were, she doesn't hold any punches, and that is exactly the type of therapist I needed. I was skeptical at first but now I am very satisfied with the BetterHelp that I continue to receive.
They charged me 4 times for no reason with no session booked and never got reimbursed.The billing department is AWFULL!!
Reply from BetterHelp2026-06-30
Hi Taylor,
We bill for access to the membership, but if you were having issues using the service, our Member Success team can help extend your billing cycle to help!
If you haven't already, please reach out to us at [email protected] with your concern and we will make sure this is made right for you!
I absolutely love my therapist. She is so helpful. She challenges me to be the best version of myself. BetterHelp allows me to schedule at my own convenience AND I can receive therapy in the comfort of my own home. They have a mood tracker and a place to journal with journal prompts. You can easily ask your therapist any questions through the app. It’s the best therapy experience I have had. Highly recommend!
Hoodwinked into an undesired ongoing paid service.
Stated my intentions to have a single session before making a commitment to an extended service. Was continuously billed weekly. Site is designed to NOT make their terms clear and upfront, and was unable to find the process to request a cancellation anywhere on the site. Remarkable that a mental health assistance site would create an anxiety-laden process to manage the financial part of things. Highly questionable ethics in play. Pessimistic that the refund process will go well. I am pissed.
First session with therapist went well. I was only looking for assistance on a particular event.
Reply from BetterHelp2026-06-25
Hi Reg,
Apologies for any ambiguity surrounding the membership billing process. We try to make it clear that we offer access to the platform's entire suite of features as part of the payment -- not just sessions.
Cancellation of ongoing payments can be done from the "Payments and credits" or "My Account" page, but our Member Success team can also help you out here if you're having issues.
I've requested the email address linked to your BetterHelp account so that we can have a team member reach out to you, if you still need help rectifying these billing concerns.
Amazing can't say enough great things. I know a company as big as them probably have a couple bad reviews, but they are legit and really do care. Home office very helpful and nothing they are unwilling to help fix. Wonderful platform between the wellness tab to keep track of moods and a journal with prompts if you so desire to use them. You can message your therapist anytime and has an urgent button for pressing issues, but they are very quick to respond anyhow but if you're experience hasn't been as good as mine you can switch therapists. Nothing I don't love about this platform perfect in every way. Really helped my anxiety a game changer.
I was so distraught after the sudden death of my father that I wanted to die too. ( while our Mom was in hospice) that my son wanted to help me. He found BetterHelp and it has been a perfect fit for me. Doing video appointments is great when you are too depressed to leave the house. My therapist is just wonderful and has been encouraging me every step of the way as I have faced breast cancer and other health problems. I highly recommend BetterHelp.
Darryl is my guy. He is always on track with me. He understands me when some of my therapist of the past have not had that type of knowledge. He is excellent with helping with my emotions dealing with an adult child with multiple mental health issues. He has helped me through multiple family deaths including suicides.
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