Anxiety is the feeling of dread, fear and worry triggered by the brain’s fight or flight mechanism. Dealing with low levels of anxiety is perfectly normal and something almost every human encounters at some point of their lives. It can become an issue though, if you are suffering from persistent and excessive triggers from everyday, normal situations.
With the modern era being so fast paced, it is no wonder that an estimated 19.1% of Americans suffer from some type of an anxiety disorder. Leaving it untreated can seriously disrupt your daily activities and ability to perform, and may also lead to depression and other mental health issues in the future.
Online therapy can help you treat or manage your anxiety symptoms. In this article I’ll guide you through and compare the best online therapy sites for dealing with anxiety, the treatments they offer, how much they cost and more.
Since anxiety is such a common mental health issue, it’s a major focus on all of the best online therapy sites. While this means you are very likely to find help no matter which platform you choose, there are a few nuanced differences that are worth paying attention to.
BetterHelp is our top rated therapy site, and it’s no different when it comes to treating anxiety online. The largest therapy site in the U.S, it employs more than 33,000 licensed therapists – many of which specialize in helping patients who suffer from anxiety disorders.
BetterHelp offers financial aid programs, and the packages are competitive to begin with. That said, they don’t offer any psychiatric care or medical prescriptions, and don’t work with any insurance provider.
It only takes a few minutes to sign up, and you can expect to have your first session in a few days at most. You can pick your own therapist, even though that feature is somewhat hidden – read our full BetterHelp review to find out how to do so.
Talkspace is another large therapy provider who has made a name for itself over the past few years. While I do feel like BetterHelp has a narrow edge over them, Talkspace outshines BetterHelp in a few areas. You can read this BetterHelp vs. Talkspace comparison to see all the small differences between the two before you make up your mind.
Talkspace’s main advantage is the fact they accept insurance. If you are eligible for copay, then The Talkspace therapy plans are among the cheapest ways to get anxiety therapy online. You can read our Talkspace review or our list of best therapy sites with insurance to see why I like Talkspace so much.
Another great benefit is the fact they offer text-only therapy packages. These are much cheaper, and even though therapy without face to face interaction is less effective, can actually be beneficial and less overbearing for those who are suffering from social anxiety.
Even though it’s a significantly smaller platform than the previous two mentioned, Brightside offers some very distinct advantages. First and foremost, it’s the best place to combine talk therapy with psychiatric evaluation and OTC medical prescriptions.
Another positive thing is the fact Brightside was entirely designed to help people who are dealing with anxiety and depression. This means all therapists you’ll find there are qualified to do so, and they also offer online tools for self help. That said, being a smaller platform also means availability might be an issue, and therapists are sometimes overworked and late to respond.
Even though Brightside’s therapy + meds package isn’t cheap at $349 a month, it makes getting a complete treatment plan easier and takes that worry off your mind. They do work with multiple insurance companies, even if fewer than Talkspace. You can read our Brightside review or our Talkspace vs. Brightside comparison to learn more about Brightside’s advantages in providing online anxiety treatments.
Online-Therapy.com is one of the longest standing therapy sites, being live since as early as 2009. Throughout those many years, they maintained an impeccable reputation, by staying relatively small and only focusing on what they do best – offering specialized CBT treatments at affordable rates.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) has been proven to be highly effective in treating anxiety disorders. It might not be enough in the long run, especially if you need to uncover and treat the underlying causes that trigger your anxiety – but it’s an incredibly helpful technique when it comes to stabilizing patients and treating immediate anxiety symptoms.
Online-Therapy.com only has 75 therapists in its roster, but each and every one of them is highly qualified and trained in online anxiety treatment through CBT. This means however that you’ll have to do a lot of the work yourself since therapist availability is quite limited. Luckily, the Online-Therapy.com platform comes with a plethora of supplemental tools that help you treat your anxiety, such as videos, assignments, mood / progress journals and more.
When you combine the fact that therapists are handpicked and highly qualified, the focus on anxiety therapy and the extremely affordable rates, Online-Therapy.com is one of the best value for money choices for people who deal with anxiety. You can read my full Online-Therapy.com review to see everything this platform has to offer.
ReGain, similarly to the next 3 entries on this list, is a BetterHelp subsidiary. Each one is designed to help a specific segment of the population, and ReGain’s task is to assist couples who are dealing with anxiety. It can be very helpful if either one or both partners are looking for anxiety therapy – as long as you wish to do so as a couple.
ReGain is also useful for singles who are having a hard time dealing with relationships due to anxiety, or for those who are currently in a relationship that triggers their anxiety.
The software, mobile app, treatment options and pricing are all similar to BetterHelp. This ensures you get quality service, with a clear focus on relationship issues that cause your anxiety. That is why I also name it the best couples therapy site overall. For more details about the platform, read my full ReGain review.
Anxiety and depression are extremely prevalent among adolescents, and that’s an issue Teen Counseling aims to help with. It is widely regarded as the best teen therapy site, and has all the necessary tools to assist you and your child in treating their anxiety.
The parent can sign up to the platform and invite the child, or the other way around. Parents are able to chat with their kid’s therapist and get constant updates, but sessions are of course private and confidential, unless the teen invites the parents to participate in them.
Teen Counseling only services teens aged between 13 and 17. If your child is younger than that and suffering from anxiety, you might want to check our Amwell review instead. Otherwise, read our full Teen Counseling review for more details on the platform and what it has to offer.
Pride Counseling is a BetterHelp platform designed to help members of the LGBTQ+ community in their everyday struggles. Data shows that people who identify as gay or queer, have an increased liklihood of dealing with mental health issues throughout their lives – be it anxiety, depression, guilt or anything else.
This is why such a platform is so important, as it helps you feel like you belong and have a place where everyone gets you. It’s up to you whether you want a therapist who’s part of the community itself – there are also straight psychologists offering their services there. But all therapists are of course trained especially to deal with LGBTQ+ issues.
You can read our detailed Pride Counseling review and see why we think it’s the best gay-friendly therapy site, and the perfect place to get help with your anxiety if you choose to do so through virtual therapy.
Faithful Counseling is one of the leading Christian therapy sites in the U.S. It was designed to combine modern therapy techniques with spiritual guidance and insights from the scriptures. While not all therapists are licensed psychologists – they are all qualified counselors who practice Christian beliefs in their day to day lives.
Therapists on the site employ common anxiety treatment techniques such as CBT, Mindfulness and Psychodynamic therapy. These are infused with religious ideas and thoughts, based on your specific requests. Some patients want the whole process to be faith-driven, while others simply wish to read a verse of the holy book along with their counselor at the start of each session.
Faithful Counseling is also a great place to visit if your anxiety is triggered by religious conflicts and dilemmas you might have. Keeping a Christian lifestyle in this modern age can be quite challenging, and this platform can help you find the right path. Read our Faithful Counseling review to see exactly how they do that.
One of the worst feelings you can have when feeling anxious or going through a panic attack, is being around people who don’t understand what it means. As we all know too well, hearing you “just need to relax” or “take a deep breath” doesn’t really do much to help, and in fact can make you feel frustrated and make matters even worse.
On a similar notion, being around people who understand and are going through the same thing can be a tremendous boost. Circles offers group therapy at affordable rates, with excellent software and a 1 week free trial. The downsides are the fact many of the facilitators are not trained psychologists and that insurance can’t be used.
Of course, another obvious downside is the fact anxiety group therapy isn’t right for everyone. It can be highly effective, but only if you feel comfortable doing it. So, if you feel like you might benefit from this type of approach, read our full Circles Therapy review or our guide on the best group therapy services online.
Sesame Care is a telehealth platform, but one which has a clear focus on mental health. One of the biggest benefits of a platform that offers all-around medical services is the fact you have easy access not only to talk therapy, but also to psychiatry and medical prescription services.
Sesame operates on a pay per meet basis. You sign up to the site, view the available physicians near your location, and book an appointment with the one you like best. Some therapists only meet face-to-face, while others give you the option of conducting the session virtually instead. The main thing is, you are almost guaranteed to find someone who can see you on the same day.
Sesame Care isn’t cheap, and doesn’t work with insurance. There’s also no mobile app and it doesn’t allow you to communicate with therapists outside the 50 minutes long session. It is, however, the best option for people who need immediate help with their anxiety, as it provides the easiest and most accessible solution.
Read my full Sesame review first, and you’ll get an idea if this is the best choice for you or not.
Online therapy is highly effective in general when dealing with non-severe mental health conditions. That is also the case with anxiety disorders, where online therapy, and especially CBT, have been proven to be a very effective measure as well.
If you are experiencing anxiety and feeling unable to control it, then reaching it for immediate help online is always a wise decision. Reputable, trustworthy professionals such as those employed by the therapy sites above, will always tell you if they think you might benefit more from a face to face treatment rather than a virtual one.
As mentioned, online therapy for anxiety has proven to be highly effective. This is particularly true when the patient is experiencing mild to medium symptoms, making it easier to support and manage the condition in a remote setting.
Online therapy is also useful if you have already been diagnosed and simply need some ongoing assistance in supporting and maintaining your mental fortitude on the journey towards wellbeing. The sites featured on this page are affordable, safe and offer a wide variety of services, all geared towards helping you with your anxiety.
That said, if you are suffering from an extreme case of anxiety or are in the midst of a severe panic attack, a virtual session would not be the best choice. It should only be considered if you have absolutely no access to seeing a therapist face to face. In emergency situations, it is much better (and more effective) to go to the ER and receive help there.
If you were unable to find a therapy site you like while going through our list above, I suggest you check out the full list of therapy site reviews on our website. With anxiety being such a common mental health issue, every online therapy site has at least some services geared towards helping people who are dealing with it.