Psychotherapy Online Therapy Online Therapy Reviews 11 Best Online Therapy Companies Offering Grief Counseling Find out which companies we recommend for young adults, grief groups, and more By Natalie Rahhal Updated on April 13, 2023 Medically reviewed Verywell Mind articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and mental healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD Medically reviewed by Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD LinkedIn Twitter Dr. Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and a professor at Yeshiva University’s clinical psychology doctoral program. Learn about our Medical Review Board Fact checked Verywell Mind content is rigorously reviewed by a team of qualified and experienced fact checkers. Fact checkers review articles for factual accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. We rely on the most current and reputable sources, which are cited in the text and listed at the bottom of each article. Content is fact checked after it has been edited and before publication. Learn more. by Haley Mast Fact checked by Haley Mast Haley has a professional and educational background reviewing, transcribing, and curating technical content. Learn about our editorial process Print We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Loss and grief are inevitable, but they can feel paralyzing. An estimated 2.5 million people die in the U.S. each year (a figure that climbed to over 3 million in both 2020 and 2021), and with each death, an average of five mourning loved ones are left behind. But as challenging as grief can feel, you don’t have to do it alone. Grief counseling, a type of therapy dedicated to helping you navigate the grieving process with the help of a therapist that specializes in bereavement, can offer you support, comfort, and coping skills to get through this difficult time. Your grief therapist can also help you identify if your grief has become complicated, which requires additional treatment. And grief counseling doesn’t have to take place in person. You can find this type of support—through individual sessions or groups—online as well. To help you find online grief counseling options, we evaluated over 80 services with the help of three licensed therapists, surveyed over 10,000 users, and signed up to test most of the companies ourselves. Here are the grief counseling options we recommend. Our 11 Picks for Grief Counseling of 2023 Best for Individual Counseling: Teladoc Best Live Chat: BetterHelp Best for Young Adults: The Dinner Party Best for Teens: Teen Counseling Best for Children: Little Otter Best for Flexibility: Thriveworks Best for Loss of a Child: Compassionate Friends Best for Peer Support: Grief in Common Best for Support Groups: Circles+ Best With Insurance: LifeStance Best Without Insurance: E-Therapy Cafe When choosing an online therapy provider, we recommend that you read the company’s privacy guidelines before you sign up to better understand whether it is HIPAA-compliant and whether it shares any private information with third parties. There have been some concerns raised by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and several government officials about what user health information online therapy providers collect and what they do with any information they collect. 11 Best Online Therapy Companies Offering Grief Counseling View All 11 Best Online Therapy Companies Offering Grief Counseling Our Top Picks Teladoc BetterHelp The Dinner Party Teen Counseling Little Otter Thriveworks Compassionate Friends Grief in Common Circles+ LifeStance E-Therapy Cafe See More (8) Final Thoughts Compare Providers Guide to Choosing FAQs Methodology Best for Individual Counseling : Teladoc Teladoc Learn More Key Specs Price: $99 per visit (without insurance)Insurance Accepted?: YesTypes of Therapy: Individual, couples, psychiatry Why We Chose It Teladoc consistently scores highly for its respectful, well-informed therapists who provide the kind of attentive care a grieving client deserves. Pros & Cons Pros Individual therapy for grief Affordable Accepts insurance All sessions are 45 minutes long Choose your therapist Cons No monthly subscription option No group options available No free trials Overview Grief brings up all manner of sensitive subjects and vulnerabilities as you move back and forth through its stages. You deserve a therapist who will give you their undivided and compassionate attention as you work through these heightened emotions. And we believe that at Teladoc, you can find just that. Its licensed providers garner consistent praise from users and reviewers for taking a personalized, studied approach to their care. Available in all 50 states and accepting most insurance plans, Teladoc offers 45-minute phone and video sessions with licensed therapists and clinical social workers. You can also see a psychiatrist for medication management through Teladoc, if you think you need extra support while working through your grief. Individual therapy costs $99 per session. It’s $209 for an initial psychiatry appointment, and subsequent psychiatry sessions are $109 each. Teladoc is also in-network with most major insurance plans, meaning that for some with insurance, the cost can be as low as $0. But you need to sign up and make an account in order to find out exactly what you’ll be paying for Teladoc’s services. User Satisfaction & Testing Insights Teladoc received one of the highest user ratings of any company included in our survey of 10,000 therapy users. Of the 105 Teladoc users we surveyed, 97% rated Teladoc therapy as excellent, very good, or good, and 90% said the care they received was a good value for the money. Fifteen percent of Teladoc users said they sought out services for grief and loss. When we tested Teladoc, one of our testers said she felt satisfied with the quality of care she received and noted that both therapists she tried during her month of testing “felt qualified, warm, caring, and attentive to my needs. They were available at times that suited my busy schedule, responded to my messages quickly, and worked to accommodate my needs.” Best Live Chat : BetterHelp betterhelp Learn More Key Specs Price: $240 to $360 per month Insurance Accepted?: NoTypes of Therapy: Individual (couples and teen therapy available through subsidiaries) Why We Chose It With BetterHelp, you can message your therapist any time you’re hit with a hard-to-cope with wave of grief between your weekly sessions. Pros & Cons Pros Asynchronous texting available between appointments Live chat, video and phone options Reasonably priced Journal option Easy to switch therapists Cons Therapist chosen for you Some users complain of delays Issues with privacy and the sale of users’ personal health information Overview The symptoms of grief can make it difficult to get out of bed—let alone be on-camera for a video therapy session. And, because grief is non-linear, the hardest moments can hit when you least expect them. For all of these reasons and more, having the option of a live text chat with a therapist can be an invaluable tool. Enter BetterHelp. When you sign up for BetterHelp, you’ll be asked a series of questions about yourself, including why you’re considering therapy. At this step of the questionnaire, you can choose “I am grieving” and the platform will do its best to match you with a therapist who specializes in grief counseling. Once you’re matched, you can choose to meet with your therapist for a scheduled phone, video, or live-chat session. At any point ahead of your scheduled sessions, you can switch to a different mode of communication, so the format of your therapy can be tailored to your needs on the fly. Regardless of the mode of communication, each weekly appointment will cost between $60 and $90, depending on your location and therapist qualifications (BetterHelp practices surge pricing, which means that the more demand there is for mental health services in your area, the higher the price for those services will be). User Satisfaction & Testing Insights Among the 105 BetterHelp users we surveyed, 12% came to the platform primarily looking for grief support and 86% of all users rated their experience positively. More than three-quarters felt their provider met most or all of their needs and 97% said their therapists were well qualified. Best for Young Adults : The Dinner Party the dinner party Learn More Key Specs Price: FreeInsurance Accepted?: NoTypes of Therapy: Peer group support Why We Chose It Founded specifically to fill a gap in support for grieving young adults, The Dinner Party connects those in their 20s, 30s and 40s to others who have experienced a similar loss. Pros & Cons Pros Free Specifically for young adults Has groups for specific types of loss Cons Relatively limited number of groups Not led by licensed professionals Overview Fewer than half of Americans under 50 have lost a parent, and the proportion only falls from there when considering younger age groups (although the pandemic has tragically changed those statistics somewhat). Even fewer have lost a child, sibling, or partner in young adulthood. If you’ve lost a parent or other close loved one as a young adult, you may not know many people your age who share your experience and can relate to your grief. While it’s not a replacement for grief counseling, The Dinner Party was founded to fill the gap in support for grieving young adults with virtual meet-ups. While you don’t have to bring any actual food, you certainly can if your dinner table is feeling lonely. This completely free nonprofit connects young people from across the U.S to one another, so they can grieve, remember, and even laugh together. The Dinner Party was founded by two friends who had each lost a parent in their 20s and struggled to relate—or relay their experiences—to their peers. What began as their own personal potluck for young adults who had lost someone evolved into a nationwide network of in-person parties and then, during the pandemic, a fully online constellation of virtual tables. When you sign up for The Dinner Party, you can choose to “pull up a chair” to existing “tables,” some of which are open to anyone dealing with any sort of loss, while others are for only specific groups, such as survivors of suicide deaths, adult orphans, or BIPOC or LGBTQIA+ folks. If you don’t see a group that fits your situation, you can join a waitlist or, if you prefer one-on-one connection, The Dinner Party’s staff will help match you to a peer through its “Buddy System.” User Satisfaction & Testing Insights We have not had the opportunity to survey any users of The Dinner Party yet, but we recognize this service’s importance, and after consulting with three licensed therapists, we felt the service was important to include on this list. “As a young adult who has experienced a loss that does not usually affect your age group, like the loss of a parent or a child, you might feel alone in your grief,” says Hannah Owens, LMSW, a subject matter expert. “The Dinner Party therefore provides the important service of connecting you with others who understand your loss, which can be imperative in working through your grief and learning to keep living without your loved one.” Best for Teens : Teen Counseling Teen Counseling Learn More Key Specs Price: $240 to $360 per month Insurance Accepted?: NoTypes of Therapy: Individual therapy for teens, individual therapy for parents, family therapy Why We Chose It Teenagers experience grief differently from adults, and deserve the guidance and support of professionals like those at Teen Counseling, who specialize in recognizing the feelings under the surface after a loss. Pros & Cons Pros Many of its therapists who specialize in grief Over 13,000 licensed therapists specializing in teen care Affordable Options for family counseling and counseling for teens’ parents Cons Teens and their caregivers can’t choose therapists Insurance not accepted Requires parental or guardian consent Overview A loss early in life disrupts the already turbulent teenage years in ways that may not fit neatly into the adult image of grief. Teens are still going through developmental changes that alter the way their grief presents and potentially put them at risk for further mental health risks. Teen Counseling employs more than 13,000 therapists—with staff in every state—who specialize in adolescent mental health and can help teenagers (and their families) understand what they are going through. Teens can sign up for counseling themselves, but will need parental or guardian consent to begin sessions if they are under 18. Whether you are a teen signing yourself up, or a parent initiating therapy for your adolescent child, you’ll fill out an intake form that will include a question about why you or your teen is seeking therapy; You can select “loss of a loved one.” After providing this and other basic information, such as age, gender identity, and location, you’ll be matched with a licensed therapist. If you’re a parent signing up on behalf of your teen, it’s at this point that you’ll be able to invite your child to join the therapy platform. Once the teen and therapist have a shared therapy “room,” parents will no longer have access to these communications. A teen can then choose to have weekly sessions with their therapist via live chat, phone, or video, along with unlimited asynchronous chat five days a week. Whichever platform they choose, the cost will be between $60 and $90 per session, billed monthly (and again, using surge pricing, like parent company BetterHelp). User Satisfaction & Testing Insights Teen Counseling users who responded to our survey were split on the ease of this sign-up process: 59% said it was easy or very easy, 35% rated it neutrally, and 6% found it challenging. However, once sign-up was out of the way, 85% of Teen Counseling users rated it positively overall and an equal proportion said their therapists were well qualified. Eighty-eight percent of users rated Teen Counseling better than services they’d used in the past. Fifteen percent of the 105 Teen Counseling users we surveyed told us they were seeking help specifically for grief and loss. Our testing of Teen Counseling was equally positive. In fact, one of our Teen Counseling testers who tried the service with her teenage son reported that “he said he enjoyed talking to his therapist and that she was giving him ‘a different way to look at things’ that he hadn't thought about before.” She also reported that “he indicated that he wanted to keep engaging in therapy using the Teen Counseling platform even after this review was complete.” Best for Children : Little Otter Little Otter Learn More Key Specs Price: $200 per session, plus one-time $90 consultation Insurance Accepted?: Kaiser Permanente only; reimbursement available for othersTypes of Therapy: Individual therapy for kids, parent coaching, family therapy Why We Chose It With Little Otter, you’ll get an entire team and detailed care plan to assess and counsel your child through grief, while helping you learn how best to support them as a parent or guardian. Pros & Cons Pros Personalized care plans for kids Providers can help kids process and work through grief Parent and family sessions available Psychiatric services available Cons Does not accept insurance (except Kaiser Permanente) Only available in 11 states and Washington, D.C. Expensive Overview Children only begin to understand the concept of death between ages 5 and 7, and that confusion can complicate their ability to accept and cope with the loss of a loved one, particularly a sibling or parent. The licensed child psychologists, clinical social workers, and psychiatrists at Little Otter are powerful allies as you and your little one navigate their grief. Little Otter prides itself on being selective; it only hires the top 4% of applicants. The providers are all specialists in child mental health and family systems and are well qualified, according to 79% of users we surveyed. The company works with children from infancy through age 14, putting together a team and care plan to ensure that as a child gets counseling, parents, co-parents or guardians get coaching to stay in the loop about how best to support their young kid through grief. Little Otter approaches the mental health care of a child as a family-involved process, and offers sessions with parents alone or along with their kid. The company also offers psychiatry and medication management. However, it must be noted that prices at Little Otter are steep. The intake fee is $90, and one 45-minute session with a therapist is $200. An initial 75-minute psychiatry evaluation is $500, and each 30-minute follow-up session is $250. You can also buy bundles of four or 12 therapy sessions for $680 and $1920, respectively. User Satisfaction & Testing Insights Three-quarters of the Little Otter users we surveyed rated the company’s services positively and 81% said Little Otter compared positively to other services they’d used in the past. Fourteen percent of the 105 users we surveyed sought services through Little Otter because of grief and loss. If you’re considering signing up for Little Otter, you should be aware that sessions are not cheap, and it may take three or more preliminary sessions—during which a therapist comes up with a care plan and establishes your child’s and family’s baseline—before the core therapy really begins. Still, when we tested the service ourselves, we were pleased with the services we received at Little Otter. “After completing an introductory session and two sessions with one of its experts, I was impressed with the company’s attention to detail and the quality of parental coaching I received,” said one of our testers, while another noted that her 10-year-old daughter quickly developed a rapport with her therapist, who was able to help her talk through some difficult feelings. Best for Flexibility : Thriveworks Learn More Key Specs Price: $15 to $40 per session with insurance; $99+ without Insurance Accepted?: YesTypes of Therapy: Individual, couples, teen, and family therapy Why We Chose It Thriveworks sets you up for successful grief counseling by letting you pick your own provider based on their availability and bios (rather than relying on sometimes impersonal algorithms), and by offering flexibility in scheduling, so that you can receive as much care as you need while you grieve. Pros & Cons Pros Schedule as many sessions with a therapist as you like Parent and family sessions available Diverse therapists Cons Accepts a limited number of major insurance plans Availability varies widely from state to state Expensive Overview As you move through the phases of your grief, your needs may shift. Thriveworks’s unique scheduling system offers you the flexibility to schedule sessions with your therapist as often or infrequently as you want. Thriveworks has more than 2,000 licensed therapists and clinical social workers in nearly every state in the U.S. (although the number of providers available varies widely from location to location). One of its key contrasts with competitors is that your online grief counseling process begins with choosing your own therapist. You will need to enter your location, and can choose “grief/loss” as what specialty you are seeking. You’ll then be shown the bios and availability of appropriate therapists and can book your first session. Session pricing, which ranges from about $15 to $40 with insurance and starts at $99 without, is a la carte, so you don’t need to commit to a specific frequency or number of appointments. You can go online and book time with your therapist whenever they are available. User Satisfaction & Testing Insights Ninety percent of Thriveworks users we surveyed said the care they received there was excellent, good, or very good, and 78% said their therapist met most or all of their needs. Eighty-five percent of users rated Thriveworks highly for having diverse therapists; 86% said that the company’s services compared favorably to others they’d used, and 15% specifically sought care for grief and loss. When we tested Thriveworks ourselves, we found the Thriveworks therapists to be genuinely caring and attentive. One of our testers did say the price tag was too high, but more than three-quarters of users we surveyed said the service was worth the money. Best for Loss of a Child : Compassionate Friends Learn More Key Specs Price: FreeInsurance Accepted?: N/ATypes of Therapy: Group therapy for individuals and families Why We Chose It Compassionate Friends is a dedicated network of virtual live chat support groups offering a safe space for parents, grandparents, and siblings reeling from the death of a child. Pros & Cons Pros Free grief service Support available specifically for child loss Open to parents, grandparents, and siblings Frequent meeting times Cons Not available 24/7 (except via Facebook) Moderators are not licensed professionals Groups are live chat only (no Zoom meetings) Overview There are few shocks more severe than the loss of a child, which leaves the bereaved feeling as if time is moving out of order. Through Compassionate Friends, you can connect with others who are also going through the unimaginable. The nonprofit organization hosts daily, virtual live chat groups for mourning parents, grandparents, and siblings of children who have passed away. Groups meet primarily in the mornings or evenings and are completely free to join. While they are not led by licensed professionals, they are guided by vetted moderators who have been through the loss of a child. Compassionate Friends is not a substitute for professional counseling, but it can be a great source of peer support. If you need an empathetic ear between the hours of the organization’s meetings, you can join its Facebook groups for 24/7 chat access. User Satisfaction & Testing Insights Because Compassionate Friends is a volunteer-based peer-support organization, it was not included in our surveys of online therapy companies, but this long-standing charity has brought comfort to many grieving loved ones since its inception as a series of in-person meetings in the U.K. in 1969. “Because the loss of a child brings such specific and intense grief, it’s incredibly important for those experiencing that loss to have a way to connect to others who have been through the same thing and can help guide them through this tragedy,” says Owens. Best for Peer Support : Grief in Common Grief in Common Learn More Key Specs Price: $0.99 per month for live chat; $75+ per session for individual grief coaching; $20 to $25 per session for monthly groupsInsurance Accepted?: No Types of Therapy: Individual counseling; peer support Why We Chose It Grief in Common is an affordable one-stop shop for live chat and support groups that can provide peer support during grief, as well as individual coaching to help you cope with a loss. Pros & Cons Pros Some features are free Live chat, group, and individual support options Large library of resources Cons Not staffed by licensed professionals Support groups are more expensive than some competitors Overview If you’re unsure about what you need in the wake of a loss, you’re not alone. That’s why Grief in Common offers a host of different forms of support groups, open to anyone who is grieving, at a low cost. When you sign up for Grief in Common, you’ll be asked to create a profile that describes you and the loss you are coping with. This facilitates the website’s “Make a Connection” function, which allows individual members to find other grievers they might relate to. Grief in Common’s open-ended live chat is available to anyone who is coping with a loss, 24/7. You can also opt to join drop-in weekly general grief support groups or monthly specific groups. Or, you can schedule a one-on-one session with a “grief coach.” While these coaches are not necessarily licensed professionals, they are people with experience in supporting those who are dealing with a loss. Grief in Common has a library of resources for free and joining the live chat costs only about $1 per month. Weekly general grief groups meet over Zoom and cost $20 per session. There are also dedicated monthly Zoom support groups for particular kinds of loss (such as loss of parents) and seminars, each of which cost $25. For individual support from a grief coach, Grief in Common offers a free 15-minute consultation. Each 55-minute appointment thereafter is $75. User Satisfaction & Testing Insights While Grief in Common is not technically an online grief therapy company (so not one we could survey users about), it maintains an active and broad platform of thousands of members and we felt it was an important resource to include on our list. “Finding peer support after a loss can be incredibly bolstering for many people,” notes Owens, “and being able to connect with those who have experienced the same type of loss as you can make grieving feel easier and less lonely.” Best for Support Groups : Circles+ Circles Learn More Key Specs Price: $79 per month Insurance Accepted?: No Types of Therapy: Group therapy; peer support Why We Chose It Circles offers the best of both worlds in online grief support: professional guidance in a group setting. Pros & Cons Pros Closed groups specifically for those experiencing grief/loss Chat available 24/7 Moderators are licensed professionals Free additional meetings available Cons Does not accept insurance Support groups are more expensive than some competitors Overview A peer support group is not a replacement for therapy, and therapy cannot provide the same particular kind of comfort that you might find among people going through the same thing you are. But Circles can provide a combination of the two, with closed, tight-knit support groups guided by licensed professionals. Circles operates online and via Apple or Android apps. Upon signing up for its free version, you’ll be able to choose topics you’re interested in drop into relevant peer-led support groups. Topics include grief as well as divorce/separation, parenting, LGBTQIA+, and many more. But the company also offers support for two topics on its premium Circles+ platform: grief/loss and divorce/separation. With the $79 per month subscription (you get a free one-week trial), you’ll be matched with a group of no more than 10 other people coping with the loss of a loved one, based on similar needs, identities, and schedules. Each group is led by a grief counselor or therapist through 12 weekly live video sessions. After the initial 12-week program, group members can continue meeting for as long as they want. Members also have 24/7 access to a live private chat room. User Satisfaction & Testing Insights Eighty percent of the 105 Circles users we surveyed rated Circles positively overall, and 77% said that the group support services met all or most of their needs. According to 83% of users, the professionals who led their Circles groups were well qualified, and 80% said the service was a good value for the money. Ten percent of Circles users we surveyed turned to Circles because of grief and loss. Our Circles tester felt that her group facilitator “was lovely, welcoming, funny, and personable,” and that she “felt very heard, supported, and emotionally buoyed by the 60-minute session.” Best With Insurance : LifeStance LifeStance Health Learn More Key Specs Price: Copay with insurance, $150 to $300 per session withoutInsurance Accepted?: YesTypes of Therapy: Individual therapy and psychiatry, teen therapy, group and family therapy Why We Chose It If you are insured, Lifestance can provide you and your family with an affordable full spectrum of individual and group care to help you cope with grief in the aftermath of a loss. Pros & Cons Pros Group, teen, and family therapy available Offers support groups Accepts most major insurance coverage Psychiatry and medication management available Cons Costly without insurance Not available in every state Overview Grief can trigger a series of additional stressors, including the financial burdens a family often endures following the loss of a loved one. Grief counseling can be much more affordable through your insurance—often costing only your copay—and LifeStance offers a full range of insurance-covered care for you and your family. LifeStance employs about 5,600 licensed therapists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, and psychiatrists who are trained to address the mental health concerns that may arise as you grieve a loss. The company offers both in-person and virtual therapy sessions in 34 states. You can choose one-on-one therapy sessions for yourself or your children, or family sessions. LifeStance can also connect you with one of its grief support groups (although these only meet in person; the company’s website and providers can help you find one in your area). LifeStance can also take care of your medication management or psychiatric needs. While individual grief therapy sessions can cost anywhere from $150 to $300 out of pocket, the company accepts most insurance plans, so you may only be responsible for your copay. User Satisfaction & Testing Insights Of the 105 LifeStance users who took our survey, 12% said that grief was the primary reason they sought counseling. The company had an 88% approval rating among users surveyed, and 90% said their therapists’ qualifications were good, very good, or excellent. Best Without Insurance : E-Therapy Cafe E-Therapy Cafe Learn More Key Specs Price: $45 to $55 per sessionInsurance Accepted?: NoTypes of Therapy: Individual therapy, couples therapy Why We Chose It Founded by a military spouse, E-Therapy Cafe is especially attuned to the needs of those experiencing grief and trauma—and offers counseling without insurance for affordable prices. Pros & Cons Pros Individual and couples therapy available Affordable out-of-pocket fees Expertise with identities including veterans and members of the LGBTQIA+ community Cons Does not accept insurance No support groups Overview After experiencing a loss, you might feel stuck in your grief. “Getting unstuck” is the central mission of E-Therapy Cafe. The company was founded by a military spouse and licensed counselor, Jude Black, PhD, when she struggled to find reliable online support for herself and her husband as they bounced around the country and, in his case, overseas for deployments in Afghanistan. E-Therapy Cafe’s goal is to use its HIPAA-compliant platform to help its clients move forward from anything holding them back from living life to the fullest, including grief, trauma, anxiety, and relationship issues—all problems that can accompany a loss. Whether you want individual or couples counseling, you can subscribe for a membership with discounted rates—$55 for a single 30-minute live chat, live video, or virtual journal session, and $45 to $49 per session of any type of session with monthly subscription. You can also pay $50 for a single trial session. E-Therapy Cafe does not accept insurance, but it aims to give clients flexibility by allowing them to downgrade, freeze, or cancel their memberships anytime (within 24 hours of an appointment or renewal). User Satisfaction & Testing Insights E-Therapy Cafe scored highly in our survey, with 94% of the 105 clients we surveyed rating it positively. Seventy-seven percent said that, if they had to find a new therapist, they would start their search with E-Therapy Cafe again, and 82% would recommend the company’s online therapy services to a friend. Ninety percent of our survey participants said their therapists were well qualified and 80% said E-Therapy Cafe was a good value. Ten percent of E-Therapy Cafe users sought counseling specifically for grief. When we tested E-Therapy Cafe, we also found it to be very helpful. “To an almost overwhelming degree, E-Therapy Cafe coaches and therapists have a bountiful mix of certifications, specializations, and training,” said one of our testers. She was ultimately able to find “someone who created a therapeutic alliance that I felt was both safe and productive.” Final Thoughts There are a host of companies and nonprofits providing online grief counseling and support groups to act as a salve as you cope with the loss of a loved one. While choosing the best resource for grief counseling for you or your family is ultimately a highly personal decision, Teladoc takes our top spot for individual grief counseling, thanks to the professionalism of its providers and consistently high scores across our user surveys. If you’re looking for a modern platform on which to meet with an intimate virtual peer grief support group, search no further than Circles. If you are searching for affordable online grief counseling but don’t have insurance, E-Therapy Cafe has a robust staff of licensed professionals to offer guidance through your grief. And if you want the flexibility to choose whether live chat, video, or phone counseling is best suited to how you’re feeling, BetterHelp offers all three ways to communicate with one of the many staff therapists there who are skilled at helping clients process their grief. Compare the Best Online Grief Counseling Company Cost Accepts Insurance? Types of Therapy Teladoc Best for Individual Counseling $99 per session without insurance Yes Individual therapy, couples therapy, psychiatry BetterHelp Best for Live Chat $60-$90 per week No Individual therapy The Dinner Party Best for Young Adults Free N/A Peer support Teen Counseling Best for Teens $60-$90 per week No Teen therapy Little Otter Best for Children $200 per session, $90 one-time consultation fee Only Kaiser Permanente; provides superbills for reimbursement Individual therapy for kids, parent coaching, family therapy Thriveworks Best for Flexibility $15-$40 per session with insurance, $99 per session without Yes Individual, couples, teen, family therapy Compassionate Friends Best for the Loss of a Child Free N/A Groups for individuals and families Grief in Common Best for Peer Support $0.99 per month for live chat, $75 per session for individual grief coaching, $20-$25 for monthly groups No Individual therapy, peer support Circles Best for Support Groups $79 per month No Group therapy, peer support LifeStance Best With Insurance Copay with insurance, $150-$300 per session without Yes Individual therapy/psychiatry, teen therapy, group and family therapy E-Therapy Cafe Best Without insurance $45-$55 per session No Individual and couples therapy Guide to Choosing the Best Online Grief Counseling How Is Grief Counseling Different From Other Forms of Talk Therapy? Online grief counseling, when done right, should feel much like meeting face-to-face with a therapist or other provider trained to support clients through grief. Grief counselors assist clients in understanding the root and nature of the emotions that the loss of a loved one brings up (including anger, sadness, guilt, and many others), learning healthy coping strategies for when these feelings arise, and moving on to continue their lives with acceptance of the loss. In addition to these coping skills, one of the most important functions grief counseling plays is to provide you with a space to grieve without feeling isolated. While a grief counselor or therapist can certainly offer this validation and comfort, many people find connecting with others who “get it” through grief support groups to be invaluable for stemming feelings of isolation and loneliness that a loss can bring on. Is Online Grief Counseling Right for You? Grief counseling can help anyone who has experienced a loss to move on while honoring the life of the one they’ve lost. However, it may be particularly useful if your grief is impacting your day-to-day life by, for example, making it difficult to get out of bed and go about your daily tasks or leading you to pull away from friends and family. Sharing what you’re going through and being open to support from others—whether peers or professionals—can help you process your grief, but it can be a vulnerable process. Choose the provider or group that you feel will create a safe space for you to talk about your experience. Compare Online Grief Counseling When looking for online grief counseling, there are many factors to keep in mind: Price: Some forms of grief support, such as peer-led groups, are free, while professional counseling can cost up to hundreds of dollars per month. Choose a form of counseling that suits your needs, but will not add further stress to your life by straining your finances.Availability: Consider how often and immediately you need counseling. Some busy platforms may not be able to pair you with a grief counselor for weeks or may only offer monthly sessions. On the other hand, some platforms let you drop into grief support groups or live-chat with a provider immediately. Platforms: If you are primarily online via your smartphone, be sure that the counseling platform you choose is compatible with iOS or Android. Types of therapy/counseling: Grief counseling can be done one-on-one with a licensed provider, alongside your family, or in a peer-led group with or without a moderator. If your whole family is reeling from a loss, you may want to consider a grief counseling company that caters to families. If you don’t know anyone who has experienced a similar type of grief, a group setting may give you a better support network.Therapist qualifications: Aside from peer-led groups, each of the companies listed here has qualified therapists and counselors. But, depending on the depth of the impact of your loss on your mental health, you may want to look for a company that employs psychologists or psychiatrists, especially if you need medication management. Support groups: Support groups may be led by a licensed professional who can guide the conversation productively, but there is more likely to be a fee associated with attending these groups. Others are free and are suitable for those who are looking for peers with whom to connect more than a professional to address complicated grief. Insurance: If you have insurance, choosing a grief counseling provider who accepts your plan can stem the costs of therapy. A number of companies don’t accept insurance but have priced counseling sessions to make them relatively accessible to uninsured folks. What If I'm Having Thoughts of Harming Myself? If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, text or call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. This service is available 24/7 in English and Spanish, free of charge. If you are struggling now, do not wait to find an online therapist or counseling group. Frequently Asked Questions What Type of Therapy Is Best for Grief? That depends on your needs. Many types and techniques can be useful in grief counseling, but cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is commonly used to support people who are grieving because it can help you understand the feelings underlying negative thought patterns, and learn how to alter those thoughts and behaviors. Therapists may also employ acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help you move on from a loss with warm remembrance rather than anger or guilt, while group therapy’s primary aim is to quell feelings of isolation. Trauma therapy may be necessary if your grief has become complicated and is interfering with daily life. How Much Does Online Grief Counseling Cost? Some services—particularly grief support groups—are completely free. If you have insurance and it is accepted by your provider, you may not have to pay anything for care, or be responsible for only your copay. Most grief counseling services cost between $50 and $400 a month, depending on the type, provider, location, and frequency of counseling you choose. How Is Online Grief Counseling Different From Therapy? Generally speaking, counseling is a short-term solution to a current emotional problem, while therapy is longer-term and is more focused on the roots of issues and how they affect you today. Grief counselors may employ many of the same techniques as a general therapist, including methods from cognitive behavioral therapy. Not all counselors are licensed therapists, but are highly qualified as licensed clinical social workers, nurse practitioners, or clinical counselors.Seeing these providers or joining a support group online should be much like doing so in person, but with the added benefit of privacy and scheduling flexibility. There is not yet a wealth of data on the effectiveness of online versus traditional grief counseling, but so far studies find that virtual grief counseling is highly beneficial to users, and likely comparable to in-person sessions. Does Insurance Cover Online Grief Counseling? If your insurance covers therapy, it may cover grief counseling as well. A number of online grief counseling companies and platforms accept insurance, but much like general therapy, many do not. If the platform you choose does accept insurance, you may only be responsible for your copay. On the other hand, companies that don’t accept insurance are often priced more affordably and many accept health saving account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA) payments. Methodology For this roundup of best online grief counseling, we examined 55 different online therapy companies and 25 online therapy directories, as well as available online support groups and peer support services. We focused on companies that provided grief counseling specifically, as well as companies that offer peer support for grief and loss. When choosing these companies, we focused on the type of service they offered, which services offered that were specifically pertinent to grief and loss, cost, accessibility, whether they accepted insurance, and where their services were available. VeryWell Mind / Design by Amelia Manley Article Sources Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Sabo S, Johnson S. Pandemic disrupted historical mortality patterns, caused largest jump in deaths in 100 years. U.S. Census Bureau. Longbottom S, Slaughter V. Sources of children’s knowledge about death and dying. Phil Trans R Soc B. 2018;373(1754):20170267. doi:10.1098/rstb.2017.0267 Zuelke AE, Luppa M, Löbner M, et al. Effectiveness and feasibility of internet-based interventions for grief after bereavement: systematic review and meta-analysis. JMIR Ment Health. 2021;8(12):e29661. doi:10.2196/29661 Edited by Hannah Owens Hannah Owens Hannah Owens is the Mental Health/General Health Editor for performance marketing at Verywell. She is a licensed social worker with clinical experience in community mental health. Learn about our editorial process and Simone Scully Simone Scully Simone is the health editorial director for performance marketing at Verywell. She has over a decade of experience as a professional journalist covering mental health, chronic conditions, medicine, and science. Learn about our editorial process See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies