Best Options for Online Therapy for Teens in 2023

Teen Counseling is a subscription-based online therapy platform for teens 13-19 years old across the US. With Teen Counseling, teens can attend weekly video, phone, or live texting sessions, plus have access to messaging with their therapist between live sessions. Teen Counseling costs $240 – $360 monthly (advertised as $60 – $90 weekly), making it an affordable out-of-pocket therapy option for teens.

With Teen Counseling, teens can create their own account, but they will ultimately need a parent or guardian to complete the payment process and sign consent forms. After a quick questionnaire, Teen Counseling will match your teen with a therapist. If they’re unhappy with their match, they can easily change therapists in the app.

An interesting feature of Teen Counseling is that you and your teen both have personal chat rooms to text with your teen’s therapist at any time. A guardian’s chat room functions as a means for your teen’s therapist to send you check-ins and updates, even though they are primarily there to support your teen.

Whatever your teen shares in their chat room will remain between them and the therapist and vice versa. The only time anything is shared is if your teen expressed harming themselves or others, or mentioned any abuse or situations of neglect.

Talkspace for Teens is a subscription-based online therapy platform for adolescents 13 years to 17 years older. It has three subscription options with costs ranging from $276 – $436 monthly (advertised as $69 – $109 weekly). Talkspace accepts major insurance plans and earned 4 out of 5 stars during our independent review of its individual (18+) online therapy services.

While your teen can sign up for their own account, a caregiver will be required to sign consent forms prior to any therapy sessions. After completing an initial assessment, teens go through a matching process with a live agent. This process happens in a secure chat room where they can share preferences, needs, and symptoms with the agent. Prior to seeing the three hand-selected matches, caregivers must pay for one of the three subscription plans.

Much like Teen Counseling, the option to text with a therapist anytime is a great perk for teens who may not feel comfortable talking on video calls. Additionally, caregivers may like the flexibility Talkspace for Teens offers in upgrading/downgrading subscription plans. If your teen finds they need more support, their subscription can be upgraded to include live therapy sessions. Likewise, if your teen finds they are doing better and wants less support, their subscription can be downgraded to the messaging-only plan.

Bend Health is a subscription-based online therapy platform in all 50 US states that allows kids and teens (1-17 years old) to attend live, 30-minute video sessions with a care team that consists of a mental health coach and licensed therapist. Bend Health costs $199.99 monthly for coaching, $399.99 monthly for coaching & therapy, and $549.99 monthly for coaching, therapy and medication management. Bend Health does accept insurance which could significantly lower these costs.

Bend Health embraces a philosophy of “Whole-Person, Whole-Family” and they believe that if one person in your family is struggling with their mental health, it can affect the whole family. ¹ This is why caregivers and their teens complete an initial assessment together to discuss any symptoms that need to be addressed in the individualized care plan. You will then meet with a customer care representative who will help match you with a coach, therapist, and medication provider if needed.

Much like Manatee Health and Brightline, Bend Health is a very family-focused and centered platform. It was built by a husband and wife team with kids who understand the importance of family involvement. According to Geoff Bremner, Chief Growth Officer with Bend Health, the founders are both, “Technology and pediatric mental healthcare experts who have a proven track record of building successful mental health solutions. They’ve spent twenty years, as individual contributors, and executives, in both private practice and in business.” ²

Bend Health says that its care model reduces wait times, improves the accuracy of diagnosis, and provides appropriate treatment options for kids, teens, and their families. The ability to work with various hospitals and insurance plans allows Bend Health to receive mental health care referrals. This means your child or teen will get the support they need much quicker than waiting for in-person services.

As mentioned in our review of Bend Health, they have now started offering neuropsychological evaluations to help measure attention/concentration, executive functioning, mood and personality, depression, and more. These evaluations can help your doctors diagnose your child or teen and give them the support and skills they need.

Brightline is an online mental health care platform available nationwide that focuses on supporting kids, teens, and their families. Brightline Health provides behavioral health, coaching, medication support, and on-demand learning resources. An initial 60-90 minute assessment costs $270 with all other services costing $70 – $225. Brightline accepts select insurance plans, which could lower your out-of-pocket costs.

The treatment length for behavioral therapy depends on the level of need and severity of symptoms. Behavioral therapy and medication support are provided to children ages 6-17, but therapy can begin with children as young as 18 months. Brightline Coaching programs are tailored to specific topics relevant to the age of the child, therefore for younger children aged 3-5, the coaching is more directed toward parents and caregivers.

While Manatee and Little Otter are great choices for families and their teenagers, they are only available in limited states. Brightline, much like Bend Health, is currently available in every state in the US. According to Honora Einhorn, Senior Manager of Clinical Therapy at Brightline, “Brightline’s pediatric behavioral health services can provide your teen with truly individualized, evidence-based, compassionate, and accessible care. Our talented and experienced therapists and care providers understand the unique considerations required to effectively treat adolescent mental health concerns.” ³

Brightline has no waiting lists at the moment, and can very quickly get your teen to their first appointment after the sign-up process is complete. This can be a huge perk for those looking to speak with a therapist and possibly a medication provider. Your child or teen will need to be enrolled in behavioral therapy to be eligible for medication management because most psychiatric medications work best when combined with therapy.

Little Otter is an online therapy platform dedicated to younger children (0 – 14 years old) that offers live, 45-minute video sessions with a licensed therapist. A 30-minute “Kickoff Session” costs $20 with all subsequent therapy sessions costing $200.

Little Otter also offers child psychiatry, which costs $500 for an initial, 60-minute evaluation, and $250 for 30-minute follow-up sessions. A truly unique offering of Little Otter is its specialized ADHD program. This is available as a pay-per-service plan or a subscription plan, with costs similar to their regular psychiatry offering.

Little Otter was founded by Dr. Helen Egger, a world-renowned child psychiatrist, and her daughter, Rebecca Egger. Dr. Helen’s daughter, Rebecca, is well known for founding, building, and leading the infectious disease program with the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative.

According to Meg Spenchian, a PR team member for Little Otter, Dr. Helen, “Has been a leader in the field of child mental health for more than 30 years. She is a child psychiatrist (MD), early childhood mental health expert, digital health expert, and prolific scientist – and a mother of four. Translating her decades of research, Dr. Helen has developed proprietary assessments of the common emotions and behaviors of early childhood and of family stresses. With these assessments, she developed the Little Otter care model and personalized care plans that adapt to the needs of your children and family.”⁴

Additionally, Little Otter offers an ADHD program that connects your child or teen to an ADHD specialist, can receive medication if needed, and includes parent support resources and coaching. This is a great program for parents who suspect their child or teen struggles with ADHD symptoms but need something more flexible than in-person care.

Joon Care specializes in providing online mental health care for teens and young adults, ages 13-24 in California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. Joon Care offers a free 15-minute consultation and costs $150 for an intake with two subscription options ranging from $500 – $1,100 monthly. Currently, Joon Care only accepts Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield in Pennsylvania and earned 4 out of 5 stars overall during our independent review of their offerings.

Therapists with Joon can help teens with social anxiety as well as help manage general anxiety, body image, disordered eating, depression, gender/sexual identity, and more. Treatment plans with Joon Care are developed with your therapist and are estimated to last approximately 16-weeks. In addition to 50-minute therapy sessions, the Joon Care mobile app, available on Apple, provides resources therapists recommend for use between sessions. Therapists send skills and techniques to practice in the app.

Amy Mezulis, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chief Clinical Officer with Joon, shared, “Joon Care’s effectiveness rates meet or exceed industry standards for outpatient therapy for adolescent depression and anxiety.” She also explained that, “All of our therapists are experts in teen mental health and we have created in-app content and activities for our clients to continue the learning process between sessions. Teens and young adults are a unique population and we have tailored our approach to provide the highest quality of care for this audience.”⁷

Other than Thriveworks, Joon Care has some of the highest out-of-pocket costs for individual therapy on our list. Unlike Thriveworks, however, Joon’s higher costs are likely associated with the package that gives your teen two 60-minute sessions per week. A 60-minute in-person therapy session can typically cost $100 – $200, and easily add up to $800 – $1,600 monthly for the same eight sessions per month. Joon Care could save you a little bit of money while also offering the convenience of online sessions and all the in-app perks, like skill-building practices.

Thriveworks is an interesting and unique therapy platform for several reasons. They are a franchise therapy company available across 40 states and they can offer online and in-person therapy sessions. Thriveworks therapy costs $99 – $199 with the exact costs for therapy depending on your location and the provider you choose. Thriveworks accepts many major insurance plans, however, which could significantly reduce these costs.

Caregivers can sign up their child or teen for therapy and fill out any consent forms needed. A great perk with Thriveworks is that you and your teen can choose a therapist from their therapist directory. The directory allows you to filter by age, gender, and specialties like anxiety, childhood ADHD, and more. How often your teen needs to see their therapist will be determined by all of you, together; treatment plans with Thriveworks are highly individualized.

All services that Thriveworks offers are available online, however, some services may not be available at in-person locations. Each physical location of Thriveworks will offer different services, accept different insurance plans, and may not be conveniently located to you. However, whatever way you choose to attend sessions and appointments, you will be able to choose your own provider from the Thriveworks online directory.

Thriveworks does offer psychiatry with medication management. Initial psychiatry appointments are 60 minutes long with follow-up appointments being 30 minutes. Psychiatry costs range from $99 – $349 per appointment, with exact costs depending on the provider and your location. Only select providers can treat those under 18 years old and will be clearly listed on the provider’s profile page.

Synergy eTherapy is an online therapy platform that can offer kids and teens (9 – 18 years old) 50-minute live video or phone sessions with a licensed therapist. While each therapist sets their own costs, per session costs are usually between $100 – $200. Many of the therapists with Synergy also accept insurance.

With Synergy, you can expect to sign your teen up for care, select a therapist together, and attend the first therapy session with them. During the first session, you, your teen, and their therapist will discuss a treatment plan, which will include how involved parents need to be, how often the child needs to be seen, and if any psychiatric referrals are recommended. Synergy can give referrals to the psychiatry groups they partner with if your teen is in need of medication management.

Synergy eTherapy has been offering online therapy since 2013 to adults, kids, teens, couples, and families. When we spoke with Dr. Lisa Lovelace, founder of Synergy eTherapy, she shared, “I was one of the first fully remote online group practice owners to open Synergy eTherapy! We have an incredible team, vetted and known therapists who are dedicated to helping their communities thrive. Our excellent licensed therapists plan therapy around YOUR busy life! Our personalized care fits into your schedule. We collaborate with caregivers to ensure the skills learned in session are translated to their everyday lives.”⁶

Many of the therapists on Synergy have evening and weekend appointments available, which is really great if your teen is involved in extracurricular activities. While Synergy does not have the largest therapist pool, therapist bios for each provider are very detailed, with many featuring introduction videos. A really awesome feature of Synergy is their free consultation call with the therapist you choose. This allows you to ask any lingering questions you may have and if you don’t feel it’s a great fit, you can try someone else!

Manatee Health is an online mental health platform geared toward kids and families. They offer therapy in select states and parent coaching services nationwide. Additionally, Manatee Health has an app called Manatee Village that is available for free and offers journaling, learning lessons and activities for the whole family. Manatee Health costs range from $99 – $175, depending on which service you choose and they currently accept select insurance plans.

Parents are highly involved in the therapy process, Damayanti Dipayana, CEO of Manatee, explains. “We recognize that parenting is hard, and parents need support. Most of us [at Manatee] are parents, too. It’s designed for us, by us and we really work together with our clinicians to make sure we draw from the evidence and research to make [learning] tactical. Parents don’t need a PDF, they just [want to know] what do I say when my kid freaks out?”⁷

Manatee currently offers therapy in California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The company plans to expand its therapy services to Ohio, Illinois, Washington, Wisconsin, Kansas, and New York.

Manatee is the only online therapy platform for teens that also has a separate resource and programming option for parents. Other companies, like Brightline and Bend Health, do offer parent coaching, but Manatee offers more than coaching. Manatee also offers parent groups which is a great way to connect with other parents dealing with similar situations. If you’re a parent who needs additional support and resources in one of the states Manatee serves, they are definitely worth checking out.

Charlie Health is an intensive outpatient (IOP) online group therapy platform for teens and young adults ages 12-28 years old. The IOP program lasts 6-10 weeks long and includes group therapy sessions, family therapy sessions, and individual therapy sessions. Charlie Health works with many of the nation’s largest insurance providers and encourages all uninsured families to talk with them directly for out-of-pocket costs.

Anyone under the age of 18 must have a parent or guardian sign them up for care with Charlie Health (their admissions line is open 24/7). During the initial intake call, there is an extensive assessment done with the patient and their family. After the assessment, the last 10-15 minutes of the call is solely focused on the patient. 24-48 hours after the intake call, Charlie Health will run your insurance, assess the patient for compatibility with the program, and produce a personalized care plan.

Charlie Health matches patients with a primary therapist and a care manager. Online group therapy sessions are led by other therapists on the platform. Patients will also be matched in peer groups with others who are of similar age and mental health needs. In addition to group therapy sessions, 1-2 hours of family therapy and one hour of individual therapy happens each week.

When asked what makes Charlie Health so special, Carter Barnhart, CEO and Co-Founder of Charlie Health, told us, “I know firsthand what it’s like to need mental healthcare but not know where to start or who to turn to. We created Charlie Health in 2020 as the answer for when young people and families in acute mental health crises don’t know where to turn – when emergency rooms are full, waitlists are too long, and other therapy options are too expensive.”⁸ There is no other online therapy platform on our list that offers what Charlie Health can to teens and young adults struggling with more severe mental health issues.

Charlie Health was also born out of personal tragedy, as Barnhart explains, “’Charlie’ is the name of one of our co-founder’s friends who should still be with us. We exist in honor of every ‘Charlie’ who needs life-saving care, no matter where they live or what they can afford.”⁸