The 8 Best Online Therapy Services that Accept Insurance, Tried and Tested

We had five people sign up for therapy services at Teladoc from Missouri, California, New York, and Texas to see how well the service could serve different needs, such as accommodating a parent of four kids’ requirement for flexible scheduling options. And across the board, Teladoc delivered. As one of the oldest telehealth services in the country, Teledoc also provides reliable primary care, dermatology, sexual health, nutrition, and pediatric medical services in addition to its individual, couples, and teen therapy, as well as psychiatry services.

We found Teladoc’s network of licensed therapists to be knowledgeable, congenial, professional, and helpful both in the live video sessions we scheduled and when we messaged them with questions. We had an overall impression that all the therapists we met with were well-prepared, attentive, and understanding.

We also felt Teladoc’s scheduling system was much more flexible than other online therapy providers we assessed. Every therapist had many open appointment slots, and we could schedule in advance if needed.

One thing we found a bit disappointing was that one of the therapists we selected kept the camera off for video sessions. But despite feeling awkward about this at first, the conversation was comfortable, and there were good observations that helped us to look at a situation differently. While Teladoc can’t assist with eating disorders, psychosis, and other more severe conditions, our experience and research show it’s a great place to start if you’re looking for a pay-per-appointment telehealth service for mental and medical health needs.

• Insurance Accepted: Accepts many insurance plans, including from major providers like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, and some Medicare and Medicaid plans
• Subscription Required: No, pay-per-session service
• Out-of-Pocket Costs: Varies by insurance; copay may be as low as $0 depending on plan; therapy sessions may run about $90

We surveyed 100 users of Teladoc:

• 94% rated Teladoc as very good or excellent overall
• 89% rated their therapist’s qualifications as very good or excellent
• 94% said that most or all of their needs were met at Teladoc
• 98% are likely or very likely to recommend Teladoc to a friend or someone like them
• 79% said their health insurance covered the entire cost of therapy
  

We tested Talkiatry twice from New York and had a fantastic experience from signing up to working with a provider. From the very beginning of the registration process, the company was very clear about what it can and can’t treat. Talkiatry asserts its providers specialize in anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

We found our psychiatrists friendly and never felt rushed to wrap up before we’d finished asking questions. Scheduling follow-up appointments was also easy, as was switching providers if needed. The company operates like a brick-and-mortar psychiatry practice in many ways, which means that it doesn’t have blanket policies around which medications it can prescribe. If your provider deems it necessary, they may prescribe a controlled substance, such as stimulants for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or benzodiazepines for anxiety, but only after careful psychiatric evaluation and responsible prescribing practices are followed. This means that the company can help you with more complex mental health conditions.

The biggest drawback with Talkiatry is that it is not yet nationwide: services are not available to residents of Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, or Wyoming. Given Talkiatry’s dedication to quality care, it is the ideal online psychiatric provider if you live in one of the states it serves. One caveat is that the first available appointment was a full week away for all three provider options we were offered. Still, this is likely much sooner than the wait time to see an in-person provider, depending on your location.

• Insurance Accepted: Accepts plans from five of the biggest health insurance providers: Aetna, BlueCross BlueShield, Cigna, Optum, UnitedHealthcare, and more; accepts some Medicare plans
• Subscription Required: No, pay-per-session service
• Out-of-Pocket Costs: Varies by insurance; you can input your insurance information before signing up to get an estimate of your copay 

We surveyed 100 users of Talkiatry:

• 86% rated Talkiatry as very good or excellent overall
• 87% rated their therapist’s qualifications as very good or excellent
• 96% said that most or all of their needs were met at Talkiatry
• 95% are likely or very likely to recommend Talkiatry to a friend or someone like them
• 56% said their health insurance covered the entire cost of therapy

We had four people from three different states—North Carolina, California, and New York—test Brightside Health, including one person working as a therapist themselves and three people who disclosed they had depression or anxiety. We were very pleased that Brightside makes it easier to afford mental health treatment for anxiety and depression by accepting health insurance since worries about affording care can create even more stress and exacerbate existing symptoms.

What stood out most about Brightside was the outstanding quality of care. The therapists who treated us had at least a decade of experience, and we found them to be talented counselors who were the perfect balance of warm yet professional. We also had the ability to pick a therapist who met specific cultural and gender preferences, which is important when establishing a therapeutic rapport.

In addition, Brightside uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a treatment approach that helps you identify and reframe negative thoughts and behavior patterns. This approach has been proven effective at treating anxiety and depression both in person and virtually. We appreciate this practical, science-backed method.

However, it's worth noting that therapy sessions are shorter than average. Our therapy sessions lasted only 30 minutes, and psychiatry appointments only 15 minutes. Additionally, in one case, the person who conducted our intake appointment seemed dismissive, with a cold and off-putting tone. Thankfully, this was not our experience with the actual therapist.

• Insurance Accepted: Cigna (all states except MN), Aetna, Allegiance, UnitedHealthcare, Ambetter (all states, except CT, HI, ME, MA, RI, VT, WI), Anthem CA, Blue Shield of CA, Blue Cross Blue Shield (of MT, IL, TX only), PEHP (UT only), Florida Blue, Meritain; accepts Medicare and Medicaid in some states; accepts HSA/FSA payments
• Subscription Required: Yes
• Out-of-Pocket Costs: Varies by plan; medication-only plan is $95 per month; therapy-only plan is $299 per month, which includes one session per week; additional therapy sessions can be purchased for $59 each; medication and therapy plan is $349 per month

We surveyed 100 users of Brightside:

• 88% rated Brightside as very good or excellent overall
• 94% rated their therapist’s qualifications as very good or excellent
• 93% said that most or all of their needs were met at Brightside
• 99% are likely or very likely to recommend Brightside to a friend or someone like them
• 50% said their health insurance covered the entire cost of therapy
  

We had 11 people (including three therapists) sign up for Talkspace so that we could test its various service options and communication methods from all over the country—California, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, New York, North Carolina, Minnesota, Missouri, and South Dakota. By allowing us to choose how we communicated with our therapists—messaging, live chat, phone call, or video—Talkspace made therapy much more accessible to us.

Across the board, our testing experience was positive: All the therapists we met were compassionate and professional, and we enjoyed our live phone and video sessions.

That said, our experience showed that therapy quality varied with different communication types because not all therapists were as responsive or thoughtful over messaging services, and some took a very long time to respond or gave responses that felt scripted. But while the asynchronous text-based therapy may vary in quality depending on the therapist and be best for people with milder conditions, we liked having the option to live chat or message with our therapist.

One of the biggest drawbacks of our Talkspace experience was the short session length. At only 30 minutes long, we often felt like we were just getting started when our time was up. We also made a strange discovery that whether we were matched with a therapist or were allowed to choose our own therapist depended on which device we used to sign up for service. When signing up on a desktop computer, we were matched with a therapist, but when signing up using the Talkspace app, we got to pick between a curated list of three therapists. However, we loved how user-friendly the Talkspace patient portal was in general.

• Insurance Accepted: Accepts plans from most major insurers, including Aetna, Cigna, Optum, UnitedHealthcare, BlueCross BlueShield, Carelon, Regence, Premera, Gatorcare; accepts some Medicare plans; doesn’t accept Medicaid
• Subscription Required: Yes
• Out-of-Pocket Costs: Varies by insurance; messaging-only plan starts at $69 per week; live therapy plan starts at $99 per week and includes messaging and four live sessions a month; video, live therapy, and group workshop plan is $109 per week; psychiatry/medication management costs $249 for an initial evaluation with follow-up sessions starting at $125 each (not part of a subscription)

We surveyed 100 users of Talkspace:

• 92% rated Talkspace as very good or excellent overall
• 89% rated their therapist’s qualifications as very good or excellent
• 95% said that most or all of their needs were met at Talkspace
• 97% are likely or very likely to recommend Talkspace to a friend or someone like them
• 57% said their health insurance covered the entire cost of therapy

Monument specializes in a highly specific service: treatment for alcohol use disorder. However, because its comprehensive approach includes treating AUD with medication, we could not ethically ask someone to test it. We did, however, test out the sign-up process, survey 100 Monument users, extensively research the program, and get expert insight on the company and its service model, so we feel confident recommending it. Plus, you can check your insurance details online before signing up to find out if your specific plan is accepted.

Pharmacotherapy is considered a first-line treatment for moderate to severe AUD because it’s been proven to be highly effective. Yet in 2022, only 2.2% of adults with alcohol use disorder used these evidence-based medications. Monument understands that medication can be an important part of addressing the disorder, so in addition to providing individual and group talk therapy, it also offers naltrexone (which diminishes alcohol cravings) and disulfiram (which causes you to feel hung over very shortly after drinking).

Although Monument’s therapists can address co-existing disorders (such as anxiety), its physicians do not prescribe medication to treat these conditions, and it's unclear whether any of its therapists specialize in them. That means if you’re looking for medication or therapy to specifically treat an underlying mental health condition that’s causing or greatly contributing to your AUD, such as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), you should seek out a different service. Furthermore, Monument is only available in the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington state, and Washington, D.C.

• Insurance Accepted: Monument is in-network with the following insurance (specific plan coverage varies by state): Aetna, Cigna, Oxford Health Plans, and Oscar; accepts Medicare; accepts FSA/HSA payments
• Subscription Required: Yes
• Out-of-Pocket Costs: Community membership is $15 per month (not covered by insurance); treatment costs vary by insurance; if paying out-of-pocket, these services cost $100 each for physician appointments, $149 per month for therapy every other week, and $249 per month for weekly therapy appointments.
  

We surveyed 100 users of Monument:

• 84% rated Monument as very good or excellent overall
• 94% rated their therapist’s qualifications as very good or excellent
• 98% said that most or all of their needs were met at Monument
• 95% are likely or very likely to recommend Monument to a friend or someone like them
• 55% said their health insurance covered the entire cost of therapy
  

We asked five people to test out Thriveworks’ services, from Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Massachusetts, and New York. Of those, one tested out the children's therapy services with their child, while the others tested the adult therapy and couples therapy. We found Thriveworks to be a great option for busy parents who need to use their insurance to cover therapy for themselves and/or their kids thanks to the wide range of insurance plans its therapists are in-network with, flexible scheduling, and high-quality therapists.

We appreciated that we were able to choose our own therapist. Using the search filters, we could look for providers based on specialty, distance, insurance, and age of the patient. That said, in some states, we found that options were limited. For example, in Missouri, we had planned to seek treatment for a 7-year-old but discovered that 11 was the youngest age Thriveworks providers in the state could treat at the time. Having fewer choices than other large online therapy companies could be because Thriveworks only hires the top 4% of providers so it can offer a quality experience.

Indeed, we found this ethos of quality over quantity reflected in most of our experiences. Limited choices didn’t end up being too much of an issue overall since we were still impressed with most of our therapists (though in one case, we had a therapist who was pushy and dismissive).

One issue we ran into, however, was that not every therapist had the credentialing required for some insurance plans to cover the cost of their services—this means that some insurance plans will only cover therapy services if they are provided by a certain type of mental health care provider, such as a psychologist or a psychiatrist. In all cases of seeking insurance coverage for therapy services, we advise checking with your insurance provider to find out what requirements must be met in order for services to be covered—such as an official diagnosis and/or certain therapist licensure—before signing up for treatment.

• Insurance Accepted: Different providers accept different insurance plans, but you can filter therapists by the insurance plans they accept; Thriveworks accepts major insurance plans such as BlueCross, Anthem, Optum, United, Aetna, Cigna, Humana, and many others
• Subscription Required: No
• Out-of-Pocket Costs: Varies by insurance and provider (rates can be found on provider bio pages); self-pay options start at $200 per session
  

We surveyed 100 users of Thriveworks:

• 88% rated Thriveworks as very good or excellent overall
• 90% rated their therapist’s qualifications as very good or excellent
• 96% said that most or all of their needs were met at Thriveworks
• 96% are likely or very likely to recommend Thriveworks to a friend or someone like them
• 61% said their health insurance covered the entire cost of therapy
  

We tested Doctor On Demand three times from North Carolina and Pennsylvania, trying its individual therapy services as well as its psychiatry services for our teenage son, and each time we got access to specialized care without any hassle. We found that Doctor on Demand accepts most major insurers—including Medicare—and we were impressed by how easy it was to sign up for services, with appointments available seven days a week.

To create an account, all we had to do was enter our personal and insurance information, a payment method, and reason for seeking care; we then clicked “Mental Health” and took a brief assessment (which was basically a depression and anxiety screening tool) that showed us where we fell on the spectrum from minimal to severe for both depression and anxiety. We loved that we could choose to either pick a therapist ourselves or have the system match us with a therapist, meaning if we didn’t want to sift through the long list of providers, we didn’t have to, but if we preferred to read over therapist bios and decide for ourselves, we could do so.

However, although the app was easy to use and the booking process was easy to navigate, the limited doctor options and lack of appointments were disappointing. The company’s stated availability of 24/7 appointments made it sound like we could get an appointment quickly, but we actually found limited therapist options with availability that matched our schedule. In one case, we had to wait two to three weeks for a first appointment with our preferred therapist and up to three weeks for a second appointment. Perhaps the best therapists book up quickly. Still, the more flexible you are with scheduling, the quicker you can get an appointment.

• Insurance Accepted: Doctor On Demand accepts most major insurance plans, including BlueCross BlueShield, UnitedHealthcare/Optum, Humana, and Medicare; FSA/HSA accepted
• Subscription Required: No
• Out-of-Pocket Costs: Varies by insurance; an appointment with a psychologist is $134 for a 25-minute session and $184 for a 50-minute session; it's $299 for an initial 45-minute consultation with a psychiatrist and $129 for 15-minute follow-ups
  

We surveyed 100 users of Doctor on Demand:

• 88% rated Doctor on Demand as very good or excellent overall
• 91% rated their therapist’s qualifications as very good or excellent
• 95% said that most or all of their needs were met at Doctor on Demand
• 97% are likely or very likely to recommend Doctor on Demand to a friend or someone like them
• 60% said their health insurance covered the entire cost of therapy
  

We asked six people hailing from New York, Mississippi, California, Missouri, and Kentucky—a great mix of bigger and smaller markets—to test Amwell's individual adult therapy, adolescent therapy, and couples therapy. One person was also a working therapist themselves. Overall, our therapy experiences with Amwell were quite positive; we were most impressed with the fact that the company accepts a wider range of insurance plans than any other company we tested.

We worked with at least two therapists in each state (so we met with over ten different Amwell therapists in total) to see how smoothly the switching process went and how therapist quality and availability varied. We were thoroughly impressed with the high caliber of Amwell’s therapists; specifically, how communicative and professional they were and how they made us feel heard, understood, and validated.

Scheduling is pretty flexible, with same-day or next-day appointments offered in many larger states. For example, in California, we were able to schedule a next-day appointment with ease. However, in smaller states or with different service types, such as adolescent therapy or postpartum therapy, we found far fewer therapist choices and available appointment times. 

A downside is that we experienced some technical issues with the platform, including call drops. In one instance, our first appointment was canceled by a system crash; then, at our rebooked appointment, the therapist said they could not help us with our stated issue; and finally, several subsequent therapists had repeated technical difficulties with the video platform that meant our appointments had to be rescheduled several times. The platform also has a strict 40-minute session limit that cuts off abruptly.

• Insurance Accepted: Amwell accepts most major insurance plans, including Aetna, Anthem, BlueCross BlueShield, Emblem Health, Horizon, and UnitedHealthcare
• Subscription Required: No
• Out-of-Pocket Costs: Varies by insurance; Up to $99 for therapy sessions; $199 for initial psychiatry appointment and $95 for follow-up sessions; in one instance, we paid $109 for a therapy session

We surveyed 100 users of Amwell:

• 88% rated Amwell as very good or excellent overall
• 93% rated their therapist’s qualifications as very good or excellent
• 98% said that most or all of their needs were met at Amwell
• 95% are likely or very likely to recommend Amwell to a friend or someone like them
• 63% said their health insurance covered the entire cost of therapy