BetterHelp Platform Quality & Outcomes In 2024

Introduction

Thousands of therapists join BetterHelp every year in our mission to make therapy affordable and accessible for all. In 2024, we continued to grow our online therapy offering, reaching 900,000+ new clients.

The fit and relationship between client and therapist, the effectiveness of therapy for the client, the technical experience on the platform, with highest & security standards is just a few of our many focus areas for achieving great therapy quality.

Who are BetterHelp therapists?

BetterHelp is proud to be able to provide our clients with high quality tailored matches through our large & diverse provider network of 35,000 therapists. Every therapist on BetterHelp undergoes rigorous multi-step vetting of their professional history and credentials to practice. While we believe all therapists have the compassion and capacity to support a diverse population of clients, we also understand that connecting with a therapist who has similar lived experience can add value and trust to the therapeutic alliance.

Our comprehensive matching system provides clients the opportunity to specify preferences for their therapist match. By focusing on a more tailored approach and investing in the therapeutic relationship early on, we aim to reduce therapy abandonment, which can influence a lifetime of decisions surrounding seeking support. In 2024 we were able to meet over 93% of client preferences; this reflects the strength of our network and matching process. This is a crucial step toward improving access to and satisfaction with therapy, as better client-therapist relationships can lead to better client outcomes^1,2.

Client outcomes at BetterHelp

Every element of the BetterHelp platform is designed to enhance client outcomes. New clients are assigned a PHQ-9 and/or GAD-7 survey upon starting therapy and every 45 days thereafter, allowing for consistent monitoring and progress tracking. 

With millions of therapy sessions completed on the platform, BetterHelp leverages its unprecedented scale in online therapy to generate a deep, data-driven understanding of client needs and therapist characteristics. Our data driven approach to therapy drives innovation in the clientʼs therapy experience at a pace & precision that smaller online therapy platforms canʼt replicate.

Our approach to therapy for driving successful outcomes

In 2024, 72% of BetterHelp clients experienced a reduction in symptoms, with 69% achieving reliable improvement and 62% reaching symptom remission. These outcomes highlight our commitment to client progress and maintaining a high standard of care.

How BetterHelp compares to the competition

We compared BetterHelp clinical outcomes against the competing online therapy networks using publicly available clinical outcome data as of October 2024. There are likely widespread differences in the intake of client populations across various online therapy networks due to the nature of billing relationship with the network (out of pocket vs insurance coverage), client demographics (age, income level, occupation & location) & pre-existing medical conditions. Since these factors have a major influence on clinical outcomes of a population, a true side by side comparison would require a randomized controlled trial. That said, we believe the difference in clinical outcomes between us and the competition will become even more stark upon controlling for such differences in populations. Our belief is reinforced by the fact that millions of clients have chosen to pay out of pocket for BetterHelp over other online therapy platforms.

In 2024 the average rating for a live session on the platform was 4.9 of 5 based on over 1.7M client ratings. Additionally, 82% of clients in treatment were likely to recommend their therapist to others, while 4% of clients stated they were unlikely to do so. This yields an industry leading net promoter score of 78 - a testament and vote of confidence in the high quality of our service.

See footnotes for comparison methodology

A multi-layered approach to platform quality

Ensuring a high quality therapy experience is at the heart of everything we do. Our service delivery layer is powered by a multitude of intelligent signals to ensure clients have a great therapy experience. Some of examples of these signals include minimizing client wait times for matching with a therapist, guiding therapists to schedule their first live session with their client promptly, providing clients with ample time slot options for scheduling a live session with their therapist, providing clients with a diversity of live session modality options for convenience and personal preferences. All of these signals are designed with the goal of promoting live session utilization. Client feedback is continuously surfaced to therapists through a multi-dimensional rating system that offers therapists actionable insights to improve their clientʼs experience.

We also have proactive quality measures that leverage hundreds of programmatically monitored signals to ensure consistent platform quality, with systems to escalate incidents for timely review. This robust automation is paired with numerous comprehensive human review processes designed to address client concerns swiftly and diligently. Every new therapist undergoes thorough vetting to be onboarded onto the platform with additional clinical reviews to ensure a high quality experience. Additionally, and importantly, we maintain platform trust with dedicated teams overseeing account safety, fraud & abuse prevention, and amenability. 

Beyond live sessions

Getting more from the therapy experience

BetterHelp is dedicated to carefully measuring the utility & value of every tool we make available. These tools are thoughtfully designed to support our clients along their wellness journey, both in and outside of therapy. In 2024, 69% of clients used one or more self care features in between sessions with their therapist.

Journaling & progress tracking reimagined

The BetterHelp journal and progress tracking features allow clients to bring clinical attention to important aspects of their lives without relying solely on session time. Clients can write and share journal entries directly with their therapist, or update their progress toward their goals & habits in real time.

For many clients, these journal reflections between sessions can provide valuable information that may have been left unsaid during their session time. Additionally, by updating their progress toward healthy habits and therapeutic goals throughout the week, clients can maintain investment in their process.

Support groups, psychoeducation classes, and individual therapy in one place

In addition to an individual live session every week, clients on BetterHelp have access to 300+ support groups and 35+ educational Classes. Support groups are facilitated by licensed BetterHelp therapists & provide clients the support of peers who are navigating similar challenges. At BetterHelp, support groups and Classes can enhance the therapeutic journey by offering an additional treatment option to engage with concepts relevant to their process.

By combining group support and reputable psychoeducation with individual therapy, BetterHelp resists a one-size-fits-all approach and encourages diverse therapeutic exploration to meet a variety of needs and styles. This seamless integration of varied treatment components can enhance and accelerate the achievement of therapeutic goals⁵.

A clinical resource library to guide therapeutic engagement and success

Therapists on BetterHelp have access to our expansive clinical resource library where they can browse over 230 worksheets, assessments, and planning tools to share with their clients. With various therapy topics that address a range of needs and approaches, this library is designed to augment the therapeutic process with intentional, interactive resources.

BetterHelp therapists can tailor worksheet-based interventions or clinical assessments to meet the specific needs of their clients. Assessments and scales offer important clinical data to both clients and therapists to inform and highlight needs along the therapeutic journey. This clinical oversight and intentionality serves BetterHelp clients by bringing therapeutic moderation to what could otherwise be an isolated or unspecific self-help pursuit.

Closing remarks 

This article provides a glimpse into some of the many facets of quality that our teams tackle everyday to create an engaging and impactful experience for our clients. Our team is ever attentive to evolving client needs, industry innovations, and emerging therapy best practices. Quality is not a static goal but a continuous journey, and we are committed to adapting to uphold the highest standards of care.

Footnotes 

1. Therapist composition & count figures based on network composition as on Dec 1 2024. License type data only includes US therapists. Individual preference fulfilment rates show the share of US client matches where a given preference was fulfilled by the therapist matched with the client. The overall preference fulfillment rate reflects the weighted average of individual preference fulfilment rates shown. BetterHelp relies on therapist self-attested data for certain preferences such as race and religious beliefs.
2. BetterHelp clinical quality metrics are based on client data in 2024. Comparable clinical quality metrics from competitors were sourced from publicly accessible publications as of Oct 2024 Publications reviewed (1)Spring Health clinical outcomes - Bondar, J., Babich Morrow, C., Gueorguieva, R., Brown, M., Hawrilenko, M., Krystal, J. H., Corlett, P. R., & Chekroud, A. M. (2022). Clinical and financial outcomes associated with a workplace mental health program before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA Network Open, 5(6). (2) Talkspace clinical outcomes - Hull, T.D., Malgaroli, M., Connolly, P.S. et al. Two-way messaging therapy for depression and anxiety: longitudinal response trajectories. BMC Psychiatry 20, 297 (2020). A ‘-ʼ in the column indicates that our team was unable to identify a comparable data point for a given metric within the public domain. BetterHelp currently assigns clients PHQ9 and/or GAD7 assessments upon starting therapy and every 45 days thereafter. Our inclusion criteria for measurement of clinical outcomes requires clients to complete a minimum of 2 assessments, not every client will complete 2 assessments. A client is considered ‘in treatmentʼ once they complete a live session or exchange messages with their therapist (whichever is earlier). We survey the client 2 weeks after they are ‘in treatmentʼ and every 4 weeks thereafter. Our NPS score is benchmarked against published data by Customerguage.com that shows an industry average NPS of 58, and an 80th percentile NPS of 71 for Healthcare companies.
3. Self care & clinical tool feature overall usage data is based on a client cohort that joined BetterHelp between Aug 30 ‘23 - Aug 29 ‘24.
4. Availability of Group sessions, Journal and other product functionality can vary by the memberʼs plan. The number of support groups, classes, worksheets and assessments can vary over time due to ongoing curation.

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