Relationships are fundamental to our mental health and wellbeing. As we all know, complex, romantic relationships can be the most challenging, but also the most rewarding. Oftentimes, they actually have both effects at the same time.
A healthy relationship can do wonders to boost your confidence, self worth and sense of purpose in the world. This can lead to improved performance in all aspects of your life, as long as you maintain a healthy balance as a couple and keep a reasonable amount of separation and an integrated sense of self.
This article will show you the best couples therapy sites online, and help you compare their cost and effectiveness. I’ll focus on sites which provide assistance and counseling for couples, as well as individuals who face relationship related issues.
ReGain Counseling not only provides a great platform and modern mobile app at very competitive rates, but also gives you extremely easy and convenient access to the exact type of treatment you are looking for. With more than 1,500 licensed couple therapists on board, ReGain has by far the largest selection out there.
The site is ideal for couples who wish to undertake couples treatment with a psychologist and do it together. The service costs between $60 and $80 a week and includes live sessions (phone or video, your choice) and unlimited text and chat messaging with your counselor.
One major downside of ReGain is that it doesn’t allow 3-way live sessions – you and your loved one would have to be at the same location for video calls. On top of that, while ReGain offers financial aid programs for those who quality, they don’t work with insurance. Read my full ReGain review for a more in-depth analysis of the platform and services it provides.
Contrary to the common misconception, not all couples would benefit from shared treatment. Sometimes, it is actually more beneficial to have a safe space where one person can vent and process on their own. If you are struggling within your relationship, and your partner is currently not interested in couples therapy, there’s no reason why you should not still get help for yourself.
Obviously, dealing with issues together as a couple and a team is much more effective. After all, that’s the reason why couples therapy even exists. That said, there are a few advantages to doing this without your partner. Most importantly, it allows you much more flexibility with the platform and the therapist you choose.
Individual relationship counseling can actually be more effective than joint therapy when dealing with some common issues we all face. If you are struggling to find your place within the relationship and expressing your needs or desires, therapy can help you find your voice as a strong and healthy individual inside the relationship. It’s also more suitable for discreet concerns if you have problems you are not yet ready to disclose to your partner.
Talkspace is one of the best online therapy sites in the U.S – It’s extremely affordable and easy to use, accepts insurance, and has many therapists you can choose from. All things considered, if you are not completely focused on joint therapy sessions as a couple, there’s nothing to stop you from going to the best therapy platform out there. In that regard, BetterHelp also deserves a mention, and you might want to first read this Betterhelp vs Talkspace comparison to determine which one is the right pick for you.
For more details, read my detailed Talkspace Review, or visit their site by clicking the button below.
Pride Counseling is a platform dedicated entirely for providing a safe and accepting space for members of the LGBTQ+ community. This is yet another BetterHelp sister site, and as such it holds the same high standards and high value features the parent site does.
Here, you can choose a therapist that is either a member of the community itself, or at least has a lot of prior experience dealing with gay issues. The real added value is having a place where you can feel safe and free of judgement, while talking to a person who truly understands the unique challenges you are facing.
Similar to ReGain and all other BetterHelp platforms, they do not accept insurance and make it somewhat hard for you to pick your own therapist when you first login to the site (they instead try and automatically “match” you with one). For more information on the services they provide, read my Pride Counseling review.
As its name might suggest, Relationship Hero is a site which focuses on more than just couples therapy. Here, you can deal with any relationship issue you might have, not just romantic ones. That said, naturally the focus here is on couples and romantic relationships as well.
Similarly to ReGain, this is a site which allows you to select your counselor from a group of dedicated professionals who have been trained specifically to deal with relationship related issues. You won’t have to sift through thousands of profiles to find the right counselor here – everyone working on Relationship Hero has the tools to assist you.
Relationship Hero is renowned for having one of the best mobile apps in the online therapy industry – currently boasting a 4.6 score on the Apple Store. Furthermore, they also have a great system for choosing your own therapist, and you don’t have to pay anything before the first session actually begins.
The only real downside to Relationship Hero, and the reason I haven’t given it the top spot, is that while some of the counselors are licensed psychologists, most are in fact not. Instead, They are classified as “relationship coaches” and while all of them have experience in helping couples and a relevant academic background, if you are looking for the most professional counselors, this just doesn’t cut it.
For more details, read our detailed Relationship Hero review, or visit their site by clicking the button below.
Amwell is a large American telehealth platform and offers a wide array of health related services and treatments. As such, licensed psychologists and psychiatrists who specialize in couples therapy are also available for you to meet.
Amwell’s biggest advantage is the fact they work with the most insurance companies. This can make a huge difference in price, depending on the state you currently reside in, and the policies of your specific insurance provider regarding copay for mental health services.
Even though couples therapy is usually not covered, Amwell tells us many of their clients are able to get at least some form of copay. We strongly suggest checking with your insurance provider before making any payment, or reading our guide about online therapy sites that accept insurance.
Another thing some people like about Amwell is the fact they operate with a book and pay module rather than a subscription based one. You can choose your therapists and book them for individual sessions once at a time instead of subscribing for a monthly plan and meeting at a set day and time each week.
This offers a great deal of flexibility for couples with hectic and somewhat conflicting schedules – you’ll find it easier to play around with the timing of sessions so they are the most convenient for you both. That said, there’s some important element of commitment and structure to therapy that you’ll be missing out on if you play around with the schedule too much on a regular basis.
For more information, read my Amwell review, or visit their site by clicking the button below.
Couples therapy is a a form of psychotherapy that is usually meant to yield short term results. Conducted by a licensed therapist or counselor, the aim of these meetings is to provide immediate relief to couples in strife and help them reach a mutual understanding.
Therapy can help couples who are at any stage of the relationship, as long as they are both willing to put in the work and improve their relationship. Common couples therapy approaches include CBT, Psychodynamic therapy and Emotionally focused therapy (EFT).
Couples therapy is a broader term which often linked with marriage counseling and family therapy. You can click the links to read our specific guides on those if you feel they might be more appropriate for the situation you are currently dealing with.
In essence, online sessions are not very different than face to face treatments for couples. Online therapy is much more effective when done via video call, as it’s easier to build rapport and read each other’s body language. That said, chat and text therapy is also an option if one partner doesn’t have access to a webcam or their internet connection is not good enough.
The first few sessions are used to determine mutual goals, give the therapist some background about your relationship, and build a level of trust and comfort between all participants. Then, you’ll start talking about specific issues in the relationship and develop strategies to cope with those and improve your overall wellbeing as a couple.
The counselor should really challenge both parties to reflect and improve their empathy towards their partner, while validating the way each one of you feels. A professional counselor should never take sides, as the purpose here isn’t to determine who’s “right”, but rather see how you can both improve and work better as a healthy unit.
Generally speaking, since no relationship is without its flaws, any couple can benefit from either individual or couples counseling. There are always things we can work on, and ways to make our relationships even stronger.
That said, couples usually turn to therapy in times of crisis. The most common issues are a loss of intimacy and of course infidelity. While studies show conflicting results in case of cheating, the overall consensus is that therapy can reduce divorce rate by roughly 40%.
It is also possible to take relationship counseling by yourself. It may help you figure out your place in the relationship, your needs and issues you are dealing with, and what do you expect from your partner. However, in the long run, it’s much better if both partners are involved in the process.
Couples therapy is not advisable when the relationship is abusive or violent. It’s also not an effective tool if one of the patients is resistant or not fully cooperating with the process. In such case, individual therapy is better to help devise an exit strategy from unhealthy relationships and get tools to deal with the upcoming changes in your life.
As you can see from the comparison chart above, prices for couples therapy online can vary. It is possible to find very affordable treatments for as low as $60 a week (per couple, not person).
On top of that, some sites (such as ReGain and Pride Counseling for example), offer financial aid programs which can reduce the price by another 40% for those are eligible. Sites such as Talkspace and Amwell also work with insurance, which can dramatically cut costs in some cases – but you’ll need to first check with your provider since oftentimes couples counseling is not covered.
Just like with regular counseling, online therapy for couples can be as effective as in-person live sessions. While it suffers from the same limitations, in many ways it is even better than going to a psychologist’s office every week.
The real advantage online relationship therapy offers is its ability to assist couples who are in a long distance relationship. Even for those who are not, the ability to schedule sessions from everywhere and at any given time is a huge advantage that ends up saving you a lot of time and money.
Same as regular couples therapy, virtual therapy for couples can greatly assist with the following common issues we all face at some point with our relationships:
