I kind of worked out recently that maybe if we didn't call what BetterHelp was doing necessarily psychotherapy, I might be able to be a bit more comfortable with it maybe. I still think it would be problematic, but I think it's the conflation of psychotherapy as I know it, and mental health support in a whole variety of different ways. So it could be, well, it is the fact that you have this platform that's offering something to people in the world of mental health, mental health professionals to speak to in some way or fashion. But the way that BetterHelp works is completely antithetical to how I was trained to offer a psychotherapeutic space, which was about consistency, regularity, space between those sessions. Generally very little contact between sessions, generally a commitment of more than a very short period of time...

Sessions can be more affordable, but the level of savings is not proportional to the rate cut for providers. So when you pay for therapy, although you’re paying less, your money is going toward the company BetterHelp—its advertising, parent company investors, and overall profit, not toward paying your therapist. This will undoubtedly impact the therapeutic relationship, which is “at least as vital to a positive outcome as using the right treatment method” according to the American Psychological Association.

The more we’ve acclimated to a new normal in quarantine, the more that opportunities for deeper work inspired by moments at home have shown themselves. A question about a photo of a friend or family member that I see out of the corner of my screen, reveals an integral character in a client’s life that they had never thought to share about before.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing collective trauma…we’re adapting our offerings at Kindman & Co. to support our clients and community in this complex time of need. To that end, we are working to innovate within our practice and offer more therapeutic services at reduced costs.