Best Online Family Therapy (2024)

Best Online Family Therapy

Best Online Family Therapy

Available in most of the United States and in-network with loads of insurance providers, Thriveworks makes it simple for you to connect with a qualified, licensed therapist capable of supporting your family with remote family counseling.

Thriveworks is a reliable place to find high-quality therapists who specialize in working with families. Around since 2008, Thriveworks now has thousands of licensed therapists, including counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists, available in 45 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.

Thriveworks has an app, though many reviewers reported that you don’t need it. That’s because everything you need to do at Thriveworks—including scheduling and attending therapy—can be done from your private portal on the Thriveworks website using any internet-enabled device. To participate in live video therapy sessions, you can use any device with a camera and microphone.

At Thriveworks, searching for therapists with expertise in working with families is straightforward. This stands out from some of its competitors, where finding family therapy providers can be more complicated. Sixty-nine percent of the Thriveworks users we surveyed said navigating its website was easy or very easy.

To find a family therapist at Thriveworks, first enter your location on the website. From there, you can sort by service type: couples/marriage counseling, family counseling, individual counseling, and medication/psychiatry. You can also sort by specialty, which includes options relevant to families seeking counseling, such as addiction, divorce or breakup, domestic abuse, life transition, grief/loss, military/veteran, postpartum/pregnancy, and relationships.

The quality of the providers you’ll find through this process sets Thriveworks apart, according to the users we surveyed: 89% told us they felt good about the number of providers they discovered. Many families will appreciate the opportunity to choose their therapist. But if you prefer a company to play matchmaker, Thriveworks may not be for you.

Overall, our survey data indicated Thriveworks users have positive feelings about the company. A full 90% of users had a positive overall experience with Thriveworks, and 80% would recommend the company to a friend.

With Thriveworks, you pay per each online family counseling session attended. Session rates depend on your location and the clinician you’re working with, but they all fall in a relatively narrow range of $99 to $130 per session. This span captures the cost of family sessions, in addition to individual and couples counseling.

Thriveworks providers accept insurance, including major providers like Aetna, Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Humana, Optim, and UnitedHealthcare. Some Thriveworks providers also accept Medicare. The Thriveworks website includes an option to filter your therapist search by insurance coverage, which makes it easy to find providers who take your plan.

However, only 47% of the Thriveworks users we surveyed found it affordable. But, on balance, those same users felt the cost was worth it. Of the Thriveworks users we surveyed, 78% said the company had good, very good, or excellent value for money.

Little Otter’s online family counseling services were designed by experts to specifically cater to the mental health needs of families with kids aged birth to 14.

Little Otter provides multidisciplinary mental health support for families with kids aged 14 and under. Founded in 2020 by Yale-trained psychiatrist Helen Egger, MD, and her daughter Rebecca Egger, Little Otter offers children’s therapy, parent training and support, couples therapy, and psychiatric services.

It’s important to note that while virtual family therapy isn’t listed on Little Otter’s website, the kind of therapy offerings described take the whole family into account, and that’s why we’ve included the company on our list. However, Little Otter is geared toward supporting little kids, so it may not be a good fit for families with older teens or adult family members needing therapy.

To get started with Little Otter, you create an account on its app and complete a free assessment, which generates a custom report about your family’s mental health. From there, you can schedule a welcome session where you and your clinician develop a treatment plan. Your care team at Little Otter may include a care lead, licensed therapist, parent specialist (a board-certified behavior analyst), and child psychiatrist. Sessions at Little Otter take place on phone calls or its app, which you can access via your smartphone, tablet, or computer. The app also lets you schedule appointments, see progress, and contact your team with questions.

Little Otter is available in 11 states and Washington, D.C., with plans to grow, according to its website. In 2022, it acquired Little Renegades, a shop featuring a collection of mindfulness cards and journals for kids. At the same time, it beta-launched the Kelp Line, an unlimited chat membership option, where parents can message with parenting specialists. This affordable option is available during regular business hours across the United States and is intended to increase access to Little Otter’s virtual family counseling services.

According to Little Otter’s website, its assessments show that 85% of families and kids have “moved from clinical to subclinical” after interacting with their app for six weeks, indicating a reduction in mental health symptoms. The people we surveyed were largely happy with their experience with Little Otter. Seventy-five percent rated Little Otter good, very good, or excellent overall, and 81% said it compared favorably to other mental health services they’d used in the past.

At Little Otter, you pay per session and the rates are the same no matter who you work with. Your card is charged 23 hours before your session. The fees are:

• $90 for the initial session
• $200 per subsequent 45-minute session
• $400 per 90-minute session

Little Otter is in network for Kaiser Permanente, but out of network for all other insurance providers. However, if you have out-of-network benefits, you can apply for reimbursem*nt for therapy and psychiatry sessions. It’s important to note that sessions with Little Otter’s parent specialists, who are behavior analysts and not licensed therapists, are generally not eligible for reimbursem*nt. Therapy and psychiatry sessions are also HSA/FSA eligible, according to the website.

Little Otter offers packages which reduce out-of-pocket costs:

• $680 per 4-session bundle
• $1920 per 12-session bundle

Before you book your first session, Little Otter offers a free informational call and a no-cost personalized report with tips for your family.

Even with these reduced rates and free offerings, virtual family therapy with Little Otter can be expensive. That may be why only 54% of the people we surveyed said that Little Otter was affordable or very affordable. However, the majority of the users we surveyed, 72%, felt Little Otter provided good, very good, or excellent value for the money.

Little Otter’s unlimited messaging offering, the Kelp Line, costs $30 per month.

With online family therapy based on cognitive behavioral therapy and specialization in issues pertinent to teens, Wellnite stands out from the competition in the online family counseling space.

Founded in 2019, Wellnite uses science-supported therapy techniques to improve the mental health of families with teens. In addition to virtual family therapy, Wellnite offers psychiatric care, individual therapy for adults and teens, and couples therapy. Its focus is on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Research suggests that CBT can help with many mental health challenges, but if you know CBT is not for your family, Wellnite may not be a good fit.

Wellnite is an excellent choice for families with teens because it serves people aged 13 and older, and specializes in family issues and romantic partner issues. Its therapists are also able to help with depression, eating disorders, friend issues, grief and loss, sleep issues, stress management, ADHD, addiction and substance use, anger management, anxiety, bipolar disorder, career issues, LGBTQIA+ issues, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many of these issues have particular relevance to teens, which made Wellnite stand out among its competitors.

Wellnite’s services are available in many U.S. states, and its licensed therapists include social workers, marriage and family therapists, counselors, and psychologists. Wellnite says its medication prescribers are board-certified physicians who know how to treat depression and anxiety.

When you sign up for Wellnite, you’ll be able to choose who you would like to work with from a list of providers licensed to practice in your state. Some users say they wish this list was more tailored to online therapists who specialize in the issues they’re facing. However, if you do not like your choice of therapist, you can stop scheduling with them and start scheduling with someone else.

You schedule appointments on your portal or by talking to your therapist, which users say was an easy process. You’re sent a link for your sessions, which you can click on from any device with Internet, a video camera, and microphone. You can choose between live video or phone sessions. While you can’t message your providers, you can message or call the support team anytime. Users said the support team’s responsiveness was a highlight of choosing to work with Wellnite.

Wellnite’s website includes research it has conducted about how well its services work. The study found that people’s anxiety and depression symptoms measurably decreased after using Wellnite. Keep in mind this research was conducted by the company itself and is not independent, peer-reviewed research.

The fact that Wellnite delivers convenient, evidence-based therapy may have contributed to how rosy its users feel about therapy at Wellnite. Of the people we surveyed, 80% had an overall positive experience with the company.

Wellnite uses a membership model and offers three types of memberships.

• Therapy: Six 30-minute sessions, four 45-minute sessions, or three 60-minute sessions per month
• Medical care: One doctor consultation per month, access to wholesale pricing on mental health medication, and free delivery on up to three deliveries
• Medical care + therapy: One doctor consultation, wholesale pricing on mental health medication, free delivery on up to three deliveries, and two 30-minute therapy sessions or one 60-minute therapy session

At Wellnite, you’re billed upfront. Pricing for each membership type depends on whether you’d like to pay month-to-month or lump your payments. The cost does not appear to change based on session type (individual vs. family).

Therapy membership prices are:

• $450 per month
• $2,160 for six months (a savings of $540)
• $3,510 per year (a savings of $1,890)

Medical care membership prices are:

• $95 per month, charged every other week
• $456 for six months paid in advance (a savings of $114)
• $744 per year paid in advance (a savings of $396)

Medical care and therapy membership prices are:

• $245 per month
• $1,176 for six months paid in advance (a savings of $294)
• $1,908 per year paid in advance (a savings of $1,032)

In addition to the savings these payment plans offer, Wellniteoffers sliding scale rates, which you can request during onboarding. The company also offers a free consultation call if you would like to speak to someone before committing to a membership. Of the Wellnite users we surveyed, 73% said they believed Wellnite had good, very good, or excellent value for the money.

Because of its complexity, effective treatment for postpartum depression and anxiety requires providers who are experts in perinatal mental health. LifeStance Health therapists have this expertise and are prepared to provide virtual and in-person family counseling in most U.S. states.

LifeStance Health specializes in myriad issues, including postpartum depression and anxiety, which are serious mental health conditions that are important to treat. Its therapists have an understanding of the particular mental health challenges facing people during the postpartum period. LifeStance Health also has expertise in prenatal depression, a less-talked-about sister of postpartum depression that may occur during pregnancy. For postpartum families, it’s a plus that LifeStance Health offers psychiatry services, because prescription medications, such as antidepressants, are frequently a part of treating these mental health challenges.

Founded in 2017, LifeStance Health is available in 32 states, and its website indicates plans to expand. In addition to online family therapy, LifeStance Health offers online and in-person individual therapy, group therapy, and psychiatry. LifeStance Health’s therapists include licensed therapists and psychologists. If you end up using its psychiatry services, you would choose one of their licensed psychiatrists and nurse practitioners to work with.

Once you sign up with LifeStance Health, you get access to a patient portal, where you can schedule your family therapy sessions. Your live video sessions can take place on any device that has a camera and microphone. There is no app to download. LifeStance Health’s website includes a lot of information about mental health conditions, which can be helpful, but only 58% of our survey respondents said the website was easy to navigate.

LifeStance Health’s website did not include any data about client outcomes, but our survey data was largely positive. Of the LifeStance Health users we surveyed, 88% had a positive experience overall, and 75% said they were likely or very likely to recommend LifeStance Health to a friend.

Lifestance Health accepts most commercial insurance providers in the states it serves, and some providers accept Medicare and Medicaid. When you’re selecting your Lifestance therapist, you can see if a particular therapist accepts your insurance on their therapist bio.

If you pay out-of-pocket, the website says therapy costs an average of $75 to $300 per session.

The price differs depending on your location, the experience level of your therapist, and the type of therapy you receive. Family therapy is often more expensive than individual therapy and, based on this description, it’s likely this is the case at Lifestance Health as well.

Reviewers noted that lack of clarity about the cost of therapy as a downside of working with LifeStance Health. Fifty-seven percent of the people we surveyed said LifeStance Health was affordable or very affordable, but 76% said online therapy with LifeStance Health was a good value.

Through actions and words, Kip Therapy makes it clear it supports and understands LGBTQIA+ clients, making the company an ideal choice for online therapy for New York-based queer families.

Small but mighty, Kip Therapy is a welcoming, inclusive online family counseling service. Based in New York City, Kip Therapy was founded in 2013 as a brick-and-mortar therapy office and pivoted online when the pandemic hit in 2020. It has since stayed online, where it is now able to serve families throughout New York state and clients aged 12 and older.

In addition to family therapy, Kip Therapy’s clinicians offer online individual therapy to adults and adolescents and couples therapy. The practice includes licensed and not-yet-licensed therapists. The licensed therapists are primarily social workers, and the not-yet-licensed therapists include graduate-level interns and pre-licensure fellows who have completed graduate school.

Kip Therapy doesn’t beat around the bush about its support for LGBTQIA+ individuals. On the FAQ page, the first answer proclaims, “We work hard to serve clients who have felt misunderstood by other psychotherapists—including queer clients, people of color, and people who identify as transgender.” Kip Therapy’s mission includes providing education and training for therapists, which often covers how to work with gender-diverse and sexually diverse clients.

Kip Therapy has a gender and sexuality team filled with providers who are capable of supporting LGBTQIA+ families. To make it easier to find a provider who is a good fit for you, therapist bios include disclosures about gender identity and sexual orientation, and you can search for therapists based on these traits.

After scheduling an initial consultation session, you schedule regular sessions with your therapist as needed. Kip Therapy doesn’t require an app and sessions can take place via live video or phone call on whatever device you prefer. Kip Therapy maintains the feel of a small practice that just happens to be online now, and that seems to suit the people we surveyed: 73% of Kip Therapy users felt positive about their overall experience.

Kip Therapy accepts most major insurance plans.

At Kip Therapy, you pay per 45-minute therapy session. The out-of-pocket session rate depends on your therapist’s experience and your session type. Kip Therapy categorizes therapist experience into three tiers, which impact the cost of your sessions.

• Tier I (Associate Therapist): $65 - $95 per session
• Tier II (Resident Therapist): $130 - $150 per session
• Tier III (Senior Therapist): $170 - $225 per session

Kip Therapy also offers couples and adolescent therapy:

• Couples: $200 per session Tiers I - II, $250 per session Tier III
• Adolescent therapy: $200 per session Tiers I - II, $250 per session Tier III

Your first 45-minute session, called a consultation session, is priced lower than a regular session; it’s free for tier I providers and $25 for tier II and III providers.

The website doesn’t list separate pricing for online family counseling, but we contacted Kip, and its clinical director told us the rate for virtual family therapy is the same as the rate listed for virtual adolescent and couples therapy.

Kip Therapy’s out-of-pocket prices can be high for families on a budget. Of the people we surveyed, only 40% thought Kip Therapy was affordable, and 65% thought the company offered good value for money. However, its website says Kip Therapy has a limited number of below-standard-rate openings for people who’ve been historically excluded from therapy or are facing economic hardship.

Amwell is available in all 50 states, accepts most insurance plans, and has no upcharge for family therapy with their expert, licensed therapists. Live video session appointments are available during days, evenings, and weekends to support your family’s mental health when it's most convenient for you.

Since 2006, Amwell has provided affordable, accessible telemedicine services. It continues to stand out for its ability to connect people across the country with expert providers—including family therapists—who can deliver care at a reasonable rate, at times of their choosing. In addition to family therapy, Amwell’s behavioral health providers offer individual therapy, couples therapy, and psychiatry. Other Amwell providers offer urgent care, pediatrics, breastfeeding support, nutrition counseling, second opinions, and women’s health.

Amwell has one large website for people seeking all of these services. This wide breadth of services may have contributed to Amwell’s website providing little information about its virtual family counseling services. While its website may not be clear, the Amwell representative we spoke to was: Amwell offers family therapy online.

To find an Amwell therapist for your family, you’ll first have to create an account using a browser or the company’s app. Then you’ll need to read the bios of the therapists available in your state with an eye for language indicating they are equipped to provide family therapy. Good clues are declarations that they are licensed marriage and family therapists or otherwise experienced in working with families. Although this search process isn’t as technologically slick as some other online family therapy services, it still results in connecting people to qualified therapists, according to 86% of Amwell users we surveyed.

Once you select a therapist, you’ll immediately be able to schedule your first session in your portal, where you’ll also be able to message your provider and receive an asynchronous reply. Amwell therapists are available to schedule during the day, evening, and weekend, which can help ensure you’ll be able to make virtual family therapy fit into your schedule. Therapy sessions can include family members who are age 10 and older\, depending on the age groups your therapist serves. All family therapy sessions take place over live video, which you can access through your Amwell account on your web browser or through the Amwell app on your phone or tablet.

Our survey results from Amwell users were unusually glowing. Ninety percent of people surveyed said they had an overall positive experience with Amwell and 78% would recommend Amwell to a friend.

With Amwell, you pay per 45-minute session. Rates for online family therapy are the same as any other type of therapy; there’s no upcharge.

• $109 per session with a master’s-level therapist
• $129 per session with a doctoral-level therapist

Amwell also accepts health insurance, which may lower your family’s costs further. Amwell does not offer any free consultations before starting paid sessions. Most people we surveyed said they found Amwell to be affordable, and 88% said it was good value for their money.

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