The more information comes out, the more absurd it is that this platform is promoted by anybody.
Latest update – July 2021: Psychologist complains on BBB that BetterHelp is using their image and reputation unlawfully to bait clients
A complaint just appeared on BBB, sent to them in June, from a psychologist signalling the following:
It isn’t made clear (and would be interesting to know) whether this psychologist was ever a contractor for them and they kept the profile on the site, or they had no association with this company whatsoever. Either way, this is really scummy. The exact same issue is described here by a client:
Previous updates:
The messaging service: highly regulated and mostly unpaid (that’s why some counsellors refuse to engage in it)
For many years, clients (service users) have complained of BetterHelp’s messaging service – the pillar of their claim to be a “game changer” in online therapy. They reported to have received no responses, very short and unhelpful ones, and many times, paragraphs from self-help books or websites.
To date, it had been revealed that the word count was a major issue, as counsellors were (and still are) being paid per word, like content writers.
Here’s what came out a few days ago, made public by a counsellor, with great concern for everyone being exploited by this company:
The most alarming part is, of course, the following:
“For messaging, any communication that is imbalanced will not be compensated:
* Generally, any words that you write over 2x what the client writes, or any words that that client writes over 2x what you write, are considered imbalanced.”
Okay. This includes assessments, post session summary notes, termination notes, psychoeducation notes and notes from a patient that may say “I feel like giving up” I have 10 words with which to respond to that or I will be out of compliance and I will not be paid for my work.
It’s not just a matter of having a quota that the counsellor monitors sporadically throughout the month (which was bad enough). Each and every exchange with the client entails carefully counting words!
Many complaints detail the fact that despite the client writing exhaustively, the counsellor hardly acknowledges any of it, if at all – that’s because the words far outnumber what the counsellor has written previously. When a client thinks they’re pouring their soul out to this professional, the counsellor sees the length and thinks “too many words; I’m not getting paid to read this or respond to it”. No one tells you that when you pay hundreds in advance.
You can see that the focus shifts from providing the client with appropriate advice, to counting one’s words in real time, as well as ignoring messages that are too long. This must be how the company ensures a client is not given too much of the counsellor’s time, so the latter can increase their caseload, which they are constantly pressured to do, and make the company more money. Let anyone say after seeing this that BetterHelp treats clients and contractors like actual human beings.
Client asked to waive GDPR before a “therapy” session so their data could be sold to advertisers
Citizens of the EU are protected by GDPR in terms of how their data is handled, regardless of interacting with foreign platforms. This review is dated the 16th of May 2021, so perhaps it wasn’t commonplace before – to ask, that is. Remember, this is advertised as a confidential service!
The cherry on top: the client is only told after paying and before a session, so there would be increased pressure to tick the box.
Charged for months after cancellation? “We can’t find your account”
The number of complaints on BBB from people being charged repeatedly after cancelling the service has increased. So has the response from the company: “we can’t find your account”; “there is no account associated with that email address”, “please contact us from the email address associated with your account”. They have the payment details though and keep charging!
As responses to said justification show, clients do use the email associated with their account (some have demonstrated this). It’s utter bullshit and the same technique the Enzyte scam used in order to ignore complaints, after doing the exact same. The company absolutely refuses to admit this practice of stealing from former clients, so whereas complaints for a poor service typically result in refunds, these particular ones seldom do.
This doesn’t happen to everyone, but it happens often enough, and you just might be next.
Here are two outrageous cases of people losing tons of money to this company (thousands) and BetterHelp making no effort to locate said accounts to stop the charges. The first involves someone whose son had used the service four years prior, forgetting to cancel. They probably have a high income and just didn’t notice the monthly charges continuing from 2016 to 2020.
There is still no mention of a resolution on BBB. They are quick to ask even new clients for reviews and other feedback, but when it comes to caring about what happens to them, years can go by with an inactive account charged continually. How can they just tell people they’ll continue to charge them for nothing and there is no end in sight?
The second case is of someone who had paid for his sister’s account for a short period of time, and after she’d resumed without his knowledge, money kept being taken from them against their will. Apparently even if you can prove the payment is coming out of an account you own, you can’t terminate the service.
Accidentally created accounts – how is this happening?
There have been complaints from people who were simply browsing the website, hadn’t added payment information and most importantly, hadn’t gone ahead with creating an account. The payment details on their device were somehow found and they were charged. The response? “We can’t find your account” – of course they wouldn’t since there wasn’t one to begin with!
Do they use phishing software?
Yet more proof of them using fake/paid reviews
This one is so obvious I’m curious as to why they didn’t spot it (they likely only read the negative ones).
The person paid for this was obviously asked to write a 4 star review for Betterhelp on TrustPilot. They got confused and claimed TrustPilot was the psychologist referral service! The company must coach some of them to add a drawback so that the review seems more genuine.
It would be hilarious if their scam didn’t involve exploiting people in a mental health crisis.
“The member did use the service”…
By using the service they mean they waited and spoke for 15 minutes to a counsellor to arrange a session that never happened – they basically waited for 2 weeks without getting any help. So 3/4 of the money went on that call to arrange an appointment! That counts as a session, apparently. When their TOS say that they don’t give a shit, believe it.
According to their TOS, they would be correct – they never said they provided counselling. They provide discussions with counsellors and those can be about anything, I suppose, including arranging appointments that will be missed. The counsellor could fart into the phone and still wouldn’t be breaking the terms.
The Artistry Of Glorified Bullshit 
Very distressing experience of this damaging and deeply unethical ‘service’. I was the victim of a third-party diagnosis of BPD based on my partners initial ‘consultation’.
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Yes, it’s absolutely insane and also signaled by many people – that people seek counselling on BetterHelp and come out of it thinking their partners suffer from a disorder. They are not even allowed to diagnose the actual service user after meeting them, let alone someone they have never met, based on another person’s description.
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