5 Best Affordable Online Therapy Options We Tested in 2024

Why Teen Counseling?

The platform allows teens to receive mental health care in an accessible format. According to a review published in January 2021 in the journal JMIR Mental Health, texting is the preferred mode of communication for adolescents with cellphones.

Benefits like a chat room where they could exchange messages outside of therapy hours may be a plus, too. With multiple options, Teen Counseling provides different avenues for teens to receive the help they need.

While Talkspace has a similar plan that provides live video chats or phone sessions and unlimited messaging, it costs $396 a month — $36 more than the maximum cost at Teen Counseling. We felt Teen Counseling did the best job of accommodating teens and their potential resistance to therapy at an affordable price.

How Much Does Teen Counseling Cost?

Teen Counseling does not accept insurance and will not submit any information to your insurance provider for reimbursement. The service costs $60 to $90 per week ($240 to $360 per month), and prices depend on where you live, therapist availability, and provider specialties.

This subscription includes:

• Weekly 30- to 45-minute live therapy sessions (video, phone, or chat)
• Unlimited text messaging
• Free cancelation at any time (as long as you cancel before the end of your billing period to avoid automatic renewal)

How Does Teen Counseling Work?

You or your teen can start the therapy matching process on its homepage. Teen Counseling will ask standard intake questions about your teen, such as age, gender, and location. If your teen starts the process, they can choose the specific issues they want therapy to address, like:

• Stress
• Anxiety
• Depression
• School challenges
• Family conflicts
• Trouble sleeping or insomnia
• Gender identity and sexual orientation
• Relationships with friends

Parents can choose from options like school challenges, criminal behavior, substance abuse, or relationships with peers.

Teen Counseling will ask if your teen has been to therapy before and rate your relationship with your child. Then, the questions delve deeper into your teen’s mental and physical health and home life, such as whether they go to school and who they live with.

Once enrolled, you will see a screen with information on the next steps and how much therapy will cost. In two separate sign-ups, we were quoted $324 a month.

After entering your payment information, you will be matched with a therapist. If it seems like a fit, you can then fill out a consent form for your child and invite them to connect with the same therapist.

Link Your Teen’s Account With Yours

If your teen initiated the process, Teen Counseling will ask them for your name and email address on the confirmation page. You should receive an email within a few seconds. From the email, you can register for an account, fill out the parent consent form, and pay for the subscription. This will link your accounts together.

Therapist Matching and Chat Rooms

Teen Counseling will pair you and your teen with a licensed therapist. With unlimited messaging, you can both message the therapist in separate chat rooms. You can ask any questions you have about the process. Likewise, your teen has their own chat room to discuss details with their therapist.

Teen Counseling employs licensed professional counselors, licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFTs), licensed clinical social workers, and accredited psychologists. All therapists have a master’s degree and may use a variety of therapeutic approaches with their patients, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectic behavioral therapy. They may also provide mental health resources for you and your teen. Although Teen Counseling has LMFTs who can help your teen with family problems, it does not offer family or group therapy.

Teen Counseling Therapy and Scheduling

Your child can conduct their therapy sessions through live chat, video, or telephone. Each appointment lasts 30 to 45 minutes, depending on your provider’s availability. Either you or your child can choose appointment times. If you don’t see a time that fits your schedule within your subscription period, you can reach out to customer support, and they can add a week to your membership so you have more time with your therapist.

You can have a live session (phone, text, or video) once per week. The therapist logs on at that time and can speak with your teen in an instant messaging format. Your teen can also send text, audio, or video messages to their therapist anytime between sessions, and their therapist will respond at their convenience.

Teen Counseling Reviews

Teen Counseling receives 3.5 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot. Positive reviews cited compassionate therapists and accommodating appointment times. Negative reviews mentioned therapists not showing up for appointments and billing issues. The platform isn’t rated by the BBB.

Dive deeper into the platform with our Teen Counseling review.