Sesame Care, also known as Sesame Health, is a telehealth platform providing various healthcare services to U.S residents. Despite the fact it has only been active for less than 4 years, Sesame has already gained itself a serious market share, while maintaining an excellent reputation.
This Sesame Care review will naturally focus on their online therapy services. It is important to note however, that much like other general telehealth platforms (such as Amwell for example) – Sesame allows users to combine virtual therapy sessions with other treatments, and even include medical prescriptions.
Sesame’s online therapy services are affordable, diverse and easy to use. The platform gives you access to a fairly wide selection of licensed therapists, all of which have impeccable credentials. What really sets them apart is the fact you can choose your own provider, and schedule a meeting for the same day.
Sesame Care is a New York based private company with offices in Manhattan. It was launched in July 2018 and received several rounds of investments from venture capital funds. Their most recent round of funding occurred in April 2021.
This, combined with the fact they have kept a stellar reputation so far, means Sesame Care is safe and legit. It’s a strong company with a solid base, and you can 100% trust it to keep you safe and provide you with the service you need.
| Year Founded | 2018 |
|---|---|
| U.S Based Company | Yes |
| Number of Licensed Therapists | Varies Between States |
| Accepts Insurance? | No |
| Hipaa compliant | Yes |
| Therapy Modes | Video or Face to Face |
| Available Treatments | Therapy, Psychiatry, Couples |
| Average Price | $45 – $120 Per Meeting |
| Sign Up Time | Few Seconds |
| Response Time | Immediate |
| Mobile App | No |
| Website | sesamecare.com |
| Customer Reviews | 88% Positive |
| Our Editorial Rating | 4 Stars |
| Current Promotion | 20% Off First Meeting |
Sesame is a pay per meet telehealth platform, and does that in the most transparent and straightforward way possible. You don’t even have to sign up in order to book an appointment, as you can simply select your preferred provider and book a session immediately. However, since becoming a Sesame Care member literally takes seconds, and enables you to enjoy some benefits, we strongly suggest that you do that.
If you just want to book an appointment without signing up for the platform, you’ll still have to give your basic personal details (full name, contact info and payment details). Signing up only takes 5 seconds – you just have to put in your email address and pick a password. In return, you get to enjoy the following benefits:
Regardless if you want to sign up or not, booking a therapy session is extremely easy and fast. First thing you want to do is look at the top right corner of your screen and make sure Sesame got your location right. This will determine which therapists you are presented with, and will affect the price you pay as well.
Assuming your location is correct, simply scroll down and you’ll see all available therapists in your region, along with their earliest available time slots, and the price they charge for a meeting. You’ll have a separate selection for in-person meetings, virtual therapy, psychiatric care and couples therapy. There’s also an option to book a consultation meeting, which is cheaper. This obviously means you won’t get the full treatment right away, but it’s a good option to have for those who first want to meet their potential therapist and see if they match with them or not.
As of the time of writing this Sesame Care review, therapy services are not available in the following states: Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
You can scroll through the various providers, and even click on their name to view their full profile. These profiles will include more details about the therapist’s qualifications, personality and specializations. Once you are ready and have made your choice, simply click on one of the available time slot icons, and you’ll be prompted to the booking screen, where you pay and confirm your appointment.
If you choose a video session, it will take place on the Sesame platform itself. You can’t ask to use external software such as Zoom or Skype for example. But from our experience over multiple sessions, the streaming quality is excellent and you should have no problem having a successful and productive meeting.
Prices for all services vary, based on your location and chose specialist. The prices below are for New York residents, and are merely meant to give you a rough idea of what Sesame Therapy services might cost.
Sesame Care specializes in treating specific mental health conditions. These include anxiety, ADHD, depression, insomnia, relationship issues and PTSD. That said, other issues can still be treated – but it is best you first book a consultation meeting with your preferred therapist, and discuss it directly with them.
As of now, Sesame Care does not offer any of the services listed below. If you are interested in those, click on the links to see our detailed guides and find out where you can find the best solution:
Sesame also offers psychiatric treatments as part of their overall service package. However, these are usually limited to in-person meetings. Virtual sessions are only for consultations to a new patient, and once you receive those, you’ll have to proceed with meeting your psychiatrist face to face.
Some of the doctors working with Sesame Care can also prescribe you with medication. For our purposes, these include antidepressants and anxiety treatment. If you are a Sesame Care member, you can get these for as low as $5 per prescription. Simply look out for the doctors who have the “$5 meds” icon next to their profile picture.
None of the therapists working with Sesame Care is allowed to prescribe any controlled substance to a patient. Even though meds are not covered by insurance through Sesame, you can still use your HSA or FSA to pay for any service you get from Sesame. You can always use your insurance to pay for the medication you buy at your local pharmacy as well.
