Hers Online Therapy Review

In the United States, more than 1 in 5 cisgender women in the United States experienced a mental health condition in the past year, and that number runs higher among trans and nonbinary folks. In addition, some mental health conditions—including depressive and anxiety disorders—are more likely to affect people who identify as female. But female-identifying, trans, and nonbinary people also face additional barriers to mental health care treatment, including high costs, which prevent them from getting the care they need.

Enter Hers, a telehealth platform tailored to female-identifying people that aims to provide easy-to-access, affordable treatment for a wide range of mental health conditions, as well as for acne, hair loss, and sexual health. In order to determine how well the company lived up to this goal, we surveyed 105 users about their experience at Hers and I signed up to test the service myself. Here’s how the company fared against the competition. 

What Is Hers?

In 2018, Hers launched as the sister brand to Hims, which was founded the previous year by Andrew Dudum, Hilary Coles, Jack Abraham, and Joe Spector. As implied by the name, Hers is aimed at women and female-identifying clients. 

Like Hims, Hers was initially launched as a healthcare provider for sexual health and dermatology, offering prescriptions for conditions including acne, low sex drive, sexual dysfunction, and hair loss. In April 2020, both Hims and Hers added mental health services to their platforms. 

Initially, Hers only offered free mental health support groups, but it has since expanded its services to include one-on-one therapy ($99 per session), as well as psychiatric medication management services. 

Since its founding, Hers has received mixed coverage from the press as well as mixed reviews from users. For example, some medical professionals have expressed concern to news outlets that this type of self-service prescription medicine platform doesn’t allow for the necessary relationship between patient and doctor, nor for the monitoring that should come along with it. Other users online describe problems with the cost and billing practices. It is worth noting, however, that most of the negative press is associated with prescription medication services, not with talk therapy sessions.

What Services Does Hers Offer?

Hers only offers individual talk therapy and medication management. It does not offer couples or family therapy, though it does still offer its topic-focused support groups.

Who Is Hers For?

Hers’ mental health services are for anyone that is experiencing the following conditions:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Postpartum depression
• Sleep issues
• Burnout and stress
• General worry
• Trouble focusing

The company is also LGBQIA+ friendly, as evidenced by numerous blog posts on relevant issues that affect this community, as well as the fact that it works with many affirming and inclusive therapists.

How Much Does Hers Cost?

Hers does not offer a monthly therapy subscription plan, as some competitors do. Instead, you are billed per session. All talk therapy sessions are 50 minutes and cost $99.

Psychiatric treatment for anxiety and depression is available as a monthly subscription, costing $85 per month (or $49 per month if you sign up for a three-month subscription). 

The cost per therapy session at Hers is a bit higher than some of its competitors that offer monthly therapy plans, such as BetterHelp, but it is priced competitively against other companies that bill per session. 

Still, $99 per session—which amounts to roughly $400 a month if you have a weekly session, as is standard with therapy—may be too high for many Americans, especially right now. With the rising cost of essential items like groceries and gas, more people are being forced to make decisions about what to prioritize when their budget feels tight. In 2022, 41% of surveyed Americans shared they’d cut back on or canceled therapy because it was no longer affordable. 

This is likely why the Hers users we surveyed felt split on the affordability of the services, with 50% of the survey respondents rating it affordable and the other half saying $99 a session wasn’t affordable for them.

Does Hers Accept Insurance?

No, Hers does not accept insurance for either therapy or psychiatry and medication management, which may be a drawback for users who might otherwise be able to use their insurance to pay less than $99 per session. 

Eighty-eight percent of Hers users reported that they have health insurance, meaning there is a large number of users who would benefit from using their insurance to pay for mental health services. Nineteen percent of users said they wished Hers had therapists that accept insurance, and 7% reported that they discontinued services with Hers because they found a different therapist who accepted their insurance at another company.

Does Hers Offer Discounts?

A bar across the top of the homepage offers 70% off anxiety treatment. Hers also offers a discount on its monthly psychiatry subscription if you sign up for a three-month subscription. However, it does not offer financial aid for people who cannot afford its services. 

Navigating the Hers Website

I found the look and feel of the Hers website inviting, with a looped video of women doing “healthy” things like taking medicine and drinking green smoothies underneath the text “mental health care for real life” and a button to “start free consultation.” A navigation bar across the top of the screen offers links to “Anxiety,” “Depression,” “Hair,” “Birth Control,” and “More.”  However, because prescription medications appear to be its main service, finding its talk therapy options did require a little digging. It isn’t clear from the homepage what therapy options it offers or how much they cost.

Instead, the homepage is problem-oriented, directing visitors to select the condition they’re looking to treat. If you choose “anxiety” or “depression,” you're prompted to complete a mental health questionnaire before viewing treatment options. 

Completing the questionnaire isn’t the only way to view treatment options, though I found that by clicking the drop-down menus at the top of the page and then choosing “All Mental Health,” you can view details about therapy costs. 

Still, of the users we surveyed, 77% said they found the website easy to navigate. 

Hers also has a blog called Savoir Vivre, which adds new posts several times a week. The content is informative and easy to read, exploring topics like finding a therapist who is a good fit and signs of depression. 

The company is also on social media. Its Instagram account has a large following of 154,000 followers but low engagement with few comments. It posts a variety of content, including memes, educational reels, and mental health advocacy. 

Does Hers Have an App?

Yes, Hers has an app, which therapy users can use to manage their therapy schedule. It’s also possible to sign up for Hers in the app, which is convenient for therapy seekers who need a truly remote option or don’t have access to a laptop. Video calls can also be conducted using the app, which is available for both iOS and Android phones.

Blog articles are available through the app, too.

How Do You Sign Up for Therapy at Hers?

Hers dedicates a lot of attention to its medication services, and the therapy sign-up can’t be accessed from the home page. Instead, you must select “All Mental Health” from the “anxiety” or “depression” drop-down options on the horizontal menu at the top of the home page. From there, you select “Online therapy sessions” and then “Get Started.” The sign-up process at Hers is thorough, and it begins with a questionnaire. 

First it asks you to select your mood at the moment from eight emojis. 

From there, the questions became more detailed. I was guided through a series of prompts related to the state of my mental health with questions like, “In the last two weeks, how often have you been bothered by little interest or pleasure in doing things?” 

I also answered questions about my medical history, the prescriptions I take, and my goals for treatment. 

At the end of the questionnaire, I was given a score for depression and anxiety, rated on a scale of 1-27. 

Admittedly, at times while answering the questionnaire, I felt like I was asked to share more personal information than I was comfortable with considering I hadn’t even been matched with a therapist at this point. (For example, I was asked for dosages of the medications I’m taking.) Since the privacy policy states the website isn’t obligated to comply with HIPAA, the federal law protecting personal health information, it’s hard to not worry that the answers to these questions will be shared with third parties, including advertisers. 

Once I’d completed the sign-up, I was able to access a “Therapy Dashboard” that was personalized based on the information I provided. In this dashboard, I could look at my therapy history, as well as the results from the initial mental health questionnaire. Later I’d also be able to see the results of follow-up surveys I can voluntarily take at any time in this dashboard too.

Matching With a Therapist at Hers

Matching with a therapist is part of the sign-up process, and I was prompted to indicate my preferences first. During sign-up, Hers uses questions about gender identity, sexual orientation, and religious affiliation to narrow down potential therapists to best fit your needs. 

Unfortunately, Hers only had two therapists available in my state, so I chose the first therapist suggested to me. I wasn’t bothered by the limited options because the therapist I chose was qualified and specialized in offering therapy specific to my mental health condition.

Based on the user survey, it appears my experience of having limited therapist options might be an outlier, because 87% of our survey respondents said the number of quality clinicians available in their state was good, very good, or excellent. In addition, 72% said that all or most of their needs were met by their therapist at Hers.

How Do Therapy Sessions Work at Hers?

As noted above, Hers offers two types of mental health services: talk therapy and medication management. All sessions are conducted via live video call.

Therapy Sessions

The live video therapy sessions are 50 minutes long. There isn’t an option for a shorter session or chatting with your therapist through text or on the phone, as there is at some of the other companies we reviewed. 

You access your session through your therapy dashboard or the Hers app. After the session is complete, the credit card you provided is charged automatically. I found the software to be user-friendly during my sessions and I didn’t experience any issues with connectivity. 

During my session, my therapist was fully engaged and sympathetic. They gave knowledgeable responses to my questions concerning my specific mental health goals, taking time to ask detailed questions to better understand my circumstances. I met with this therapist twice and felt I was beginning to form a connection with them. Talking with them felt natural and there were no distractions in their video background that kept me from feeling relaxed during our session.

My therapist explained that most first sessions are spent getting to know each other and discussing the client's goals. However, they suggested we spend a little time talking about my background and then dive right into a few practical suggestions for the issues I brought up during the session. I appreciated this approach as I felt I was benefiting from therapy right away.

Medication Management

If medication is part of your mental health treatment, prescriptions for anxiety and depression medication are sent through the mail directly to your home.

At Hers, these medications, like those prescribed for sexual health, skin health, and hair loss,  are prescribed by board-certified medical doctors, not psychiatrists. Medication management is a subscription service, with prices starting at $85 per month for a monthly subscription or $49 per month for a three-month subscription (though the site advertises your first month for only $25). Before a medication is prescribed, you must schedule a consultation. The consultations are free, as are all follow-up appointments and check-ins via messaging for the month. If you’re prescribed an antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication, it is sent to your home on a monthly basis. I did not sign up for medication management and the FAQs on this service are limited, so I could not find out how long medication management sessions are or whether doctors prescribe medication after just one visit.

While I didn’t test out this part of the company, I did find multiple complaints about the Hers medication management services. Users complained recurring prescriptions were difficult to cancel, and many found charges from Hers on their bank statements after canceling their medication subscriptions.

What Happens If I Miss a Session at Hers?

If you miss a session, you’re charged a no-show fee of $99, the full rate of a therapy session. Hers does, however, send several reminders before each session, both to your email and phone, which makes it easier to keep track of appointments. 

You can cancel your session ahead of time or reschedule without penalty as long as you do it more than 24 hours before your scheduled session.

Switching Therapists at Hers

The process of switching therapists is fairly simple. Once you’re in your dashboard, you can indicate that you’d like to switch therapists by clicking the drop-down menu on the top right of your current therapist's avatar. 

Unfortunately, just because the process is easy doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to switch if there aren’t more than a handful of therapists licensed to practice in your state. 

There were only two therapist options in my state, and the second hadn’t completed their profile with information about their experience (there wasn’t even a profile photo), so I chose not to switch. Personally, I felt uncomfortable committing to a 50-minute call when I knew little about the clinician.

Cancelling Therapy at Hers

Since each session is scheduled individually, there is no need to cancel your account if you’d like to discontinue therapy through Hers. Simply stop scheduling sessions and cancel any sessions you’ve already added to your calendar.

To avoid a penalty, you do need to cancel a full 24 hours before a scheduled session. Failure to do so will result in being charged a no-show fee of $99.

For medication management, because it is a subscription, you must log into your account, where you can change or remove items in your subscription (such as medication) or cancel a subscription. It is unclear whether you forfeit your remaining medication management sessions if you cancel mid-month.

Quality of Care and User Satisfaction

During my therapy sessions, I found my provider attentive and knowledgeable. They not only affirmed what I was experiencing but also shared homework I could realistically incorporate into my busy lifestyle. 

I felt the therapist I met with was able to meet all of my needs, and 38% of users surveyed said the same. An additional 34% of users expressed that their therapist was able to meet most of their needs, with 26% stating only some of their needs were met and a mere 2% saying not many of their needs were met. No one said they had a therapist who met none of their needs. 

When we asked survey respondents how they felt about their therapist, 43% said their therapist was understanding and 36% stated their therapist listened well. Additionally, 46% of surveyed users chose Hers because they felt the providers were more qualified when compared to other therapy services they used in the past.

Hers does not offer messaging between sessions between client and therapist, but this didn’t bother me. In fact, I really liked that the sessions were video calls, not text-based therapy as some platforms (namely Talkspace and BetterHelp) offer. In the past, I’ve used a company that allowed me to message my therapist, but I never used this feature because I found it difficult to find time in my day to send and respond to the messages between sessions. So I tended to just use the video call option, which is all Hers offers; I just found it more effective and I don’t think I’m the only one to feel this way. 

“Therapists can also more easily address all concerns that come up because they can talk through each one versus responding to long messages all at once,” explains Amy Marschall, PsyD, a clinical psychologist, speaking about live video sessions compared to messaging services. “Clients might feel frustrated if they send multiple messages in a row and the therapist misses some information or does not focus on what they perceive to be the biggest issue.” 

Privacy Policies at Hers

Hers states it uses 256-bit SSL/TLS encryption to keep client data secure. According to its privacy policy, clinicians agree to a provider-specific privacy policy that obligates them to keep their clients’ medical information secure. There are certain instances that legally allow for the sharing of your medical information, including if your clinician feels you are a danger to yourself or others, if they are providing a referral, or if they are seeking out a consultation. 

However, the website's privacy policy does state that the website itself isn’t obligated to comply with HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which is the federal law protecting personal health information). Reading the privacy policy required sifting through a variety of legalese, making it difficult to ascertain exactly what it means for them to have protected health care information without complying with HIPAA. 

In response to questions about their non-compliance with HIPAA, a spokesperson for Hers stated the company complies with state laws concerning the privacy and security of both consumer and health information. They asserted that some of these laws are more stringent than HIPAA.

“Medical records are maintained internally and subject to strict access controls, and it’s encrypted both in transmission and at rest,” the representative, who asked to not be identified, said. “The platform has security controls consistent with the standards established by HIPAA and NIST [the National Institute of Standards and Technology], so patients can rest assured we are working to protect their privacy from end to end on the platform.”

Additionally, the website states that the company doesn’t sell client information, but does use cookies to improve the user experience when on the platform.

Hers vs. Its Competitors

Hers offers online therapy that is priced competitively compared to other online services like BetterHelp and Talkspace. It does offer fewer services than BetterHelp and Talkspace, which both have options for couples therapy and therapy for teens (BetterHelp offers those services through its sister sites, Teen Counseling and ReGain). Both those companies also offer the option to message your provider anytime; Hers doesn’t have an option for you to contact your provider outside of scheduled video calls. 

I’m not certain these differences are necessarily negative, though. I think Hers focuses on providing convenient and accessible therapy, and it’s able to do that by keeping things simple. If you’re looking for something straightforward and easy to use, Hers could be a great option for you. Additionally, Hers might not have a lower price point like BetterHelp or Talkspace, but that is because they don’t offer low-cost, messaging-based services. As Dr. Marschall mentioned above, messaging-based therapy isn’t an adequate substitute for talk therapy.

In our survey, users rated the three services very similarly. For example, 24% of BetterHelp users stated the value of the service was excellent, while 26% of Hers users said the same about their service, and 28% of Talkspace users called their services excellent. Additionally, 92% of Hers users rated the company good, very good, or excellent overall, while 91% of Talkspace users and only 86% of BetterHelp users felt the same. 

Final Verdict

Hers is a good choice for someone who wants a low-fuss, accessible option for talk therapy. While the company’s services are not covered by insurance—and $99 a session may be too expensive for some—its a good option for someone who is under-insured or lacking insurance and who wants a pay-per-session option rather than a therapy subscription. Overall, I was satisfied with the service as a talk therapy platform, and generally, our users agreed.. 

Still, I was disconcerted by some online reports from previous users describing billing issues such as being overcharged for prescriptions or being charged after cancelling their prescription. Since many people don’t need medication management, Hers is good for users who will opt out of prescription services. I do recommend the talk therapy service with one caveat—it’s a good idea to do some digging first to see how many practitioners Hers works with in your state, as some states have few clinicians.

Methodology

To fairly and accurately review the best online therapy programs, we sent questionnaires to 55 companies and surveyed 105 current users of each. This allowed us to directly compare services offered by gathering qualitative and quantitative data about each company and its users’ experiences.

Specifically, we evaluated each company on the following factors: website usability, the sign-up and therapist matching processes, therapist qualifications, types of therapy offered, the service's quality of care, client-therapist communication options, session length, subscription offerings, client privacy protections, average cost and value for money, whether it accepts insurance, how easy it is to change therapists, overall user satisfaction, and the likelihood that clients would recommend them.

We also signed up for the companies in order to get a sense of how this process worked, how easy to use the platform is, and how therapy takes place at the company. We also worked with three subject matter experts to get their expert analysis on how suited this company is to provide quality care to therapy seekers.