Stress is such an inseparable part of our daily lives that we have come to see it as somewhat natural. This is especially true in the modern era, where changes are so rapid, competition is fierce, and many people feel like they are constantly compared and judged by others or by their own high standards.
Since almost everyone suffers from stress to some degree, it has come to be viewed as normal, and even welcomed. While it is true that mild levels of stress can actually improve performance and increase motivation, stress can also have serious implications on your wellbeing. As shown in this 2020 survey by the APA, more than 75% of Americans report physical or psychological symptoms related to stress.
Online therapy services provides a solution for treating stress and its symptoms. It’s ideal for managing and decreasing your stress levels before things go out of hand. Below, i’ll review and compare the various platforms, how much they cost and how effective they for helping you lead a stress free life.
BetterHelp is my overall top pick for online therapy, so it should come as no surprise I also believe they are the best choice for dealing with such a common mental health issue such as stress. The BetterHelp platform has more than 33,000 therapists you can choose from, and even though they might specialize in different treatment methods, almost all know how to treat stress and its symptoms.
BetterHelp only has a single subscription plan which starts at $60 per week and includes one weekly session with a counselor, as well as the ability to chat with your therapist between sessions. There is no option to receive medical prescriptions, and insurance is not accepted.
For more information, read my full BetterHelp review.
Talkspace is another leading virtual therapy site, and a place where you are extremely likely to find a counselor who can help you with your stress. While I do believe BetterHelp is the slightly better choice, Talkspace does have some clear advantages.
Most importantly, Talkspace allows you to use insurance while using online therapy services for stress or any other mental health issue. On top of that, they offer more choice when it comes to the subscription plan, so it makes it easier to find one which suits you the most.
Talkspace’s basic subscription costs $65 per week, but it doesn’t include any live sessions with a psychologist – only unlimited texting with a guaranteed response rate. When you include a weekly session, the price goes up to $79 a week instead. This means Talkspace is slightly more expensive than BetterHelp, assuming you can’t use any type of insurance.
I wrote a very detailed head to head comparison between BetterHelp and Talkspace, which can help you understand why ultimately we feel like BetterHelp is the slightly better choice. Alternatively, you might also want to read our full Talkspace review, or this list of the best therapy sites with insurance before making your choice.
Unlike the previous entries on our list, Online-Therapy.com is a fairly small online therapy platform. They focus entirely on CBT, which has been proven to be a highly effective way to deal with stress. That said, with only 75 therapists on it, it means you might have to wait a week or so before you can book an appointment.
However, this issue is somewhat mitigated by the fact Online-Therapy.com has some of the best tools, videos and workshops for people who are looking for self-help with their stress or anxiety. In fact, many people find that doing a lot of “homework” on their own helps distract them and alleviates stress all on its own.
The basic plan, which only includes access to all the DIY tools and material, as well as the ability to chat with a virtual therapist, costs $39.99 a week. If you include a weekly video session, the price would go up to $59.99 per week instead. In any case, these are extremely competitive rates which makes Online-Therapy.com worth the consideration.
For more information, read my Online-Therapy.com review or check out this list of the best affordable online therapy sites.
Relationships are a key part of our lives, but that also means they are one of the biggest stress inducers. Owned by BetterHelp, ReGain is a platform which is dedicated to providing relationship and couples therapy. All therapists on the site are specifically trained to help with relationship issues, with stress being no exception to that.
ReGain allows you to invite your partner and have joint sessions, or attend sessions by yourself. As such, it can be useful for couples who are dealing with stress together, or if you find yourself struggling to deal with stress within a relationship.
The monthly plan costs $60 per week, and there’s also a financial aid program available which can reduce the price if you are eligible. The price is the same whether you invite your partner or not. For more information, read my ReGain review, or this comparison between the best couples therapy sites.
Going through adolescence can be a challenging and stress inducing experience, and Teen Counseling aims to provide kids with the necessary tools and support to deal with it in a healthy manner. The platform, which is also owned by BetterHelp, is completely dedicated to treating kids aged 13 to 17.
Either the parent or the teen can sign up to the site, and invite the other. Sessions are strictly between the kid and their therapist though, unless the parent is explicitly asked to attend. Similarly to ReGain, the pricing starts at $60 per week, but financial aid programs can help you reduce it even further.
For more information, read my full TeenCounseling.com review, or this full list of the best teen therapy sites online.
Circles, also known as Circles Up, is an online therapy platform that only offers group sessions. For $30 a week, you can attend meetings with likeminded people, hosted by a trained counselor.
Even though it’s not for everyone, group therapy is a highly effective method of dealing with stress. Having the ability to verbalize and normalize your feelings in front of a supportive audience can do wonders to your wellbeing. Another benefit is of course the ability to learn from other people’s advice and experiences, and hopefully even make some new friends along the way.
That said, $30 a week is quite pricey for such a service. Insurance is not accepted and many of the platform’s counselors are not in fact licensed psychologists but rather counselors or coaches. Circles is still a solid choice for someone who’s looking for virtual therapy for stress in a group, but you might want to first check if there are free groups in your vicinity that provide the same service, but in a face-to-face setting instead.
Read my full Circles review for more information, or visit their site by clicking the button below.
As mentioned above, stress is an extremely common feeling that almost every person in the world deals with at one point in time. The problem begins when it becomes persistent or overbearing, and starts affecting your day to day life.
Even though stress is considered a mild mental health issue that is fairly easy to deal with, leaving it untreated for long can dramatically impact your quality of life. It can manifest itself in physical problems, as well as lead to more serious mental issues such as anxiety and depression.
It is also worth noting that in many cases, stress is merely a symptom and not the actual cause.
For example, people with PTSD are often treated separately for stress and anxiety, while working on a longer term treatment plan for the underlying cause. If you feel like that might be the case for you, we suggest reading our guides for the best anxiety therapy online and the best depression therapy sites.
There are many different ways to treat stress online, so the best thing to do is to schedule a consultation meeting with a therapist of your choice and decide together. Treating stress in a virtual setting usually does not include medical prescriptions, although these might be given to deal with related issues such as anxiety or depression.
If you are looking for a combination of medical prescriptions and talk therapy, I recommend reading my Brightside review. The sites featured on this page offer a variety of treatments, but medication isn’t their core focus. The most popular (and effective) treatments for stress are CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and Mindfulness.
These 2 treatment techniques are highly effective even in an online setting, and have proven to be useful for dealing with stress specifically. Other possible treatments online include psychodynamic therapy, guided imagery techniques, gestalt, biofeedback, hypnotherapy and more.
Online therapy is highly effective when it comes to managing and mitigating stress and its symptoms. However, it’s not an ideal place to get diagnosed, or figure out if there are any underlying causes which are making you feel stressed out.
For that reason, it’s recommended to first see a therapist face to face if possible, or at least make sure you have a clear idea of what issues you are dealing with and how you wish to treat them.
Virtual therapy is also not recommended for people who are in a serious, potentially life threatening situation. If your stress is severe and escalates into a panic attack, it is highly advised you seek medical help in a live setting instead.
With all that said, online therapy is still an extremely useful tool to have in your arsenal. It can do wonders to help you deal with and reduce the levels of stress you suffer from every day. This makes online stress therapy a legitimate solution for people without access to face to face treatments, or for those who suffer from mild symptoms and simply wish to save some money on their counseling.
Online therapy for stress is an incredibly popular and effective way to deal with this common mental health issue. Even though stress is a normal feeling, there’s absolutely no reason why you should suffer without seeking help or learning ways to make it better. Online therapy does just that – at a very affordable price and with the utmost convenience possible.
The therapy sites featured above should all provide an excellent starting point in your journey to living a stress free life. They are cheap, easy to use, and offer a wide selection of therapists and treatment methods for you to choose from.
If you are still not sure which place to go to in order to get the help you need, I suggest reading our full list of online therapy reviews, where you can find an even wider selection of therapy platforms, as well as more details on how we review them, and what makes each therapy site different from the others.
