Amwell is one of the largest telehealth service providers in America. It has more than 3 million subscribed users, and offers a large variety of services. Unlike most online therapy sites, Amwell doesn’t focus solely on mental health – so you can use it for counseling and treating other health issues simultaneously.
This Amwell review will focus on the counseling services the site offers. Due to its wider scope, Amwell’s approach to virtual therapy is quite different than most. It operates on a pay per meet basis, which means costs can run quite high compared to a subscription based module.
Unlike other popular online therapy sites such as BetterHelp or Talkspace for example, Amwell only offers live sessions and no 24/7 chats. Our review will hopefully help you understand all these differences and figure out if Amwell is the right choice for you.
AmWell, formerly known as American Well, is an industry leaders when it comes to Telehealth. The company is publicly traded on NYSE, with a market cap of more than $780m (true for January 2023). Amwell boasts commercial partnerships with Apple, Cisco, Philipps, and Cleveland Clinic, and employs more than 700 people.
As such we deem Amwell to be sufficiently safe and credible to consider using.
| Year Founded | 2006 |
|---|---|
| U.S Based Company | Yes |
| Number of Licensed Therapists | 350 |
| Accepts Insurance? | Yes |
| HIPAA Compliant | Yes |
| Therapy Modes | Video and Phone Live Sessions |
| Available Treatments | Private, Couples, Teens |
| Average Price | $99 – $119 Per Meeting |
| Sign Up Time | Less Than a Minute |
| Response Time | Therapists respond quickly, but usually need to book a few days in advance |
| Mobile App | Yes |
| Website | www.amwell.com |
| Customer Reviews | 85% Positive |
| Our Editorial Rating | 4 Stars |
| Current Promotion | None |
Amwell has one of the simplest and most straightforward sign up processes possible. Unlike other therapy platforms – here you won’t have to fill up a questionnaire or wait to be matched with a therapist. I was able to complete my registration and begin using the site in less than a minute.
When you click the sign up button the first thing you get a scroll down menu of insurance providers Amwell works with. If you are unable to find your insurance company there, you can skip this step. Still, we highly recommend you contact Amwell’s support via phone or email and try to find out if there’s any way you can be eligible for coverage.
Then, you will only need to fill out your name, email address and choose a password. Once done, you are given access to the platform and can begin browsing it for potential therapists. You can check out each therapist’s individual profile page to see a short bio, what they specialize in and when they are usually available to meet. One of the things I liked the most is that you also get to see how other users rated each counselor.
When you find a counselor you like, all you have to do is book an appointment with them. Select whatever date and time you are most comfortable with, and you’ll soon get a reply from your therapists confirming the meeting or asking for it to be rescheduled if necessary. From my experience using Amwell, replies arrive very fast. It is much better to book a few days in advance, but I usually had no problem setting a meeting with just a day’s notice.
As mentioned above, Amwell’s mental health specialists are employed directly by the company. This allows for a much better screening process as well as ongoing quality control, based directly on client feedback.
There are currently 350 counselors on the platform offering various treatments – psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers. They have all been handpicked by Amwell and trained to provide virtual therapy and counseling services.
Therapy sessions typically last between 45 minutes and an hour. If the video quality is low (which happens sometimes unfortunately) – you will have the choice to switch over to phone or reschedule the meeting. After a session is done you will be offered a chance to provide feedback and write a review of your therapist. These reviews are shown on the counselor’s profile page, and you can read yours and others at any time.
From my personal experience with Amwell, as well as reading thousands of client reviews across the web, convinced me that quality of treatment is one area where Amwell really shines. It might not have as many counselors to choose from, but the ones you get are truly excellent and very professional.
* Prices above reflect the cost assuming you are unable to get any insurance coverage. Amwell is currently one of our top picks for online therapy with insurance, and nearly 95% of their users are able to enjoy at least some benefits. Generally speaking, you can expect to pay about half the price if Amwell is in-network with your provider.
Despite the fact there aren’t as many therapists on the platform, Amwell is still able to provide treatment for a wide variety of mental health issues. One thing I found lacking is not enough diversity when it comes to the techniques each therapist uses. If you are not a big fan of behavioral based approaches, and CBT in particular, you might only have a handful of counselors to choose from. Here are some of the common issues Amwell’s therapists are able to help with:
Amwell does not only offer psychiatric treatments, but also the ability to combine them seamlessly with other types of therapy – both on the platform itself or outside of it. The streaming app they use allows you to add a 3rd participant to a meeting – so you can meet with a psychiatrist and have your psychologist or counselor join in as well.
As is always the case, virtual therapy is not a recommended solution for people dealing with severe mental health problems. If your condition is life threatening, Amwell can’t provide the proper urgent care you require. Amwell’s psychiatric services are much better suited for people who have already been diagnosed and simply require ongoing maintenance and prescriptions.
While the quality of service is high, pricing again is a big issue. I have found that specifically for managing prescriptions, Brightside is a much better choice. Brightside Therapy also works with insurance, has excellent psychiatrits and their prescriptions costs $15 on average which is about half of what you’ll pay with Amwell. For more details, please read my Brightside review here.
Amwell is one of the largest, longest standing telehealth companies in the U.S. Comparing them to other online therapy sites such as BetterHelp can feel like comparing apples to oranges as the structure and options they provide are so different.
I feel a more direct comparison would be with MDLive and Doctor on Demand – and Amwell is a much better platform than those, particularly when it comes to mental health treatments.
Still, I hope this Amwell therapy review was able to give you a clear sense of both the pros and cons the service has when compared to both their direct competitors and therapy sites offering similar services.
When compared with BetterHelp or Brightside, Amwell is a bit more expensive, has fewer therapists on board, and uses slightly outdated software. On the plus side, Amwell works with many insurance companies, their therapists are all excellent and the way they operate ensures you enjoy the most privacy and safety.
In the end, it mostly boils down to what you feel will be the most effective treatment type. Some people really enjoy the 24/7 chatting option, while others benefit more from the traditional approach of just having scheduled live sessions.
From my experience, even just a weekly session is more than enough to help most people, provided the therapist they see is good – which certainly would be the case if you choose Amwell.
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