Whether you are looking for therapy from a Christian perspective, or simply want spirituality to have a prominent place in your journey towards better mental health, then Faithful Counseling is one of the best online therapy sites you can ask for.
Faithful Counseling is yet another site which operates as a subsidiary of the BetterHelp Group. Much like the other sites the company owns, it means Faithful Counseling shares many features such as the software and mobile app it uses, pricing plans, customer support and more.
Our Faithful Counseling review will help you understand what’s different about this site, for better and for worse, and determine whether or not it’s the best Christian therapy site online.
FaithfulCounseling.com is part of the BetterHelp therapy group, which is owned by the stellar public company Teladoc (NYSE: TDOC), which is one of the most dominant players in the new and upcoming field of Telemedicine, which has been boosted significantly through the pandemic and thereafter.
BetterHelp and all its subsidiaries are highly regulated and HIPAA compliant. They are well known for having one of the best customer service operations in the industry, as well as an excellent vetting process for new therapists applying to work on the platform.
| Year Founded | 2017 |
|---|---|
| U.S Based Company | Yes |
| Number of Licensed Therapists | Unknown |
| Accepts Insurance? | No |
| HIPAA Compliant | Yes |
| Therapy Modes | Text, Audio and Video |
| Available Treatments | Private Therapy Only |
| Average Price | $80 Per Week |
| Sign Up Time | Few Minutes |
| Response Time | 24/7 |
| Mobile App | Yes |
| Website | www.faithfulcounseling.com |
| Customer Reviews | 92% positive |
| Our Editorial Rating | 4 Stars |
| Current Promotion | None |
Unlike many other Christian therapy sites out there, Faithful Counseling is modern and easy to use. The signup process is easy to complete and won’t require more than 5 minutes of your time. It is, however, important that you take it seriously – because your potential therapist is determined automatically by their system, based on the answer you provide.
First, you need to enter your email address and choose a nickname and a password. These are all the personal details you have to give out in order to use the platform. Once you decide to pay for services, you’ll also need to provide your full name and address naturally – but your therapist won’t have access to those. So, you can remain 100% anonymous throughout therapy if you wish to.
You will need to verify your email address, and then login with the details you just provided. Then, you’ll fill out a short survey to help the system determine who’s your ideal therapist. The “matching” method is different from other platforms (such as Amwell or Talkspace for example, where you get to pick your own therapist). Here, you are matched automatically and can’t choose your therapist. That said, you don’t have to pay before therapy actually begins, and can request to change your therapist any time you’d like.
The questionnaire you fill in during signup is quite standard, with questions regarding your mental health and the specific issues you are currently dealing with. But there are a few questions which are unique, most notably the one regarding the nature of counselling you are seeking. This is one of a few faith focused questions which will help determine how much of a role you want your faith to play in your upcoming therapy sessions.
This illustrates the best thing about Faithful Counseling – your ability to determine to what degree you want faith to be a part of it. The choice between mental health treatment from an entirely Christian perspective, or a more holistic counseling addressing both psychological and spiritual components is entirely yours.
As mentioned, There’s only one plan which costs $80 per week, billed once a month for $320 in total. You can change your payment method or cancel the subscription at any time directly from the account settings. Payments are available through credit and debit cards, as well as Google Pay. For some reason they don’t accept Paypal – even though Betterhelp does. You can email support and they’ll send you a link to pay through Paypal if you like that better.
Unfortunately, Faithful Counseling doesn’t work with any insurance providers. If your plan covers virtual mental health, you’ll need to contact your provider directly. Then, if you are eligible, email customer support and they’ll help you by providing all necessary documents. You’ll also be asked to sign a release form and provide some additional personal information first.
Even without insurance, FaithfulCounseling’s prices are very competitive and are among the lowest in the industry. On top of that, they also have a financial aid program you might be eligible for. Before paying, you can click the ‘I can’t afford therapy’ link at the bottom of the payment screen – and you’ll be taken to a short questionnaire that will help determine if you are eligible for the program or not. If you are, the price will be updated automatically. Financial aid discounts can go to as high as 40% each month.
Faithful Counseling is part of the Betterhelp Group, which is renowned for having the strictest vetting process for therapists who wish to work on their platforms. That said, even though our experience on the site was overall good, we did find the quality of personnel lacking in comparison to other Betterhelp sites.
Some of the therapists we tried out were very laconic, especially in chat, and some seemed hardly inclined to combine scripture in sessions – even though we specifically asked for that to be included. But all in all, most of the counsellors we engaged with were very professional and respectful, and it was very evident faith plays a big part in their lives as well.
All therapists on Faith Counselling must hold at least a Masters Degree, 2000 hours and 2 years of hands-on clinical experience, and a certificate from their state’s board. They are all practicing Christians and have signed the site’s Statement Of Faith, advocating for the importance of spiritual and religious guidance throughout therapy.
According to their website, therapists over at Faithful Counseling can help you with the following mental health problems:
If you are looking for therapy by a licensed psychologist who is also a devout Christian, then Faithful Counseling is the perfect place to go to. You can mix and choose the right balance between the clinical and spiritual approach to counseling, and find the path you’ll feel most comfortable with.
There isn’t any other online therapy site which is completely committed to the idea of faith based therapy – so this is where you have the highest chance of finding what you seek.
We hope this Faithful Counseling review did enough to explain the good things we see in this platform, as well as the bad. Since they offer a week-long free trial, there’s no harm in giving it a try and see how it feels.
Like we said, this site is where you have the biggest chance of finding what you are looking for, as competitors in this niche of Christian therapy appear outdated and lackluster. For more info on that, see our comparison of the best Christian counseling sites.
If you read this Faithful Counseling review and thought that the platform does not meet your requirements, or signed up and weren’t pleased with the service, you might want to check our other online therapy reviews or this Cornerstone Counseling review in particular – another U.S based Christian therapy site.
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