Rethink My Therapy Online Counseling Review

Founded in 2018 by Connor Galic, Rethink My Therapy is a New Jersey-based company relatively new to the online therapy scene compared to Talkspace and BetterHelp. However, it has upped the game by offering more affordable subscription prices than its bigger, older rivals and a free seven-day trial.  

Rethink My Therapy also stands out for being very comprehensive: The company offers individual talk therapy and couples therapy, family therapy, and psychiatric medication management. Plus, since Rethink My Therapy is part of the larger company Rethink My Healthcare, you can also have access to virtual primary care.

First Impressions and Sign-up Process 

On first impression, Rethink My Therapy’s website isn’t that impressive. With a grey background, blue, black, and red fonts, and very few visuals, the website feels dated, especially for a company founded in 2018. This could discourage potential customers, especially compared to some of its competitors' inviting, sleek websites, such as Talkspace and BetterHelp. 

That said, the website isn’t difficult to navigate. Scrolling down the home page, you get a relatively thorough explanation of how Rethink My Therapy’s services work, what the therapists can help with, and a pretty detailed FAQ section. The top menu includes information about the different types of services you can sign up for, additional FAQs, pricing information, and additional resources, such as an “Assessments” page, which provides free assessments you can fill out and use as conversation starters with your therapist or psychiatrist. 

You begin by creating a user account with your name, email, and phone number. Like most signup processes, the site will verify your email and then ask you about some goals for therapy and the symptoms you are experiencing. 

What sets the company apart from most of the companies we reviewed, though, is that they begin by giving you a seven-day trial. As a result, while you will enter your billing information during signup, you can rest assured that you won't be charged for a whole week. If you aren't impressed right away, you can cancel without spending a dime. 

Once your account is activated, you can search through a directory of therapists available in your state and read through their bios to pick the one you want to work with. Unlike some larger companies where an algorithm will either make recommendations or choose for you, you can pick whatever therapist you want, provided they have availability for a session. However, one thing to note is that appointment wait times will depend on the therapist's availability; thus, it's possible that you might find someone you like but discover that they aren't available to see you for a while.  

According to the website, the wait time for an initial appointment with a therapist can be as much as seven days—roughly the same time as your free trial, which is disappointing.

Cost 

Rethink My Therapy offers very affordable subscription prices for its services, especially compared to some of its bigger rivals. Compared to all 33 companies we reviewed, they had some of the lowest prices of all, especially for therapy plans that involve live, individual video sessions with a therapist.

You are also not locked into a set number of sessions either, like with many other companies: You can schedule as many sessions as you want as long as your therapist is available. If you sign up for couples therapy, you also can schedule both individual and joint sessions with your partner—something that most couples therapy plans do not offer.

What Subscription Plans Do They Offer?

The company offers three different subscription plans, all offering 30- to 60-minute sessions with a therapist depending on the needs of the client:

1. The single plan: This costs $99 per month and includes 24/7 access to virtual primary care and $0 copays for access to a therapist or psychiatrist as needed for virtual live sessions.
2. The couples plan: The cost is $129 per month and gives you two individual accounts where you can have 24/7 access to virtual primary care, $0 copay for individual or joint virtual therapy or psychiatry sessions. 
3. The family/children's program: This costs $159 per month and includes up to four individual accounts for 24/7 access to virtual primary care, $0 copay for therapy or psychiatry sessions. It will also soon include unlimited access to interactive learning, webinars, and communities. 

Is There a Free Trial?

Everyone gets a free seven-day trial when they sign up for one of Rethink My Therapy’s plans. 

Does Rethink My Therapy Accept Insurance?

Rethink My Therapy does not accept insurance or work with any insurance companies. According to the website, Rethink My Therapy says that insurance gets in the middle of providing real care. That's why they keep their prices so affordable.

Can You Change or Cancel Your Subscription?

According to the website, you can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel your subscription at any time. You can also cancel or reschedule your therapy sessions without having to pay a fee. 

It is important to note that we did have some questions regarding Rethink My Therapy’s customer service when it comes to altering or canceling a plan, but since they did not respond to our questionnaire or our attempts to contact them via email or phone, we were unable to get clarity.

Are There Discounts Available?

There are no discounts available for groups like veterans or college students, but you might be able to get a reduced rate if your employer works with Rethink My Therapy. Contact your HR department or the support team at Rethink My Therapy to find out if your employer offers financial assistance through this service.

Ease of Use

Eighty-eight percent of the users we surveyed said that Rethink My Therapy was very easy or easy to use. All sessions are easy to schedule through your client portal: Simply browse through the therapist bios, find your therapist, and schedule a session at an available time that works for you. Some therapists offer weekend and evening availability to help make therapy accessible to people, even if they work demanding job schedules. Eighty-eight of users said the video quality of these sessions was excellent or very good. 

Rethink My Therapy only offers live audio and video sessions, which could be a dea-lbreaker for people who are D/deaf or hard of hearing, those who work odd hours, and/or those who simply prefer chat sessions.

This is likely because Rethink My Therapy does not lock you into using one therapist, which gives you a lot of flexibility. You can simply switch therapists by booking a session with a new therapist with availability in the directory—no need to tell your old therapist, fill out a form, or even click a button to do a formal switching process.

Therapists' Qualifications and Quality of Care

When it came to choosing Rethink My Therapy, 90% of the users we surveyed said that the staff’s qualifications and expertise played a significant role in choosing the company.

The company website doesn’t state exactly how many therapists, psychiatrists, and other physicians are associated with the platform, but it does appear that there is a large, relatively diverse staff spread across all 50 states. It is possible, though, that you might have fewer therapists to choose from if you live in a state that has a smaller staff; we couldn’t test this, however, since the website only shows us the staff available in the state we said we were in. 

Rethink My Therapy only allows licensed therapists and board-certified psychiatrists to be associated with the platform, and they do verify each therapist’s education, license, and practice insurance. There are no life or business coaches. However, it is worth noting that the company is set up a little differently than some of the other companies we reviewed.

Therapists and psychiatrists are not staff; they are independent contractors. This means that each therapist might approach therapy with you slightly differently since they do not have standards set by the company (aside from the price you pay).

It does appear that some users switch therapists a few times before settling on someone to do therapy with:

• Thirty percent of the people we surveyed reported seeing two different therapists.
• Thirty-eight percent reported seeing three therapists.
• Thirty percent met with four or more therapists.

Because Rethink My Therapy did not return our company questionnaire, we don't know how long their staff generally stays with the company, so it is difficult to judge whether you might have issues with continuity of care. 

Types of Therapy Offered

Since Rethink My Therapy’s therapists are individual contractors, each therapist might use different techniques and approaches in session with you. 

The company also offers psychiatric services and medication management. 

Rethink My Therapy also offers additional mental health resources, such as blog posts, assessments, worksheets, and journaling guides to help personal growth or drive conversation during your therapy sessions.

Privacy Policies

On Rethink My Therapy’s website, it states that the company takes many steps to protect client privacy and data. 

The platform is HIPAA and HITECH compliant to increase personal information security. All personal information, including credit cards and personal identifying information, is encrypted, but since the company did not respond to our questionnaire and the website doesn’t go into detail, we do not know specifics about other safety measures they take, as we do with some of the other companies we reviewed. 

You can quickly obtain copies of your medical records from Rethink My Therapy by asking your therapist or psychiatrist and filling out a form. Rethink My Therapy does not allow users to be anonymous. The company knows who you are and makes efforts to verify your identity before using their services. 

Overall Client Satisfaction

Rethink My Therapy was one of the highest-rated services of all the 33 companies we reviewed, scoring highly across the board.

Eighty percent of the users rated the services they received through Rethink My Therapy as either very good or excellent, and 82% said its value was very good or excellent for the money spent.

According to our survey:

• Seventeen percent of the users we surveyed have used Rethink My Therapy for three to six months.
• Thirty-four percent have been clients for six to 12 months.
• Thirty-two percent have been clients for one to two years.

This suggests that a fairly good percentage of users stick with the company for a while, rather than look elsewhere. In fact, 88% of the users told us they were either likely or very likely to be working with a Rethink My Therapy therapist or psychiatrist 12 months from now.

Is Rethink My Therapy Right For You?

Rethink My Therapy stands out from the competition because it offers a range of therapy services, including individual therapy, psychiatry, couples therapy, and family therapy, for a very affordable rate. Plus, all therapy sessions are live, which allows you to do in-depth online therapy. 

However, since the therapy sessions are live and scheduled based on a therapist’s work hours, it might not work if you have a very unpredictable or demanding schedule. This is where an online therapy company with messaging services might be more advantageous. 

That said, Rethink My Therapy’s couple’s therapy is different from the competition because you have the option of scheduling individual and joint sessions with your partner, essentially getting two types of therapy in one. Services are also available to families, teenagers, and children as young as ten years old, though those under 18 will need a parent or guardian to create an account for them and give permission for services. 

Rethink My Therapy is also great if you want access to both psychologists and psychiatrists in one subscription. Many other companies charge an additional fee for psychiatry. 

However, Rethink My Therapy might not be a good choice for you if you need medications beyond antidepressants. For example, if you need medical services for issues like chronic pain or eating disorders as well as therapy, a service such as MD Live or Doctor on Demand may be a better fit.

Rethink My Therapy is also not designed to be an emergency service. People struggling with suicidal thoughts, who are in crisis, or need inpatient care are not suitable for this service. People with psychotic disorders or a history of psychosis are also not a good fit. 

Final Verdict

Rethink My Therapy stands out from the competition as an affordable and comprehensive online therapy service. It offers talk therapy, psychiatry, couples therapy, and family therapy monthly—and it doesn’t rely on messaging therapy to keep costs low. All sessions are live and between 30 and 60 minutes long.

However, it might not be a good choice if you work odd hours, have a busy schedule, or prefer a mixture of messaging and live sessions.

Methodology

Our methodology for evaluating online therapy companies is comprehensive and data-driven. To fairly and accurately review the best online therapy programs, we sent questionnaires to 33 companies and surveyed 100 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 website usability, sign-up process, subscription offerings, client privacy protections, and how easy it is to change therapists. We then looked at therapist qualifications, the types of therapy offered, quality of care, client-therapist communication options, session length, and the therapist assignment process. Finally, we looked at cost, value for money, whether the companies take insurance, overall user satisfaction, and the likelihood clients would recommend them.