MDLive is one of the largest, most known telehealth providers in the United States. As part of their comprehensive healthcare services, MDLive also offers therapy and counseling sessions. Even though online therapy isn’t the main focus – it is still a viable option for a few different reasons.
MDLive’s main advantage is that they work with the most insurance companies out of any telehealth company in the U.S. Still, their overall offering is far from being the best, so we suggest checking other therapy sites that take insurance first, and consider MDLive only if they are the only ones who are in network with your specific provider.
In this MDLive therapy review, we’ll focus on those reasons and try to make it clear how you can possibly benefit from using the site. That said, we’ll also make sure to highlight all the problems this therapy platform suffers from – so you can make up your own mind whether or not it matches up to the best therapy sites online.
Founded in 2009, MDLive is a private company based in Florida. It has been growing steadily over the past few years, and now employs more than 300 people at their main offices. The company is HIPPA compliant, follows the GDPA (General Data Protection Act), as well as strict regulation as part of being a licensed telehealth provider.
In February 2021, MDLive was acquired by Evernorth for an undisclosed amount. Evernorth is a subsidiary of Cigna – the prominent medical insurance provider, trading publicly under CILNYSE and employing more than 70,000 people across the USA, which has shown growth of 72% between 2019 and 2020.
As such, MDLive is highly safe and secure and adheres to the most stringent rules which are levied upon public companies.
| Year Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| U.S Based Company | Yes |
| Number of Licensed Therapists | 50 |
| Accepts Insurance? | Yes |
| Hipaa compliant | Yes |
| Therapy Modes | Video and Phone Live Sessions |
| Available Treatments | Private Counseling |
| Average Price | $108 Per Meeting |
| Sign Up Time | 1-2 Minutes |
| Response Time | Usually Need to Book a Few Days in Advance |
| Mobile App | Yes |
| Website | www.mdlive.com |
| Customer Reviews | 82% Positive |
| Our Editorial Rating | 3.5 Stars |
| Current Promotion | None |
Signing up with MDLive and booking a session is extremely easy and simple. You begin by providing a few personal details – Full name, email address and phone number. While we understand these are necessary for a platform which accepts insurance and prescribes medication – it is much more information than what you are asked to give at other therapy sites.
Next, you will answer a short survey to help the system determine what treatment you are after. You’ll be asked about the issues you are dealing with, your preferred treatment and therapist and your current insurance coverage.
Then, you’ll immediately get to the page where all available therapists are displayed. They are automatically sorted so that the ones who are available the sooner show on top. You can click each profile and read a bit more about your potential counselor before choosing one. When you are ready, simply click the button to book an appointment with them.
Counselors usually respond to requests very quickly. It only happened once when a therapist asked us to reschedule, usually they are quite flexible and try to accommodate your preferred date and time. It is worth noting though, that many of the available counselors we saw were not psychologists but rather only had a Masters degree (Licensed professional counselors or social workers).
Note: not all counselors accept insurance. You can view that information on their profile pages, or filter results to show only those who do.
MDLive pride themselves on having the best, most qualified specialists in the industry. They also claim their vetting process is one of the most strict there is, but we were unable to get any transparent information about that when we reached out to them. Furthermore, our research through various online resources yielded no concrete results regarding this.
So with that in mind, all we can say for certain is that all counselors featured on the platform are subject to the following requirements – State’s board certificate, clean record of conduct and a minimum of 4 years experience in the mental health field.
Our own personal experience with therapists on the site was very positive. We felt like we got a lot of attention and the treatment was overall very professional. That said, we wouldn’t go as far as saying MDLive therapists are the best – you can read our Amwell review (their main competitors) first to see the clear differences we found in both the vetting process and the overall quality of specialists working on each site
Even though MDLive only has a small number of psychologists on staff, they cover many fields and each of them specializes in a few different ones. Based on the answers you give to their survey, the system will show you the most relevant counselors who can help you deal with the issues you are facing.
Here are some of the common issues therapists are able to help with:
It is somewhat of a consensus in the virtual therapy industry that MDLive has the best psychiatrists out of any of the sites offering such a service. Their credentials are great, they reply quickly, and give excellent care to their patients. At $108 per meeting, the price is also very competitive, especially considering the quality treatment you get in return.
As is always the case with online psychiatry services, it is better to pursue these only once you have had an in person evaluation first. Online therapy is not suited for dealing with severe mental health problems but rather for conducting followup meetings and getting medical prescriptions for well known, previously identified issues.
MDLive is one of the biggest telehealth companies in America, serving thousands of satisfied customers each month. The company is very trustworthy and safe to use, and enjoys an impressive track record of more than 12 years now, as well as countless positive user reviews across the web.
We tried our best to showcase what the platform has to offer throughout this MDLive review – the software is fantastic, customer support is excellent, and they offer arguably the best psychiatric care you can find online. Not only are prices competitive to begin with, but MDLive is also the platform which works with the most insurance providers.
That said, there are also some very clear issues which we feel prevent MDLive from truly belonging among the best online therapy sites. Even when compared to Amwell, their major rival and direct competitor, they fall short. When you compare them to “pure” therapy sites such as Betterhelp and Talkspace, the differences become even more apparent.
The greatest thing about MDLive is the fact it’s 100% to sign up and use the platform. You don’t have to pay until you book a session and it’s confirmed by the counselor you have chosen. So, there is absolutely no risk in going there and trying it out – who knows? Maybe you’ll end up liking it better than the other therapy sites we review on our site.
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