Two of our experienced reviewers tried and tested Online-Therapy.com, participating in several therapy sessions on the platform over the last two years. Our reviewers have found Online-Therapy.com to be a solid option for those who are looking for a CBT-oriented therapist or who don’t have good therapy options through insurance.
Online-Therapy.com at a Glance
Pros & Cons:
- Comprehensive CBT-based therapy program with interactive resources
- Offers video, phone, and text sessions
- Simple pricing system
- Well-designed, easy-to-use website
- Insurance is not accepted
- Limited choice over initial therapist
- No other types of therapy offered beyond CBT
- No mobile app
Overview
Online-Therapy.com is a subscription-based online therapy platform that offers CBT-based therapy to adults aged 18+ and some teens with parental permission. Services cost between $240–$480 monthly, with a 20% discount available for your first month. During our independent review of their services, it earned an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
When I tried Online-Therapy.com, I found the platform to be very unique and a valuable option for learning about mental health. While it did take several days to find a viable therapist match, the content of the self-guided course helped to keep me occupied and taught me a lot about the cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) approach.
If you’re looking for different online therapy approaches beyond CBT, you might have a better experience with BetterHelp. If you’d benefit from bundled online therapy and psychiatry, Brightside Health could be a great option.
Detailed Review of Online-Therapy.com
Online-Therapy.com offers a variety of ways to participate in therapy, including video, phone, and live chat sessions, as well as a self-guided CBT course. Online-Therapy.com is available to adults 18 and older in the U.S. and select international locations. In some cases, teens may also access services with parental consent. Online-Therapy.com costs range from $240–$480 monthly and the company does not accept insurance. Currently, Online-Therapy.com is offering a 20% discount on the first month of service.
Continue reading for a detailed review of our experience, as well as our scoring breakdown below:
CBT-Based Therapy Course
At the center of Online-Therapy.com’s treatment model is its 8-segment CBT course. This course serves as a framework for you and your therapist to follow, helps to educate you about the CBT approach, and provides actionable steps for you to take both in and out of therapy. Outside of live sessions with your therapist, you’ll be able to watch educational videos, review written content, and participate in interactive worksheets that you and your therapist can work on together. The CBT course is meant to be used alongside sessions with your therapist and consists of eight sections that can be completed at your own pace.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is well-known for its reliance on homework and worksheets to help clients engage with the material in a more meaningful way. In these worksheets and the course as a whole, you’ll learn about anxiety, harmful thought patterns, and ways to overcome them. Meanwhile, your assigned therapist will be able to help you work through the material at a pace that works for you and help you to set actionable and attainable goals.
Live Therapy Sessions
If you choose a plan that includes live online therapy sessions, you’ll be able to meet with your therapist either once or twice weekly via phone, video, or live chat. Sessions are usually 45 minutes long. I joined my initial session from my iPhone via the Online-Therapy.com website on my home internet connection and didn’t have any technical issues.
For my initial session, my therapist was five minutes late, and our session only lasted 15 minutes in total. During that time, my therapist got to know me and reviewed some answers I’d submitted through worksheets. After a short discussion of my needs, the program, and her background, she recommended that I complete the next session of the course and its worksheets for discussion at our next session. We also created three overarching goals for us to follow during my time in the program. I felt my therapist could offer warmth and displayed great empathy, even if the session was shorter than I expected.
Online-Therapy.com provided plenty of reminders for my appointment, and my therapist sent me messages and commentary on my worksheets in the days leading up to my first session, so I felt “plugged in” to the program coming into my first session. I can definitely see how having a course to follow throughout therapy could help keep clients engaged in between sessions.
Homework & Worksheets
CBT is notoriously homework-heavy, and Online-Therapy.com implements its worksheets and homework quite well. Worksheets are built into the CBT course and are collaborative with your therapist. When you submit responses to your worksheets, your therapist will be able to review them and discuss the outcomes with you.
The content in worksheets on Online-Therapy.com varies from simple goal-setting exercises to more in-depth resources. Altogether, they create a great structure for you to follow as you attend therapy, which is flexible, depending on how much you’d like to work on your course in any given week. However, I can easily see how some might find the established workflow to be too rigid or not leave enough room for customization to their needs.
It will depend on your therapist and you to find a balance between structure and customization that will work best for the issues you’re faced with. As with any therapeutic relationship, finding a therapist who will be a good fit for your situation will take trial and error.
Notably, the lowest-cost plan at Online-Therapy.com doesn’t offer live sessions; instead, you work through the CBT course at your own pace and a therapist will work with you via asynchronous messaging. This could be a viable option for someone with mild symptoms who would prefer a more “self-serve” approach to mental health treatment.
Journal, Yoga, & More Valuable Resources
In addition to the CBT course, worksheets, and sessions with your therapist, Online-Therapy.com offers a host of other useful mental health tools including a guided journal, instructional yoga videos, and a customizable activity planner.
The journal is not formally introduced until the sixth section of the eight-section CBT course but can be accessed from the beginning if you’d prefer. I found the journal to not be nearly as customizable as BetterHelp’s—the Online-Therapy.com journal is highly structured and has set questions for you to answer in any entry.
I thought the yoga videos were very valuable. There’s a variety of content available that could serve anyone, from beginner yogis to those who are a bit more seasoned. Plus, all the videos lean into the mental health benefits of yoga, and how it can supplement your CBT work. Additionally, Online-Therapy.com has a customizable activity planner that essentially functions as an ongoing to-do list for therapy-related activities.
Cost & Insurance
Online-Therapy.com costs range from $240–$480 monthly (advertised as $60–$120 weekly). This includes sessions and unlimited messaging with your therapist, access to the full Online-Therapy.com CBT course, as well as additional tools such as a journal and yoga videos. Online-Therapy.com does not accept insurance.
Online-Therapy.com offers three tiers for its online therapy subscriptions:
- Basic ($240 monthly): This plan gives you access to the full toolkit that Online-Therapy.com offers, including the full CBT course and unlimited messaging with a therapist.
- Standard ($360 monthly): This plan includes full access to Online-Therapy.com, plus a weekly live session with a therapist.
- Premium ($480 monthly): This plan includes everything the standard plan offers, but with two live sessions per week instead of just one.
- Couples Therapy ($480 monthly): This plan is for couples who would like to attend joint sessions. While it is the same price as the premium plan, you only get one live session weekly rather than two.
Online-Therapy.com offers financial aid for students, veterans, and those with low income. During sign-up, you can fill out a financial aid application which will update the cost automatically if you’re approved. All new users are eligible for 20% off their first month. While Online-Therapy.com does not accept insurance, the company will generate a superbill for potential out-of-network reimbursement by your insurance provider.
Who Does Online-Therapy.com Serve?
Online-Therapy.com is available for anyone ages 18+ in the United States plus several countries internationally. Online-Therapy.com is intended as a solution for adults experiencing mild-to-moderate mental health symptoms and specifically uses the cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) approach. Teens may be able to use the platform with the emailed consent of both parents, but it’s not designed to serve children. Brightline Health could be a better option for those looking for mental health care for a child.
If you’re looking for a fast and convenient online therapy platform that offers more than CBT, BetterHelp is one of our favorite options. Meanwhile, an online psychiatry platform such as Brightside Health could be ideal if you’re seeking medication management, since Online-Therapy.com doesn’t offer medication. Online-Therapy.com does offer couples counseling, but other couples therapy options like ReGain might be worth considering for those looking for non-CBT approaches.
User Reviews for Online-Therapy.com
Online-therapy.com reviews are far and few between. Since the platform doesn’t have a mobile app, there are no app store reviews, and the company’s profile on TrustPilot only has a handful of written reviews.
Out of the user reviews available online, the majority paint a positive sentiment toward Online-Therapy.com, with minimal criticism.
Reviews from Trustpilot - 4.1 out of 5 stars | 24 reviews
Positive reviews from Trustpilot call out wonderful experiences with specific therapists on the platform, for both individual and couples therapy sessions. Some mention that the worksheets and journal function have been helpful on their healing journey.
Negative reviews mention issues with not being able to reschedule canceled sessions and a few other problems with customer service, but all the reviews on Trustpilot had caring responses from Online-Therapy.com with ways to contact the support team and hopefully repair any issues.
Reviews from Reddit | r/depression_help, r/therapy
Positive reviews from Reddit users focused on the positive impact the service has had on their lives, as well as the warmth and kindness of individual therapists.
Negative reviews from Reddit users discussed a perceived lack of experience of online therapists, but many users who chimed in admitted they had never used Online-Therapy, themselves.
Alternatives & Competitors
Online-Therapy.com is a great choice for those without insurance looking for an affordable cash-pay solution. It could be ideal for someone who struggles with symptoms that are well-suited to CBT. Meanwhile, Brightside Health or Thriveworks may be better if you are seeking psychiatric care in addition to therapy. BetterHelp might be the best solution if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to get started in therapy.
Most Convenient - BetterHelp
Both BetterHelp and Online-Therapy.com offer video and phone sessions on a monthly subscription model. Neither Online-Therapy.com nor BetterHelp currently accepts insurance and both offer subscriptions that must be paid upfront for a full month. Online-Therapy.com costs $240–$480 monthly, meanwhile, BetterHelp costs $260–$400 monthly. OnlineTherapy.com is currently offering users a 20% discount on their first month of service.
With BetterHelp you will have a wider array of therapeutic techniques, whereas with Online-Therapy.com you will only receive CBT-based therapy. Also, the lowest-cost plan at Online-Therapy.com is primarily a self-guided course with the ability to message a therapist instead of live sessions as you have with BetterHelp.
Pros & Cons
- 30k+ therapists available
- Same-day appointments available
- Does not accept insurance
- Limited choice over initial therapist
Most Comprehensive - Brightside Health
Brightside Health uses a subscription plan similar to Online-Therapy.com, but instead of just offering CBT therapy services, Brightline Health can provide therapy and psychiatry services in all 50 states. Monthly costs range from $95 for just a medication plan to $349 monthly for four live therapy sessions plus medication management.
Brightside Health also offers Crisis Care for those in emergency mental health situations, as well as an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for those recovering from substance use disorders.
Pros & Cons
- Accepts many insurance plans
- Same-day appointments are often available
- Customer service takes several days to respond
- Cash-pay may be too expensive for some
Best for In-Person - Thriveworks
Price: $0–$50 copay with insurance
Insurance Accepted? Yes
Medication Available? Yes
Thriveworks is a great resource for those seeking in-person care in select cities, or virtual therapy and psychiatric care nationwide. It offers much more variety compared to Online-Therapy.com’s CBT-focused approach.
Thriveworks and Online-Therapy.com are very similar. Both services offer therapy on a subscription-based model, however, Thriveworks also offers psychiatric services, as well as in-person care in select cities, whereas Online-Therapy.com does not. Thriveworks is a significantly more expensive cash-pay option at $400–$800 monthly, compared to Online-Therapy.com’s $240–$480 monthly. However, Thriveworks accepts insurance, so if you have a plan that’s covered, it may be more affordable in the long run.
Pros & Cons
- In-person services available in select cities
- Accepts many major insurance plans
- Cost varies by provider
- Not available nationwide
History & News of Online-Therapy.com
Year Founded: 2009
Parent Company: CRN Solutions AB
Publicly Traded? No
Headquartered in: Sweden
According to Online-Therapy.com, the company was founded by Carl Nordström, the current CEO. Reportedly, Nordström founded the company in 2009 after reading studies that found online CBT to be just as effective as traditional therapy and decided to create a service that could help increase the accessibility of online counseling. The parent company is CRN Solutions AB which is headquartered in Sweden.1 Over its history, Online-Therapy.com has not been the subject of any major scandals or controversies of note.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Online-Therapy.com Legit?
Yes, Online-Therapy.com is a legitimate platform for mental health therapy. It is a relatively large and well-established company that vets and verifies its therapists well. We’ve personally used Online-Therapy.com and recommend it for those wanting to try CBT.
What Credentials Do Online-Therapy.com Therapists Hold?
All Online-Therapy.com therapists hold at least the minimum education required by their state or government to practice mental health. All clinicians have provided at least 2,000 hours of counseling services and are licensed to practice according to the laws in their state. After being matched with a therapist, you’ll be able to view and verify their license information.
How Do I Get Matched With a Therapist on Online-Therapy.com?
Online-Therapy.com uses your responses to an intake questionnaire to match you with therapists who would be a good fit based on factors such as geographical location, live session preferences, and preferred gender. After you’ve been matched, you’ll be able to choose your initial therapist from a small list. You can change your therapist at any time if you find you need a better fit.
How Do I Change My Online-Therapy.com Therapist?
To change your therapist with Online-Therapy.com, simply navigate to your Live Sessions menu. Below the tab that lists your current therapist is a button labeled “Change my therapist.” Click that link, and you’ll be able to choose a different clinician.
How Much Does Online-Therapy.com Cost?
Online-Therapy.com costs range from $240–$480 monthly (advertised as $60–$120 weekly). This includes sessions and unlimited messaging with your therapist, access to the full Online-Therapy.com CBT course, as well as additional tools such as a journal and yoga videos. Online-Therapy.com does not accept insurance.
Online-Therapy.com offers three online therapy subscriptions:
- Basic ($240 monthly): This plan gives you access to the full toolkit that Online-Therapy.com offers including the full CBT course and unlimited messaging with a therapist.
- Standard ($360 monthly): This plan includes full access to Online-Therapy.com, plus a weekly live session with a therapist.
- Premium ($480 monthly): This plan includes everything the standard plan offers, but with two live sessions per week instead of just one.
- Couples Therapy ($480 monthly): This plan is for couples who would like to attend joint sessions. While it is the same price as the premium plan, you only get one live session weekly rather than two.
While Online-Therapy.com does not accept insurance, the company will generate a superbill for potential out-of-network reimbursement by your insurance provider.
Can I use my FSA or HSA Funds for Online-Therapy.com?
Yes, Online-Therapy.com will accept FSA and HSA for therapy.
How Do I Cancel My Online-Therapy.com Subscription?
To cancel your Online-Therapy.com subscription, log in to your account and click “Account,” then “Subscription.” You will see the option to upgrade, downgrade, pause, or cancel your subscription.
Does Online-Therapy.com Offer Refunds?
Online-Therapy will offer refunds on a case-by-case basis, but generally speaking, they only offer refunds to those who remember to stop their subscriptions. To contact someone, you can email Online-Therapy at: [email protected].
Is Online-Therapy.com HIPAA Compliant?
Yes, Online-Therapy.com is HIPAA-compliant. For more information, you can read Online-Therapy.com’s Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Choosing Therapy strives to provide our readers with mental health content that is accurate and actionable. We have high standards for what can be cited within our articles. Acceptable sources include government agencies, universities and colleges, scholarly journals, industry and professional associations, and other high-integrity sources of mental health journalism. Learn more by reviewing our full editorial policy.
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Online-Therapy.com. About Us. https://www.online-therapy.com/about_us.php
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Online-Therapy.com. What is the cost for online therapy?. https://www.online-therapy.com/faq/top-list-what-is-the-cost-for-online-therapy-8
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Grande, Dianne. July 20, 2023. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: How It Works & What To Expect. https://www.choosingtherapy.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy/
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Hindell, Anna. March 15, 2023. Yoga for Mental Health: Benefits & How To Get Started. https://www.choosingtherapy.com/yoga-mental-health/
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Trustpilot. Online-Therapy.com reviews. https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/online-therapy.com
We regularly update the articles on ChoosingTherapy.com to ensure we continue to reflect scientific consensus on the topics we cover, to incorporate new research into our articles, and to better answer our audience’s questions. When our content undergoes a significant revision, we summarize the changes that were made and the date on which they occurred. We also record the authors and medical reviewers who contributed to previous versions of the article. Read more about our editorial policies here.
Author: Matthew Church, MS (No change)
Medical Reviewer: Kristen Fuller, MD (No change)
Primary updates: Changed the pricing from $200–$440 monthly to $240–$480 monthly. Added user reviews from Trustpilot. Updated service information for teens. Fact-checked and edited for readability.
Author: Matthew Church, MS (No change)
Medical Reviewer: Kristen Fuller, MD (No change)
Primary updates: Fact-checked and edited for improved readability and clarity, and added user reviews from Reddit.
Author: Matthew Church, MS
Medical Reviewer: Kristen Fuller, MD
Primary Changes: Fully reviewed Online-Therapy.com platform, rewrote entire article based on new review experiences, reformatted entire article to new format. New content written by Matthew Church, MS, and medically reviewed by Kristen Fuller, MD.
Author: Caitlin Bell, MA (No Change)
Medical Reviewer: Benjamin Troy, MD (No change)
Primary Changes: Updated costs for BetterHelp in Vs. section.
Author: Caitlin Bell, MA (No Change)
Medical Reviewer: Benjamin Troy, MD
Primary Changes: Reassessment of Online-Therapy; Fact Checked cost and offerings; Updated screenshots/images; Added first-person point-of-view; style updates throughout.
Author: Caitlin Bell, MA
Original Medical Reviewer: Kristen Fuller, MD
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