Editorial rating:
Faithful Counseling is a subscription-based online therapy service available across the US that offers Christians weekly 30-minute, biblically-informed, live video, phone, or live texting sessions. During our independent review of Faithful Counseling, they earned 3 out of 5 stars overall. Faithful Counseling costs range from $240 – $360 monthly. Faithful Counseling does not accept insurance.
Rating of Faithful Counseling’s Online Therapy
Over the past year, I have dedicated a considerable amount of time to researching, personally using, and reviewing online therapy platforms. Not only do I sign up for online therapy services and use their websites and apps, but I also attend live therapy sessions or text with my therapist on each platform. I reach out to each online therapy platform before I begin researching and reviewing them to ask numerous questions about their products that users are likely to want answers to. All of this is done to ensure that consumers get the information they need to make intelligent purchases. During our independent review, Faithful Counseling earned 3 out of 5 stars overall, performing best in the categories of geographic location, extra features, and user experience. However, Faithful Counseling underperformed in the categories of clientele served, treatment approaches, and insurance and out-of-network benefits compared to non-faith-based therapy options.
Pros & Cons of Faithful Counseling
Faithful Counseling is a great way to connect with a Christian therapist or counselor in your state. The sign-up process is very quick, and matching with a therapist happens within one to two days. However, Faithful Counseling does not accept insurance and does not accept FSA/HSA cards as payment. And while Faithful Counseling offers therapists that are of the Christian faith, the in-app activities are not Bible-centered.
How to Sign Up For Faithful Counseling
To sign up for Faithful Counseling, visit the Faithful Counseling website.
What Is Faithful Counseling?
Faithful Counseling is a subscription-based online therapy service for individuals (18+) of the Christian faith. You can attend weekly, 30-minute live video, phone, or texting sessions with a Biblically-sensitive, licensed therapist in your state. Faithful Counseling costs $240 – $360 monthly with ultimate costs depending on your location and therapist’s availability. Unfortunately, Faithful Counseling does not accept insurance at this time.
Faithful Counseling is focused on individuals (18+) seeking Christian-based counseling and it does not offer teen or couples therapy, which is why they earned 1 star in the “Clientele Served” category of our online therapy scoring criteria. After a somewhat lengthy questionnaire, which includes questions about your personal information (like gender and age), your Christian denomination (Protestant, Catholic, etc.), and how important your faith is to you, you will receive an email with a verification code. After you input this verification code, you will answer a few more questions about what you want to focus on and your preferences for a therapist. Finally, you will be prompted to pay for your subscription, which is billed monthly.
Much like its parent company, BetterHelp, Faithful Counseling offers similar extra features. Either online or in the Faithful Counseling app, you will have access to a journal space with prompts and group webinars on various topics. Unfortunately, none of the journal prompts or group webinars appear to be based on biblical teachings or have a spiritual lean. This seems like a missed opportunity for this platform, as journaling with Bible verses or attending webinars on specific spiritual topics would be a really great addition for someone seeking out Christian-based therapy. Regardless, Faithful Counseling did earn 5 stars in the “Extra Features & Resources” category of our scoring criteria for offering these great perks.
To learn more about Faithful Counseling’s parent company, you can read our in-depth review of BetterHelp.
Who Is Faithful Counseling Right For?
Faithful Counseling is ideal for those who identify with the Christian faith and are over the age of 18.
Christians 18-Years and Older
Faithful Counseling is dedicated solely to those who are 18 years and older and want to seek faith-based and Christian therapy. All therapists have to sign a Statement of Faith prior to providing services with Faithful Counseling. This statement, in part, holds therapists and members to the belief that the Bible is the word of God and that working in therapy will further your spiritual journey.
Who Might Want an Alternative to Faithful Counseling?
Faithful Counseling offers a great service for those of the Christian faith, but those who are not interested in biblically-centered therapy will want to find an alternative. Those who need more intensive and longer therapy sessions, and kids and teens will also want to seek out an alternative to Faithful Counseling.
Secular Therapy Needs
For those looking for therapy that is not biblically based, you will want an alternative like BetterHelp or Talkspace. Both of these options will allow you to have a secular experience with a licensed therapist in your state. And Talkspace accepts many major insurance plans, which might make it a better choice for those seeking non-religious therapy.
For more information, you can read our detailed review of Talkspace or our BetterHelp review.
You Want Longer Therapy Sessions
Online therapy is not always a great fit for everyone, and those who need more intense and longer therapy sessions than Faithful Counseling can offer will want to seek an in-person option. A great place to start is by looking through an online therapist directory and reading therapist profiles.
Kids & Teens
Faithful Counseling is available to those 18+ so anyone under that age will need to seek an alternative. There are faith-based counseling services for kids and teens available in person, and often, you can find these through your local church or parish. If you prefer your teen to seek a secular therapist, Teen Counseling is a great online option for those 13 years and older.
You can learn about their subscriptions when you read our in-depth Teen Counseling review.
Faithful Counseling User Reviews
Faithful Counseling has a 4.7-star rating from 757 reviews in the Google Play Store and a 4.8-star rating from 2,700+ reviews in the Apple App Store.
Great In-App Extras
Several users mentioned they love the convenience of being able to text their therapist and share their journal entries with them. This is something that is often brought up about all of BetterHelp’s platforms and seems universally beloved. I also really like the in-app journal feature that BetterHelp has built into their apps, but I don’t often choose to share what I write with the therapist I am matched with.
Convenient & Easy
There were many four- and five-star reviews that mentioned how easy it was to connect with a therapist and how convenient it was to use the app. Several of these reviews mentioned that their therapists were really amazing and oftentimes truly helped them in their spiritual and mental health journeys. During our review, I also found the app to be really user-friendly, and Faithful Counseling earned 5 stars in the “Client Interface & User Experience” category of our scoring criteria.
Confused About Prices
Much like its parent site and sister sites, Faithful Counseling is advertised as a weekly cost of $60 – $90 depending on location. However, you will pay an upfront monthly cost for Faithful Counseling. The advertised weekly cost made users feel upset when they got to the final payment screen and were presented with a monthly bill. Several users asked how low-income, students, or elderly folks could afford these upfront costs. And while there is financial aid available, even that upfront cost was too steep for many.
App Needs Work
Like its sister apps, Faithful Counseling has a few bugs that users have noticed over the years. The one that pops up the most frequently is how quiet the sound is during video calls. This issue seemed to be more prevalent with Android users than Apple users. I have noticed a similar problem with other online therapy platforms when using my Samsung phone for live therapy sessions. The only way I have found to fix this is to go into my main sound settings and turn all of the volume settings to their highest setting.
How Much Does Faithful Counseling Cost?
Faithful Counseling costs start at $240-$360 billed monthly (advertised as $60-$90 weekly) with the exact upfront costs depending on your location and therapist availability.
A Faithful Counseling subscription includes:
- One live, 30-minute weekly video, phone, or texting session
- A chatroom with your therapist
- Unlimited texting with the therapist at any time, with responses to be expected at least once daily
- Extra features like a journal space and group webinars
If you cannot afford the out-of-pocket costs of Faithful Counseling, there is the option to apply for financial aid. Due to this, Faithful Counseling earned 2 out of 5 stars in the “Online Therapy Cost” category of our scoring criteria.
Does Faithful Counseling Accept Insurance?
No, Faithful Counseling does not accept insurance for therapy at this time.
Out-Of-Network Benefits
According to the Faithful Counseling website, neither the platform nor the therapists on the platform will submit out-of-network claims to any health insurance provider. Therapists on Faithful Counseling will not provide superbills, as they cannot provide you with an official diagnosis. Due to the fact that Faithful Counseling does not accept insurance and will not allow you to use any out-of-network benefits, they earned 1 star in the “Insurance & Out-of-Network Benefits” category of our scoring criteria.
Getting Started with Faithful Counseling
You can sign up for an account with Faithful Counseling on their website. This process is fairly straightforward, taking around ten minutes in total to complete. Afterwards, it is an easy process to schedule your first live therapy session.
To create an account and schedule your first session:
- Log onto the Faithful Counseling website, or download the app in the Google Play or Apple App Stores.
- Create your account and answer some questions about yourself, your religious preferences, and your prayer routines.
- Verify your account via email and answer a few additional questions about your symptoms and therapist preferences.
- Enter your payment information, either credit card or PayPal, and pay for your first month’s subscription.
- Read about the therapist you are matched with and choose to keep them or change therapists and choose a new one.
- Once you feel comfortable with your therapist, select “Schedule” in the app. Choose a date and time to meet with your new therapist.
- Log in to the app when your sessions starts and stay in the “Session Room”. Your live session will start automatically.
Faithful Counseling: Detailed Review
Faithful Counseling is a subscription-based online therapy service for adults (18+) of the Christian faith and due to the limited range of clients this platform sees, they earned 1 star in the “Range of Therapist Specialties & Treatment Approaches” category of our scoring criteria. You can attend weekly 30-minute live video, phone, or texting sessions with a biblically sensitive, licensed therapist in your state. Each subscription is billed in one-month increments and starts at $240 – $360 monthly, depending on your location and therapist availability.
What Is Therapy Like with Faithful Counseling?
Therapy with Faithful Counseling is very centered around the Christian belief system. However, during the sign-up process, you can choose how you want your spiritual beliefs to play into your therapy process. You can choose to keep things clinical, have biblical wisdom shared, recommendations of spiritual disciplines to check out, and if you want prayer to be a part of your sessions. After I paid for my subscription, it took just a few hours for me to be matched with a therapist.
All live sessions happen through the “session room”, whether it be video, phone, or live texting. Prior to any live sessions, you will sign two consent forms and input your name, address, and phone number. All of these sessions last 30 minutes. Due to these reasons, Faithful Counseling earned 3.5 out of 5 stars in the “Attending Live Video Sessions” category of our scoring criteria.
A great perk to Faithful Counseling is the option to message your therapist anytime, 24/7. You can expect these messages to function more like emails, rather than the live, instant messaging option. There are options to send audio or video messages in the app, as well as an option to send photos. This would be great for when you have something you really need to get off your chest but don’t need a real-time response.
Extra Features of Faithful Counseling
There are two extra features of the Faithful Counseling platform, the journal and the group webinars called “Groupinars”.
The journal space with Faithful Counseling has a weekly calendar at the top, with today’s date highlighted. You will be given a journal prompt suggestion, with options to shuffle or see all. There are journal prompts for depression and journal prompts for anxiety, as well as prompts for relationship issues, and general suggestions. Once you select a prompt you like, you will title your journal and then begin your entry. An interesting thing about these journals is you can choose to share with your therapist and partner or keep them private.
Unfortunately, there were no journal prompts based on biblical passages, which I felt was a missed opportunity.
“Groupinars” are webinars you can attend through the app. These are on various mental health topics from relationships and trauma, to anxiety and skill building. Each topic provides you with a group session name, date, time, and a description of what each group session will cover. If you click on “more information” then you can register for your first group session. All “Groupinars” are led by a licensed therapist or therapist and are hour-long PowerPoint presentations.
Much like the journal prompts, there are no webinars specifically tailored toward those of the Christian faith. The closest webinar I could find to something that may work for someone of faith was a webinar called “Existentialism: A Path to Self Through Meaning Making.” The summary for this webinar said it was an introduction to an existentialist approach to therapy. The therapist I was matched with on Faithful Counseling uses existential therapy as her main clinical approach, so I felt this might make these types of webinars a good fit for those of faith.
This feature and the journal feature earned Faithful Counseling 5 out of 5 stars in the “Extra Features & Resources” category of our scoring criteria.
Faithful Counseling Vs BetterHelp
Faithful Counseling is a subsidiary of BetterHelp, with their technologies, costs, and therapist pools all being the exact same. Therapist vetting and credentialing are all taken care of on the BetterHelp side of the company and it is a requirement that a therapist sign-up with BetterHelp in order to provide services with Faithful Counseling. The biggest difference between the two is that if you want to provide therapy on Faithful Counseling, you must opt into the platform and sign a Statement of Faith.
How Faithful Counseling Evolved
BetterHelp announced they were launching Faithful Counseling in January 2018.1 The main aim of Faithful Counseling is to help those of the Christian faith feel mentally, emotionally, and spiritually safe and supported. Not much is written about Faithful Counseling in the news or the media and is one of BetterHelp’s newer additions to their family. Due to these reasons, Faithful Counseling earned 4 out of 5 stars in the “Reliability & Longevity” category of our scoring criteria.
To learn more about Faithful Counseling’s parent company, you can read our detailed BetterHelp review.
Frequently Asked Questions About Faithful Counseling
What Credentials Do Faithful Counseling Therapists Hold?
Faithful Counseling is a subsidiary of BetterHelp and every therapist must first be accepted onto the main platform. All therapists and counselors on BetterHelp are licensed and accredited psychologists, licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed clinical social workers, or licensed professional therapists. All professionals on BetterHelp must have at least three years and 1,000 hours of hands-on experience.
According to BetterHelp, counselors must provide proper licensure documentation and proof of identity when they apply. BetterHelp then cross-checks their licensure information with their respective state licensing boards. Additionally, BetterHelp requires each therapist or counselor to complete a case study exam to be graded by a licensed clinician and evaluated in a video interview.
An additional step is required for those that want to provide services with Faithful Counseling. Any professional wishing to offer therapy or counseling with Faithful Counseling must sign and agree to their Statement of Faith. This statement, in part, reinforces the idea that the Bible is the word of God and that salvation is through God’s Grace alone. For all of these reasons, Faithful Counseling earned 5 out of 5 stars in the “Therapist Credentials & Expertise” category of our scoring criteria.
How Am I Matched With a Therapist on Faithful Counseling?
Initial matching on Faithful Counseling happens automatically based on the answers you provide at the beginning of the sign-up process. There is no online therapist directory for clients to look at prior to signing up and due to these reasons, Faithful Counseling earned 1 star in the “Therapist Matching or Selection” category of our scoring criteria.
Can I Choose a New Therapist?
Yes, you can choose a new therapist at any time. In the app, tap “More,” then tap “Change Therapist.” The app will ask you why you think your therapist is not the right fit for you and ask you to update your therapist preferences. After you submit, you will be taken to a screen where you can self-select a new provider.
Can I Use My FSA or HSA for Faithful Counseling?
Faithful Counseling does not currently accept FSA or HSA cards to pay for therapy, however, there is an option to apply for financial aid during the signup process.
How Do I Cancel My Subscription With Faithful Counseling?
It is very simple to cancel your account in the app. Go to “more” and click on “My Account,” then scroll down to “Payment Settings.” You will see the option to “Change Membership/Quit Therapy,” simply click on this and select “Quit Therapy.”
Does Faithful Counseling Offer Refunds?
Faithful Counseling will offer refunds on a case-by-case basis and you can contact them at [email protected] for more information.
Is Faithful Counseling HIPAA Compliant?
Yes, Faithful Counseling has policies that are consistent with HIPAA standards, however, the company does not state that it is compliant with HIPAA regulations. Prior to any sessions (messaging or live sessions), you will be required to sign a form agreeing to their privacy policies. Due to these seemingly conflicting bits of information, Faithful Counseling earned 3 out of 5 stars in the “Privacy & HIPAA” category of our scoring criteria.
To read more, please visit Faithful Counseling’sTerms and Conditions or Faithful Counseling’s Privacy Policy.
Final Verdict on Faithful Counseling
Despite Faithful Counseling earning 3 out of 5 stars overall during our independent review, it would still be an excellent starting point for those of the Christian faith wishing to try online therapy for the first time. This is especially true for those of faith who want to keep their struggles private and away from their church family. However, Faithful Counseling doesn’t offer much in the way of daily scripture to journal about or any biblically-based group webinars to attend, which is definitely a missed opportunity. While this platform is not something that I would want to use again, I do think it is a good faith-based platform for those that need professional support.
Summary Table of What Faithful Counseling Offers
| Cost of Online Therapy | $240 - $360 monthly Costs depend on location and therapist availability |
| Insurance Accepted | No |
| Geographic Coverage | United States |
| Age Limitations | 18+ |
| Provider Choices | Initially Matched |
| Can You Change Therapists? | Yes & self-select |
| Speed to First Appointment | 1 - 3 Days |
| Frequency of Appointments | Weekly |
| Messaging with Therapist Between Appointments | Yes |
| Online Psychiatry Offered | No |
