Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Hi guys, and welcome to a new episode of Couch
Talks on You Need Therapy Podcast. My name is Kat.
I am the host, and if you are new to
Couch Talks, it is the special bonus episode of You
Need Therapy Podcast where I answer questions that you guys
send to me and you can send those two Katherine
at you Need Therapy podcast dot com. Now, before we
(00:31):
get into today's question, quick reminder that although I am
a therapist, this podcast does not serve as a replacement
or substitute for any actual mental health services. It's still
allowed to help, but it's not actually therapy. And each
week we do one question, and that's what we're gonna
do today. I always keep them anonymous, so you don't
(00:52):
have to worry about anybody finding out. If you don't
want people to know that you're giving information that is
very close to you, nobody's gonna know it's you unless
you actually put information in the email that would give
that away. Okay, so let's get into the question, because
I think this is a good one and I don't
(01:14):
think I've talked about this on the podcast before. So
here is our anonymous question. Hey, Kat, I'm curious your
thoughts on online therapy programs like Better Help and talk Space.
I live in a small town and we don't have
a lot of options nearby, so I've been thinking about
trying one of them out. What would be the biggest
(01:34):
difference between going with one of these programs versus seeing
a local in person therapist. I'm curious about your thoughts
and if you have any suggestions for those living in
towns without access to more options. Okay, Like I said,
I think this is a good question because it's one
that a lot of people have probably wondered before. We
see a lot of advertisements for things like Better Help
(01:58):
and talk Space. I talked a little bit about cerebral
which was mentioned in the Fake Science podcast I did
a couple weeks ago, and that one's a little different.
I don't know if they do therapy. I know they
do telehealth more like psychiatric appointments for medication and medication management.
I'm actually unsure if they do therapy. However, that is
one that I'm not going to put in the category
(02:20):
that I'm talking about today because it is very controversial
and they have a lot of ethical issues going on,
So I just probably wouldn't suggest we go down that path.
So as I answer this question, I'm talking more about
programs like Betterhelp and talk Space, And if you don't
know what those are, they are these online therapy programs
(02:40):
that you can sign up, and I think both of them,
I'm not sure the details of this, have like monthly
membership fees and you get to have a virtual therapist.
You can also do phone calls, which is interesting, and
you can text your therapist, and from what I understand,
you have a lot of access to them based on
(03:00):
the program that you choose. And again, these are all
online programs. They're big companies, so you can access them
wherever you are. So before I answered this, I will
say I don't have any actual experience working with these programs,
and I don't have anybody that I know of personally
(03:22):
that I know of that has used them that can
speak to them. So all of the information I'm giving
you is what I know from a distance and not
what I have experienced. Because I have not experienced these programs,
I can tell you my thoughts based off of the
consumptions of what I know. I also put a question
(03:43):
box up on my Instagram today to get feedback from
those who have used the programs, and I'm going to
share some of that to give you guys, just some
insight on what some other people have said, because a
lot of what I got was interesting and it wasn't
all one sided. Now, my initial thought when hearing this question,
because this does come up a lot with people in
(04:04):
my life or people that I know or that I'm
working with, when they're talking about getting maybe a friend
or a spouse or a family member wants to get
into therapy and they have asked about that. MY initial
thought is, if you have the ability, and that means
like there's the availability of the therapist, and you have the
financial means and all of that, I would start with
(04:28):
attempting to experience in person therapy. I think that virtual
therapy is such a valuable resource that we have access
to now. However, I do think it will always be
different than in person therapy. It's just it's different. I
can't fully explain it. It's something that you experience differently.
(04:50):
And I will also give credit to those who only
do virtual therapy. They might have developed different skills and
they can do it better then I can. But it
feels different as a client for me, and it very
much feels different. As a therapist, you have more limitations.
So if it's possible, I would always suggest doing that first.
The other thing I would say, and if that's not possible,
(05:14):
then you can disregard that. And then we're going to
move on to the next part, which is many local
therapists also offer virtual therapy. So if your reason for
using one of these programs is just because you want
virtual therapy, many local therapists offer virtual therapy. I can
see my clients virtually if they sleep in and are
(05:35):
running late, or if something happens and they have to
be home because they're going to delivery, or any reason
can come up. I can switch to virtual therapy very easily.
Like I said, I always prefer in person, but for
some people that just doesn't always work, and that's okay.
So if the only reason you're looking at one of
these programs is because you want virtual therapy, know that
(05:57):
there are people in your area that aren't part of
this programs that can also do virtual therapy. And they
don't even have to be local. So a therapist can
see a client anywhere in the states that they are
licensed in. So I'm only licensed in one state, so
I can see a client, any client in Tennessee. They
can live anywhere. They don't have to live in Nashville,
(06:18):
they don't have to live in my city. If they're
in Tennessee, then I can see them. And a lot
of therapists now are getting license in other states so
they can offer more virtual options to and widen their
ability to see clients outside of their own state. But
just because they're not in your city doesn't mean you
can't see them. So if there's a therapist that you
found that you really really like and you really want
(06:39):
to try out, but they live four hours away, you
can email them and ask if they do virtual therapy,
and you can see that therapist. Now, when it comes
to these online programs, they do have some benefits that
smaller practices can't always offer. I think the costs can
probably be one of the biggest differences. A lot of
(07:00):
private practice therapists do not take insurance for a lot
of reasons, and therapy can be quite expensive, especially if
you live in a bigger city. I know there's some
therapists around here that charge over two hundred dollars two
hundred and fifty dollars per session, and that's not doable
(07:21):
and reasonable for a lot of people, which I very
much understand. What these online programs do is you buy
from what I know, do some research on this, but
you buy more of a package and you pay per month,
and then you get certain things based on what package
you buy, so you can get probably more for your money,
more access to your therapist. Now, those packages might be
(07:46):
different based on where you are. I know Better Help
in the past has used flex pricing, which means the
price is change based on availability and based on your area,
so it's not a one size fits all. You might
have the same package as somebody else, but if you
sign up at a different time or live in a
different area, it might cost a different amount, So keep
(08:08):
that in mind. But for the most part, it's probably
going to be less expensive to see somebody through one
of these programs. You also, in these programs can request
to switch therapists if you don't like your therapist, which
we know the first person you go to isn't always
the best fit. The thing that I don't know that
you can do in these programs is actually request a
(08:29):
specific therapist. So usually when you're going to see somebody
in a regular practice outside in the world. You know
who you're going to go see, and you have picked
them out. You've probably looked at their website, you might
have gotten a referral from somebody. In these programs, they
set you up with somebody, so they do an intake,
they see what your needs are, what you're looking for,
(08:50):
and they're going to set you up with somebody who specializes,
hopefully in one of those programs. You can switch as
much as you want, but you don't get to say, hey,
I want to see Jessica. I mean, you might switch
enough time so that you're gonna end up seeing her,
but that's not exactly how it works. And then the
other thing that I would say is a pro for
this is the access anywhere. You can be anywhere and
(09:11):
get access to this if you have a phone and
you have internet, and so people who are in super
rural places can easily log onto this website, sign up,
and go. You don't have to do a lot of digging.
You don't have to do a lot of work, because
it can be hard, and it can be stressful, and
it can be overwhelming to just go out and look
for a therapist on the internet. This you just go
(09:33):
on the website and they kind of do the work
for you, so that is a benefit. Now, like I
said before, I don't have my own experience with these programs,
so I can't say too much about the quality of them.
I have heard things about therapists being underpaid, which I
don't know what the quality of care is like there.
I don't know what the training is like there. I
do know that these people are licensed and they are
(09:55):
real therapists, which is a plus. And you get to switched.
If you don't like your therapists, you can go to
somebody else. I will say, I would always encourage somebody
to find somebody in person that they can develop and
in person relationship first. However, if that is not an option,
this can be a good second or third option. I,
(10:17):
like I said, asked people online if they had ever
used these programs and if so, what their experience was like.
And I just want to read some of them because
they weren't all the same. And I thought that was
really surprising. I thought it was going to get either
all good or all bad, but they are really mixed.
And I don't know if that's helpful, but to me,
I hear it just depends and for a lot of people,
(10:40):
it might be worth a shot. The worst thing that
can happen as you stop doing it. So here's what
some people said some One person said it was awful
exclamation point. Another person said I received worksheet after worksheet
for self help slash therapy purposes. It was not my
cup of tea. Another person said I used tak a
(11:01):
treat for psychiatry. Visit if you want that info. It
was kind of strange. Another person said I use Subrebel
for a while. It'll do in a pinch, but not
the best standard of care. Another person not great, but
better than nothing. Somebody else Betterhelp for five months, love
being able to use it from home. Took four or
(11:21):
five tries to find a good match, So that's some
good information. You might have to try over and over
before you really give up. Another person said more like
talking to a friend than someone really diving in and
challenging me. Another person said, from a provider perspective, I'm
at LCSW been with Better Help for two years and
I love it, which is very interesting. So the people
that work there actually love working there. Another person said terrible.
(11:45):
Tried five different therapists and they seem stretched too thin
to care. Which actually was one of my worries of
I don't know if these therapists that are working are
overworked and underpaid. We have information from one person they
really liked it, and then that might not be the
same for everybody. Another person said, very impersonal, but easy
to navigate. Another person said, my sister uses it and
(12:05):
really likes it. Another person, I use better help and
loved it changed my life. Another I enjoyed it. My
therapist wasn't the best, but it opened the door for me,
and it was affordable. Another it has been life changing,
so many more options. Since I live in a relatively
small town, it's very convenient. Another person said I did
it for four weeks. It was expensive if I felt weird,
(12:27):
and I like my regular therapists via telehealth. Another not
a fan, would rather just be in person, but can't
afford it right now. Another I had a good experience,
but then my therapist left the platform. It was nice
to be at home. And then I had another therapist
say I was a provider on it an LCSW and
I wanted a side gig, so it was helpful for
(12:48):
them to get more clients easier that way. So actually,
after reading those all I didn't read all of them,
but I read a majority of them. It does seem
like there's more negative than positive, But I also think
we should take that with a grain of salt because
I have a skewed, biased sample of people that are
my followers. What I'm getting from that is it's worked
(13:10):
for some people and it hasn't worked from others. And also,
if it's helping a little bit, that's better than it
helping not at all and not getting any therapy at all.
So if it feels like it's the only option for you,
then I'd rather you do that, even if it isn't
the top level of care than nothing at all. And
I think that would apply to anything. If you look
(13:31):
at the therapists that we could see in person, there
are some that have been working for thirty years and
they might be one of the top therapists in their area.
But just because you can't see them doesn't mean you
shouldn't go see somebody who's been doing it for five
or ten years who might be more in the middle range.
It's still care and it's still help, and different people
need different things, so we can't apply one opinion to
(13:56):
everybody's experience. So This is a long winded way for
me to say there are pros and there are cons,
but it's better to try something like this. If you
want to get into therapy, then do nothing at all.
If I find more information on that, then I'll let
you know if you guys have any information, if you've
worked there or have had really polarizing experiences, or even
(14:17):
not even polarizing experience, it's just an experience with that,
I'd love to hear it and share that with people
to help give you guys more information in order to
make the decisions you need to make in your life
easier and in a more informed way. I am very
excited for you guys to hear the episode that is
coming out this coming Monday. It is one that I
tried to not do, but I kept getting signs that's
(14:42):
something that I need to talk about, and it's something
that is very controversial in the world right now, specifically
in the eating disorder world. You might be able to
guess what I am talking about. And actually, if you're
listening to this and you want to guess, send me
a DM what you think the episode on Monday is about,
and I will post your answers and see who wins.
(15:02):
Maybe the person that wins, well, I guess. I can't
have a winner because hopefully one of you are going
to guess correctly. But the first person who guesses correctly,
I'll send you a little package with some stickers and
fun you need therapy stuff, so if you can guess
what the topic is for next Monday, it is a
controversial topic and it has to do with the eating
(15:24):
disorder world, and I tried to stay away from it,
so that means I have not talked about it yet.
So good luck out there, and until then, I hope
you guys are having the day you need to have. Bye.