Frequently asked questions

1. Are BetterHelp therapists licensed?

Yes, we only hire licensed therapists. Here are the details of our licensing requirements for each geographic region:

For U.S.-based Therapists:

Yes. Therapists on BetterHelp are licensed, trained, experienced, and accredited psychologists (PhD / PsyD), licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFT), licensed clinical social workers (LCSW / LICSW), licensed professional counselors (LPC), or similar applicable recognized professional certification based on their state and/or jurisdiction. All of them have a Masters Degree or a Doctorate Degree in their field. They have been qualified and certified by their state's professional board after successfully completing the necessary education, exams, training and practice. While their experience, expertise, and background vary, they all possess at least 3 years and 1,000 hours of hands-on experience.

For non-U.S. based Therapists:

We require every therapist providing Therapist Services on the Platform to be a registered and/or licensed (as applicable) and experienced counsellor, psychologist, social worker, or therapist. Therapists must have a relevant academic degree in their field, at least 3 years of experience, and have to be qualified and credentialed by their respective professional organization after successfully completing the necessary education, exams, training, and practice requirements as applicable. For the avoidance of doubt, therapists are referred to on the BetterHelp site and related apps/sites by their title and U.S., U.K., or Australian credentials, whichever is applicable.

2. How does BetterHelp vet their therapists?

For U.S.-Based Therapists:

Our Therapist Onboarding team ensures that every provider we bring to the platform is licensed and in good standing and meets the requirements outlined in the previous question.

Providers who apply are required to provide a valid license and proof of identity. We then cross-check their licensure information with their respective state licensing board.Therapists must also undergo a background report, and are subject to periodic checks via the NPDB (National Practitioner Data Bank) registry. In addition to these checks, potential providers must also complete a case study graded by a licensed clinician. The result of this rigorous process is that less than a third of applicants who apply to work as therapists through BetterHelp are accepted to the platform.

We also show the full credential information for each provider to make it easy for you to do your own due diligence on your therapist in our directory here.

For Non-U.S.-Based Therapists:

Our team ensures that every provider we bring to the platform is credentialed and in good standing. Providers who apply are required to provide proper professional documentation and proof of identity. We then cross-check their credential information with their respective organization.

In addition to these checks, potential providers must also complete a case study graded by a clinician and undergo a background report. The result of this rigorous process is that less than a third of applicants who apply to work as therapists through BetterHelp are accepted to the platform.

We also show the full credential information for each provider to make it easy for you to do your own due diligence on your therapist.

3. Why do some people think that BetterHelp's therapists are unlicensed?

This is an unfounded rumor that has been circulating the internet for years. Rest assured that it is completely incorrect.

Back in 2018 when our company was much smaller, our Terms of Use included a disclaimer that limited BetterHelp's legal liability as to whether therapists on our platform were licensed. This legal language is typical and customary in the Terms of Use of almost all platforms and marketplaces (such as Uber and Airbnb).

We quickly realized that this standard disclaimer was not a fit for our brand. In October 2018, our entire Terms of Use and Privacy Policy were rewritten to reflect BetterHelp's commitment to its clients and therapists and the disclaimer was removed. To learn more about this, please refer to the statement shared by our former CEO about these changes here.

4. What happened between BetterHelp and the FTC?

In 2023, BetterHelp reached a legal settlement with the FTC in support of user privacy.

More specifically, BetterHelp and the FTC reached a settlement in regard to BetterHelp's advertising practices that were in effect between 2017 to 2020.

The FTC alleged that we used limited, encrypted information to optimize our advertising strategy on several third–party platforms, and to the FTC, this was wrong. We disagreed because this industry–standard practice is routinely used by some of the largest health providers, health systems, and healthcare brands and a majority of brands utilizing social media that consumers engage with on a daily basis.

Nonetheless, we understood the FTC's desire to set new precedents around consumer marketing, and we were happy to settle this matter with the agency. This settlement, which was no admission of wrongdoing, allowed us to continue to focus on our mission to help millions of people around the world get access to quality therapy.

If you want to learn more about the settlement, we recommend listening to this independent podcast from the news website Politico. The podcast provides more information on the settlement in a clear and digestible way. Please note that this is not our official response and has some factual errors (notably, the emails BetterHelp shared were not raw emails but hashed emails, which is a method of encryption, and BetterHelp also did not share signup survey information as the podcast implies). Nevertheless, this podcast does a good job of providing an overview of the settlement and how it relates to the evolving landscape of consumer health services.

5. Does BetterHelp sell or share data with third parties?

The private information like members' names or clinical data from therapy sessions that BetterHelp members share with their therapists over text, phone, or video call is never shared with a third party and never has been.

For members who opt in, we might use standard advertising tools to show them similar social media ads to the ones they've clicked on in the past. This is a standard practice among any companies – telehealth hospitals and otherwise – that run ads on the internet. Members and website visitors can opt out of advertising cookies and web beacons at any time by following the instructions on this page. And you can read more about our data privacy practices in our in–depth Privacy Policy.

Additionally, no messages, transcripts of conversations, session data, journal entries, worksheets, or any other type of communications between users and their therapists are or ever have been shared with third parties. Our settlement with the FTC did not concern any such data.

Lastly, we have never been paid by a third party for any kind of user data. That isn't part of our business model, and it never has been. This settlement with the FTC did not concern any such exchange.

6. Did BetterHelp partner with Israel?

No, we did not partner with Israel. We offered free therapy services to ALL those affected by the current conflict in Israel and Palestine – similar to many previous crisis relief efforts by our company.

In October of 2023, BetterHelp launched a Social Impact initiative to offer free therapy to those impacted by the events unfolding in Israel and Palestine. The government of Israel independently chose to share our initiative with its citizens via social media, but we had no contact with them and were not at all involved in their choice to announce it. Support is not limited to Israelis and applies to anyone affected by the war – wherever they are.

BetterHelp is uniquely positioned to support individuals impacted by crises like these because our platform has thousands of therapists and is entirely online. We also have a track record of initiatives like this in many different crises – including during the war in Ukraine, Hurricane Ian in Florida, the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, the shooting at the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis, and supporting frontline healthcare workers during the Covid–19 pandemic.

To put it simply: When people are impacted by a tragedy, we want to help. To learn more about our extensive social impact efforts, check out this page: https://www.betterhelp.com/social-impact/

7. How does BetterHelp support clients who have negative experiences on the platform?

We support clients by encouraging them to share feedback, listening to their concerns and taking action both to improve their experience and prevent others from having the same experience down the line.

With the scale of BetterHelp's provider network (over 35,000 therapists worldwide) and member base (more than 4 million users since 2013) – we understand that not everyone will have a perfect experience. But we take negative experiences on our platform very seriously. That's why we have a dedicated Member Success team to ensure that members get their questions answered, their poor experiences addressed, and their technical difficulties remedied. This team tries its best to respond to member issues within 24 hours of receipt – seven days a week.

We always encourage clients to reach out with any issue and the team will work promptly to help resolve the situation. Depending on the nature of the enquiry, BetterHelp may offer a refund or work directly with the client to address the situation. This may include helping the client find a different therapist that better suits their needs, helping the client troubleshoot technical issues, or providing a full or partial refund or credit to the client's account. If the issue is related to the client's therapist, the following question addresses the ways in which the therapist may be held accountable.

Additionally, BetterHelp members rate their therapists after their first few sessions on BetterHelp, and we send regular emails to members to check in and hear how their therapy is going.

8. If I need to contact BetterHelp for customer support, what's the best way to do so?

The best way to receive support is to contact our Member Success team by filling out this contact form or emailing contact@betterhelp.com. Our team tries its best to respond to member issues within 24 hours of receipt – seven days a week.

9. How does BetterHelp hold therapists accountable for poor performance or unacceptable behavior?

We don't tolerate unprofessional or unethical behavior by our therapists. On the rare occasions when it occurs, our in–house team of licensed therapists takes steps to prevent it from happening again.

We are very committed to the safety and quality experience of our members. We have a 9–person team of licensed therapists (called our “Clinical Operations team”) that is dedicated to ensuring that therapists on our platform practice therapy that is up to our high standard of care. They maintain an extensive quality review process that allows them to react and respond quickly when members express a concern about a therapist.

When a member enquiry is received, it is reviewed and triaged. While many enquiries are minor in nature and can be addressed quickly, more severe concerns are escalated to a team that is equipped to do internal investigations. This investigation may involve speaking to the client further and speaking with the therapist. It may also include a comprehensive review where the team looks at the therapist holistically. In this circumstance, the team looks for violations of codes of ethics, codes of conduct, and the BetterHelp platform terms. Anyone found in violation of these will be subject to some form of discipline and/or education, and may be removed from the platform – and if possible, the team tries to address the situation before it gets to that point.

Our Clinical Operations team also collects metrics in the background regarding therapist–performance on an ongoing basis. Therapists who provide services that produce consistently positive outcomes with their clients are incentivized to keep doing so, while therapists with poor performance or unacceptable behavior can experience lesser referrals, various restrictions, and/or be removed from BetterHelp altogether.

While we are always working to proactively address quality concerns ourselves, members are also free to file complaints & grievances directly to a therapist's respective licensing board – the entity that governs their ability to practice therapy.

10. Why am I hearing stories about clients having poor experiences using BetterHelp?

While member experiences on BetterHelp are overwhelmingly positive, we aren't perfect – and sometimes finding the right therapist takes a few tries.

BetterHelp is a platform where over 35,000 therapists have practiced therapy, and over 4 million individuals have gotten help. And member experiences with BetterHelp are overwhelmingly positive. We encourage you to check out our reviews page, which is updated daily, for some of these stories.

But with a company of this scale, there are bound to be a small percentage of clients who have negative experiences. That's why our team is always working to improve systems, processes, and protocols – to minimize negative experiences and take care of clients who have been affected by them.

11. Does BetterHelp compensate their therapists fairly?

Yes, we offer competitive compensation and flexibility.

Therapists and psychologists on BetterHelp can earn as much as $91,000 a year, assuming 52 working weeks in a year. Actual earnings may vary due to factors such as location, caseload, client engagement on the platform, and other metrics. For therapists with a full caseload on BetterHelp, we also provide a Health Benefit Stipend of $650 per month.

Given the scale of BetterHelp's therapist and client base, we've found that the best compensation model is one that is based on engagement. At a very basic level, this means that the more clients a therapist works with, the higher the therapist's compensation will be. The system is designed in a way that strives to encourage therapists to work with as many clients as they're comfortable with, compensate them fairly for their time, and help ensure a high quality of service for the client.

As a comparison point, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the mean annual wage for a therapist in the US is $75,660 per year (source here). This differs depending on other factors as well, like the location of the therapist and their education or experience level. For example, clinical psychologists require a higher level of education (a doctorate degree) than counselors and therapists, so their average base salary is considerably higher than that of other health practitioners. The location of the therapist can impact earning potential as well.

Other reasons that therapists choose to work with BetterHelp are flexibility and convenience. Therapists can work the hours that make sense for their schedule, without having to worry about commutes, marketing, paperwork, and the other challenges of running a private practice. Online therapy allows them to take appointments from a variety of locations, with no need to spend time in a busy office.

12. If BetterHelp's mission is to make therapy accessible to everyone, why not provide it for free?

So that we can serve the largest population of people, and compensate our therapists well while doing it.

While we value the work that public and nonprofit mental health organizations do, our goal is to reach the maximum scale possible so that we can serve the greatest number of people – and that means continuing to charge something for the services provided on our platform. Our therapists work hard to provide the best care possible, and it's important to us to compensate them accordingly for their work.

We recognize that therapy (even on BetterHelp) can be cost–prohibitive for some people – so we do offer financial aid in the form of increased discounts to those who are unable to pay standard rates for their memberships. We also accept HSA/FSA cards and are recognized as an eligible expense by most HSA/FSA providers. And we make frequent therapy donations to communities in need through our social impact program.

13. What's BetterHelp's philosophy when it comes to partnering with content creators, influencers, and podcasters?

As mentioned above, we're grateful to have the trust and support of so many amazing creators and advertising partners – and we understand the responsibility we have to contribute positively to the social media community and our partners' audiences.

Our approach to working with creators is grounded in authenticity, transparency and compassion. We make a free BetterHelp membership available to creators and encourage them to use it to ensure that the service meets their personal standards and that they can speak about the service accurately.

Use of the BetterHelp service is not required and we never verify a creators' use. With this in mind, we always remind creators not to misrepresent their use of the BetterHelp product in any way by claiming they've used it personally if they haven't. Additionally, we require all creators to be transparent about their business relationship with BetterHelp, either as a sponsor or as a member of BetterHelp's referral program. And lastly, we ask all participating creators to be aware of the responsibility that comes with marketing in the mental health space, and to be sympathetic to their audience members who are struggling with mental health challenges.

14. Helpful Resources

The following additional resources may be helpful:

• BetterHelp Terms & Conditions
• BetterHelp Privacy Policy
• BetterHelp's Official Statement on FTC Settlement
• Independent Podcast by Politico on FTC Settlement