The Most Inclusive Online Therapy Platforms of 2024

Talkspace’s flexibility is unmatched: it offers individual, couples, and teen counseling in all 50 states, with three different tiers of therapy services available in a subscription format, including unlimited messaging with your therapist and weekly virtual live video sessions. Talkspace also offers psychiatry and medication management services for a separate fee. The company accepts many different insurance plans, making it one of our most accessible options. And while Talkspace isn’t specifically designed with diversity in mind, as one of the largest online therapy providers, it offers a wide range of diverse clinicians. This increases the likelihood of finding a therapist who understands or shares a similar cultural identity with you.

We tested Talkspace ourselves nine times in Indiana, South Dakota, California, Kansas, Missouri, Florida, North Carolina, Minnesota, and New York, and were overall impressed with the quality of services we received. Although when we tried Talkspace’s services we were not specifically focused on diversity, we as testers did have a variety of different ethnic and racial identities, and in nearly every circumstance we were able to find a therapist with whom we connected. 

Overall, we felt as though we were able to quickly develop a rapport with our therapists, and this made it easier for us to feel comfortable opening up to our providers—something that is especially important when you are looking for culturally sensitive care. We appreciated that many of our providers were solution-focused and gave us helpful advice right off the bat. However, there were a few times when we had technical issues with our video sessions, and we felt that the text messaging offered by Talkspace (the cheapest subscription option) was not as successful as our live video appointments.

Talkspace offers a variety of plans, including:

• Messaging therapy: Starts at $69 per week and includes unlimited text, video, and audio messaging with guaranteed therapist responses five days a week
• Live + messaging therapy: Starts at $99 per week and includes four live 45-minute sessions per month via chat, phone, or video call
• Live + messaging therapy + workshops: Includes messaging plus four live sessions and weekly workshops and starts at $109 per week

Talkspace currently accepts insurance from Premera, Cigna, Optum, Gatorcare, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and more.

For all plans, you’ll schedule sessions in your private online portal, and if your plan includes live sessions, it's possible to schedule them all at once.  There’s no requirement to wait between sessions, so you can schedule a few in one week and then skip weeks if you want. Live sessions (video, audio, or live chat) and messaging occur directly in your portal.

We surveyed 100 users of Talkspace:

• 97% rated Talkspace as good, very good, or excellent overall
• 99% rated their therapist’s qualifications as good, very good, or excellent
• 94% 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
• 18 people were seeking treatment for a traumatic event
  

Talkiatry is an online psychiatry company that serves anyone age 5 and above who needs treatment for conditions like ADHD, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Talkiatry prides itself on the diversity and cultural humility of its psychiatrists, with providers who specialize in treating different races and ethnicities, various age groups, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. 

We tested Talkiatry twice, both times in New York, and felt that Talkiatry stands apart from the competition because of the personalized, quality care its clinicians provide. Whereas many psychiatrists—particularly online psychiatrists—can be impersonal, focusing primarily on prescribing medication, our Talkiatry clinicians spent 60 minutes with us during our first sessions and 30 minutes for all our follow-ups. These sessions were literally twice as long as the ones offered by every other online psychiatry service we tried, and made us feel truly heard and understood. This is especially important for people from marginalized communities who often feel like their problems are not taken seriously. 

Something that might impede accessibility, however, is the fact that Talkiatry only accepts insurance—there are no out-of-pocket costs, and you can only use Talkiatry if it is in-network with your insurance plan. This means that the uninsured or underinsured cannot benefit from Talkiatry’s services. In addition, while the company does offer therapy as well as psychiatry, you can only access its therapy services if referred by your Talkiatry psychiatrist.

You can only get services from Talkiatry if it accepts your insurance, which might leave many uninsured or underinsured people without care. Talkiatry says that the price of your session will depend on the specific services you need, the length of the session, and the details of your insurance plan.

We surveyed 100 users of Talkiatry:

• 98% rated Talkiatry as good, very good, or excellent overall
• 97% rated their therapist’s qualifications as good, very good, or excellent
• 94% 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
• 21 people were seeking treatment for a traumatic event

We tried Amwell eight times in New York, Mississippi, California, Missouri, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Florida, with a diverse array of testers who identify as Black and Indian as well as white. We especially liked that Amwell accepts a wide range of insurance plans, making it an affordable and accessible option for insured therapy seekers looking for experienced, culturally informed clinicians. And not only are its providers diverse when it comes to racial and ethnic identities, but Amwell also explicitly states that it offers LGBTQ counseling.

Amwell let us choose our own provider rather than matching us with one, which could be especially helpful for those who are looking for a therapist who shares their cultural, sexual, or gender identity. We felt like our therapists truly took the time to listen to our concerns and didn’t try to provide general “band-aid” solutions to our problems. They often referred to issues we’d brought up in previous sessions, which made us feel like they were engaged and actively listening, and their advice always felt tailored to our situations (like being a busy mom of two or a young, disorganized teenager). 

We did have some technical issues at times, such as the screen suddenly going black and encountering the spinning wheel of death, but for the most part our sessions went off without a hitch and we were able to get the care we needed from our attentive, warm, and informed therapists.

Amwell accepts many insurance plans—if you are able to use insurance to pay for Amwell’s services, you will only be responsible for your copay.

Amwell doesn’t offer session bundles or subscriptions—it’s a book-as-you-go system, which is great for people who don’t want to get locked into a plan. Its per-session, out-of-pocket prices are as follows:

• Therapy: $109 for a master’s-level clinician and $129 for a doctoral-level clinician; sessions are around 45 minutes long and are conducted by video. There are no messaging or phone options. 
• Psychiatry: $279 for the first visit (45 minutes), and $109 for follow-ups (15 minutes) conducted by video. Phone and messaging options aren’t available.

We surveyed 100 users of Amwell:

• 99% rated Amwell as good, very good, or excellent overall
• 100% rated their therapist’s qualifications as good, very good, or excellent
• 97% 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
• 18 people were seeking treatment for a traumatic event
  

It’s clear that The Aguirre Center for Inclusive Psychotherapy aspires to eliminate all types of cultural barriers to mental health care. Its core values include being anti-oppressive, anti-racist, weight inclusive, feminist-informed, and affirming of ethical non-monogamy and kink communities. 

But The Aguirre Center really shines when it comes to providing for the Latinx community. It’s owned by Latinx licensed psychologist Sophia Aguirre, PhD, who runs a team of 14 culturally informed therapists, eight of whom are Latinx or Afro-Latinx. Five practitioners are bilingual and can conduct sessions in Spanish. Its Latinx therapists also have roots in many different countries, including Mexico, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Peru, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic. And although we did not test the Aguirre Center ourselves, our research makes us confident that this is a great option for the Latinx community.

Aguirre’s website states that a few of its therapists offer services in 39 states (due to legislation that allows certain providers to operate across state lines), but most clinicians only offer therapy in one or two states such as Georgia, Oregon, Florida, and Massachusetts (but primarily in Georgia, as that’s the state where the office is based). There are also only 14 clinicians available. We look forward to seeing Aguirre grow to support the Latinx community even more. 

Aguirre isn’t a subscription service. Instead, it functions more like in-person therapy—you’ll sign up for an initial appointment and discuss arrangements with your therapist directly. 

Fees vary, but in general, you can expect to pay the following:

• Individual therapy: $200 to $250 for assessment, then $125 to $250 per session 
• Couples counseling: $135 to $230 per session
• Group therapy: $45-$85 per session

Aguirre also employs doctoral students whose rates are as low as $60 per individual session.

Aguirre offers a free, 15-minute introductory phone consultation that you can schedule directly on the website. From there, you’ll schedule an assessment appointment that lasts around an hour. You can continue with sessions once a week or every other week, depending on your needs and the clinician’s availability.

We surveyed 100 users of Aguirre Center for Inclusive Psychotherapy Online Therapy:

• 99% rated Aguirre Center for Inclusive Psychotherapy Online Therapy as good, very good, or excellent overall
• 99% rated their therapist’s qualifications as good, very good, or excellent
• 94% said that most or all of their needs were met at Aguirre Center for Inclusive Psychotherapy Online Therapy
• 93% are likely or very likely to recommend Aguirre Center for Inclusive Psychotherapy Online Therapy to a friend or someone like them
• 4 people were seeking treatment for a traumatic event
  

National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network (NQTTCN) is an online therapy directory created specifically so that LGBTQIA+ individuals and BIPOC can find a mental health provider with the same or similar ethnic, cultural, racial, gender, and sexual identities. Rather than working for one online therapy company, NQTTCN functions more like a phone book of providers, listing the names and bios of therapists and psychiatrists who identify as LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC whom you can contact individually. This makes it an excellent option for queer and trans people of color. You’ll find practitioners with diverse specialties and backgrounds across the country on the network. This is essential for therapy seekers who face intersectional discrimination and its subsequent mental health effects. 

When we tested NQTTCN from Kentucky, we were overwhelmingly impressed with the service and the sheer number of options for us. As a member of both the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities, we have had issues in the past finding a therapist who understood all our identities—but through NQTTCN, it was easy. Not only was the site simple and clear to use, but we immediately found a therapist who checked all our boxes. We had a 75-minute intake session—far longer than any other session we’d had with any other online therapist—and our provider was compassionate and engaged throughout. We felt like she was genuinely interested in us and dedicated to the help we needed. She approached our sessions with curiosity, rather than assuming she knew us based on our intersecting identities, and we have never received more affirming care.

In our most recent testing, we were especially impressed with how clear pricing was on NQTTCN. Because cost is a huge barrier to care, especially for people with marginalized identities, the fact that we knew what we would be paying for each possible provider was extremely helpful.

What’s more, NQTTCN provides resources for those in crisis, as well as a Mental Health Fund for those in the QTPoC (queer and trans people of color) community who cannot afford therapy. The only downside of this directory? NQTTCN currently only serves 30 states, as well as British Columbia and Ontario in Canada.

Because each provider sets their own rates, the cost of a therapy or psychiatry session varies from clinician to clinician. You can find each provider’s rate in their bio on the directory, and many offer sliding scale fees or take insurance.

As it’s a directory rather than an online therapy company, you’ll need to make scheduling and payment arrangements with clinicians directly. This also means that you won’t be bound to a subscription, bundle, or plan. This affords many more options than would otherwise be available on a more traditional online therapy site that matches you with a provider, but it means you’ll have to do a little more work (you won’t get support with processing insurance, for example). 

We surveyed 100 users of National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network:

• 98% rated National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network as good, very good, or excellent overall
• 100% rated their therapist’s qualifications as good, very good, or excellent
• 99% said that most or all of their needs were met at National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network
• 96% are likely or very likely to recommend National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network to a friend or someone like them
• 33 people were seeking treatment for a traumatic event
  

Gay Therapy Center offers individual and couples therapy for LGBTQIA+-identifying folks. All clinicians are from the LGBTQIA+ community and can treat a wide spectrum of issues along with culturally specific ones, such as experiencing internalized shame around sexual orientation. However, when we tested the Gay Therapy Center from California, we found that most of the therapists in this company identify as white, cisgender, gay men, and most of its additional resources are geared towards this community as well, so it may not be the best choice for every LGBTQIA+ person. Still, Gay Therapy Center is absolutely a solid resource for cis gay men seeking mental health support. 

The company’s individual services focus on “LGBTQ+ Anxiety and Depression,” “LGBTQ+ Affirmative Therapy for Low Self-Esteem,” and “LGBTQ+ Gay Sex Therapy;” its couples therapy services include “LGBTQ+ Couples Counseling,” “LGBTQ+ Therapy for Cheating, Infidelity, Affairs, and Betrayal,” and “LGBTQ+ Open Relationship Counseling.” It also offers in-person sessions in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington DC. 

However, as a non-binary person with a trans partner, we did not feel as though the Gay Therapy Center was able to meet our needs. We requested a therapist who had experience with trans issues, but in the curated list of providers we received (including the person with whom we eventually had sessions), no one even mentioned the word “trans,” and our therapist actually repeatedly used incorrect pronouns to refer to our trans partner. In addition, the company never provided its therapists’ surnames, so we could not do any outside research on its clinicians. This made us uneasy.

50-minute sessions take place via live video. They start at $185 and reach up to $250 depending on the provider, though California residents may get an associate therapist (who is working under supervision) for $120. 

Gay Therapy Center isn’t in-network with any insurance, but residents of California, New York, and Washington DC may get out-of-network coverage if they provide a bill for reimbursement.

We surveyed 100 users of Gay Therapy Center:

• 100% rated Gay Therapy Center as good, very good, or excellent overall
• 98% rated their therapist’s qualifications as good, very good, or excellent
• 93% said that most or all of their needs were met at Gay Therapy Center
• 100% are likely or very likely to recommend Gay Therapy Center to a friend or someone like them
• 18 people were seeking treatment for a traumatic event
  

TherapyDen is an online therapy directory dedicated to inclusivity and diversity in the mental health care system, providing affirming care for therapy seekers of any gender, ethnicity, and financial situation. Most notably, TherapyDen’s homepage has a carousel of listings for trans therapists, which immediately indicates it’s a safe space for the community.  Trans clinicians across the country are easy to find via search filters, though some areas have fewer trans clinicians than others (and some have none at all).

Although we ourselves were not trans, when we tried out TherapyDen in Kansas and South Dakota, we were hoping to test its ability to provide inclusive care no matter our identity—and it did not disappoint. From the get-go, TherapyDen made it clear through its search filters that it was dedicated to providing affirming services by letting us filter for therapist qualities like “trans-competent” and “queer-competent,” as well as for specialties like “cultural and systemic oppression.” This made it easy to find therapists who would be appropriate for just about any community, including the trans community.

One thing to note is that not all practitioner’s credentials appear to have been verified. Many therapists don’t have a green “verified” button near their profile picture that states the directory has ensured their licensing information is correct and up to date. Keep this in mind when searching for practitioners, and consider verifying independently. 

TherapyDen is a directory, which means fees, scheduling, and therapy format vary by provider. You can search for therapists who accept insurance. 

We surveyed 100 users of TherapyDen:

• 99% rated TherapyDen as good, very good, or excellent overall
• 99% rated their therapist’s qualifications as good, very good, or excellent
• 93% said that most or all of their needs were met at TherapyDen
• 96% are likely or very likely to recommend TherapyDen to a friend or someone like them
• 21 people were seeking treatment for a traumatic event
  

Open Path Collective is an online therapy directory that strives to make therapy more affordable and accessible across the U.S. and Canada by charging low out-of-pocket rates for individual, family, and couples counseling at prices more comparable to an insurance copay than a traditional self-pay rate. Every provider listed on this directory must agree to charge these low prices, practically guaranteeing that you can find a therapist who fits your financial needs. We tested Open Path from New York and were thrilled that, even as someone who is underinsured, we were able to find a great therapist at a price we could afford.

At Open Path, therapy sessions for all clinicians fall within the same range: $40 to $70 for individual counseling, $40 to $80 for couples or families, and $30 for an individual session with a student intern. We were charged $50 for each of our sessions, which was by far the least we’d ever paid out of pocket for therapy. These prices sit below the average cost of therapy in the United States, with most sessions ranging from $60 to $200 each. 

In addition to the low cost of therapy, Open Path made it easy to find a provider—not always the case on a therapy directory, which functions more like a phone book of therapists than an online therapy company that matches you with someone. There were tons of filters to use when searching, from cost to specialties to identities like race or LGBTQIA+. We quickly found a therapist whom we could not only afford, but with whom we immediately clicked—meaning we didn’t have to sacrifice quality for price.

Open Path charges a $65 one-time membership fee to access its listings and other resources. Per session, you'll pay:

• $40 to $70 for individual counseling
• $40 to $80 for family or couples counseling
• $30 for individual sessions with a student intern 

The range in price depends on the therapist’s experience. 

Open Path doesn’t accept insurance. It explains that its services are meant for people who are uninsured or underinsured and who make less than $100,000 a year per household.

We surveyed 100 users of Open Path Collective:

• 98% rated Open Path Collective as good, very good, or excellent overall
• 97% rated their therapist’s qualifications as good, very good, or excellent
• 98% said that most or all of their needs were met at Open Path Collective
• 99% are likely or very likely to recommend Open Path Collective to a friend or someone like them
• 18 people were seeking treatment for a traumatic event
  

Therapy for Black Girls is an online therapy directory that focuses specifically on connecting Black girls and women to Black woman-identifying therapists and psychiatrists (although anyone can use the directory to find a provider). This serves an important purpose as therapy stigma, accessibility, and a lack of cultural sensitivity among providers holds back many Black people from seeking out therapy or receiving affirming, effective therapy. Since Therapy for Black Girls exclusively offers therapists who are Black women, therapy seekers can count on the fact that they’ll have a practitioner who relates—at least in some way—to their experience as a Black person in America. 

When we tried Therapy for Black Girls, we had a tall order—we were looking for a female Black therapist who had children, was a Christian, and who was a caretaker to her parents. Incredibly, not only did we find a provider who ticked almost all of our boxes, but the process of actually finding her was surprisingly simple. The specialty search filters were extensive, meaning we could narrow down our choices quickly (although there were no filters for spirituality, which would have helped us), and we could contact them directly through the directory. The therapist we ended up choosing got back to us in a matter of hours and gave us a free consultation, which left us assured that she would be a good match for us.

Our sessions were productive and tailored to our needs—we especially appreciated the way she incorporated our faith into each appointment. We felt supported and understood in a way that directly related to the fact that our therapist was also a Black woman; we were able to reference experiences, both in and out of therapy, that she understood implicitly as someone with the same racial, cultural, and spiritual identities. This sets Therapy for Black Girls and its providers apart from most other online therapy companies and directories.

Since Therapy for Black Girls is a directory, plans, policies, therapy formats, and fees vary by provider. To get started, you’ll search the directory to find an appropriate therapist whom you’ll contact directly. 

We surveyed 100 users of Therapy For Black Girls:

• 100% rated Therapy For Black Girls as good, very good, or excellent overall
• 99% rated their therapist’s qualifications as good, very good, or excellent
• 94% said that most or all of their needs were met at Therapy For Black Girls
• 98% are likely or very likely to recommend Therapy For Black Girls to a friend or someone like them
• 18 people were seeking treatment for a traumatic event
  

Mindful Care is an online therapy company that provides individual and group therapy, plus addiction recovery through its medication-assisted program Mindful Recovery. As a harm reduction program, Mindful Recovery doesn’t require abstinence. It focuses on supporting those considering or in the process of reducing or quitting substances like alcohol, cannabis, and opioids. Substance-use coaches at Mindful Care have advanced alcoholism and substance-use coaching certifications, plus master’s degrees in mental health disciplines. In addition, there seems to be diversity amongst Mindful Care’s providers, with featured clinicians representing many facets of the BIPOC community. 

We tried Mindful Care twice, both times from New York, and although we did not feel it would be ethical to ask someone dealing with a substance use issue to try Mindful Care’s addiction services short-term, we were especially impressed with the company’s group therapy services—services that are available through its addiction recovery program. Our group facilitators (who were licensed therapists) helped establish a warm and non-judgmental atmosphere, and we felt supported by the other members of the group, each of whom had plenty of time to talk and share. We truly felt like the group was a safe place to talk about anything, which is a quality that could be especially important for those dealing with addiction, a condition often accompanied by shame and guilt.

Unfortunately, Mindful Care doesn’t treat all addictions, and its services are limited to a handful of states: Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Michigan.

Mindful Care has tiered self-pay pricing for the services it offers. The following are the out-of-pocket costs for its Recovery (addiction) services:

• Evaluation for Medication-Assisted Treatment (40 minutes): $175‍
• Follow-Up Medication Assisted Treatment (20 minutes): $75
• Recovery Care Management (15 minutes): $20
• Recovery MicroTherapy (20 minutes): $50

For individual and group therapy and psychiatry services, the prices are as follows:

• Microtherapy (20 minutes): $50 per session without insurance
• Individual therapy (40 minutes): $100 per session without insurance
• Group therapy (60 minutes, conducted over video): $35 per session without insurance
• Psychiatry (medication management): Initial 40-minute evaluation is $175, follow-up 20-minute appointments are $75

Mindful Care is also in-network with many insurance plans, and it states that it will verify your insurance coverage before your first session.

We surveyed 100 users of Mindful Care:

• 97% rated Mindful Care as good, very good, or excellent overall
• 96% rated their therapist’s qualifications as good, very good, or excellent
• 90% said that most or all of their needs were met at Mindful Care
• 96% are likely or very likely to recommend Mindful Care to a friend or someone like them
• 17 people were seeking treatment for a traumatic event

We tested Octave five times—three times in New York, and once in California and Florida—and were impressed that Octave’s therapist team includes solid representation from the Asian community. We found providers who speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Farsi, Punjabi, Japanese, and Korean, among others. Additionally, we could search for therapists specializing in racial trauma and cultural issues by using a filter for these topics when we looked for a therapist on the site. 

One of the things that most impressed us was Octave’s sign-up process. Not only was it thorough, but if the company determined that it didn’t receive enough information from us initially, it would have offered us a free consultation phone call to make sure we were assigned the best therapist for our needs (and to determine that we were not in crisis, which would have disqualified us from using Octave—a distinction most online therapy companies do not bother to make). We could request a therapist who shared our ethnic or racial identity, and we could choose “racial stress” as something we’d like to focus on in our therapy. 

Unfortunately, Octave only serves California, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Washington DC.

Cost varies according to location and session type, and insurance coverage varies by state. Octave does accept multiple insurance plans, meaning many of its clients only pay a copay. Self-pay rates are as follows:

• Individual therapy: $170 to $250 per session
• Couples or family therapy: $190 to $275 per session

We surveyed 100 users of Octave Online Therapy:

• 100% rated Octave Online Therapy as good, very good, or excellent overall
• 100% rated their therapist’s qualifications as good, very good, or excellent
• 100% said that most or all of their needs were met at Octave Online Therapy
• 100% are likely or very likely to recommend Octave Online Therapy to a friend or someone like them
• 10 people were seeking treatment for a traumatic event