No matter what you’re going through, therapy can be a way to get support during difficult times. But accessing therapy can be difficult if you live in an underserved area, can’t afford in-person sessions, or fear the stigma of seeking mental health care.
If any of these reasons sound familiar, you may consider an online therapy platform to find the help you need. Cerebral is an online therapy platform that can connect you with a therapist from wherever you live in the United States. Its therapists work with those who have mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Additionally, Cerebral offers online psychiatry, either by itself or in addition to therapy. We found some of Cerebral’s features—such as the therapist selection and accepted insurance plans—limiting, and there have been allegations that the platform has engaged in unethical business practices, including in how it previously prescribed controlled substances and handled users’ private data. For these reasons, we don’t recommend Cerebral as one of the top online therapy platforms, but still believe it is important to test and review them to help you make the most informed decision possible. Below, learn more about Cerebral and see how it compares to other best online therapy platforms we’ve tested.
BetterHelp: Our Alternative Pick
If you want a broader therapist selection available in all 50 states and a platform full of bonus features, BetterHelp may provide a better fit.
Cerebral overview
In a mental health emergency:
Online therapists may not be the most appropriate resource to help in a mental health crisis. If you or someone you know is a danger to themselves or others around them, it is an emergency, and it cannot wait for an online therapist’s response. Don’t wait. You can find help immediately by:
- Calling 911
- Visiting your local urgent care or emergency room
- Calling or texting 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- Chatting online at 988lifeline.org
- Calling the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)’s Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 or texting your zip code to 435748
All the above options will connect you with trained professionals who can provide crisis support. You can find even more resources, including international options, on our helpline directory page.
Insights from our testers
Signing up for Cerebral is easy and only takes a few minutes. You must submit information about yourself, like your name, location, and medical history, before you can browse available providers, which you can select based on your preferences. Our tester found a therapist who suited their needs and scheduled an initial session. They appreciate that all therapists have a bio listing their background, specialties, and appointment availability, which makes it easy to choose a provider.
That said, the selection of practitioners on Cerebral can vary by location. For example, during testing, there were 24 therapists available in New York. However, in North Carolina, where our tester was based, nine therapists were listed on the directory, and only five were accepting new clients. Moreover, all North Carolina practitioners were women, with only two therapists of color available.
For people who want to connect with a male therapist, a therapist of a specific race, or a therapist of a certain cultural background, Cerebral’s provider selection may prove too limiting.
Our tester’s therapist had various time slots available almost every weekday and on Sundays. They easily booked an appointment within two days of signing up, and the video therapy session went smoothly. The audio and video were clear, and our tester experienced no technical issues.
From one of our Cerebral testers
“My therapist was right on time and immediately welcoming. I liked that she briefly introduced herself and told me a bit about her background and career before asking me about myself. It broke the ice, so I felt like I wasn’t talking to a complete stranger.”
From there, our tester and their therapist collaborated to create a plan for upcoming sessions, which included taking advantage of Cerebral’s journaling feature.
Our tester wrote a journal entry using Cerebral’s mobile app, then shared it with their therapist and discussed it during live sessions. This tool came in handy since our tester enjoys expressing themselves through writing. However, the journal feature is only available via the mobile app, not on desktop.
Our tester’s therapist also suggested other resources, like reading material, to supplement sessions. That said, our tester would have preferred more user resources on the Cerebral platform. For example, some therapy techniques, like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), can involve “homework,” such as worksheets.
From one of our Cerebral testers
“Cerebral is a very straightforward and basic platform for mental health care… I wish there were ‘extras’ like meditation, yoga, or worksheets.”
What other users are saying
During our November 2023 focus group, online therapy users said that being able to choose their providers was one of the most important aspects of a platform. Specifically, the option to choose between male and female therapists was one of their top priorities.
From one of our Cerebral testers
“I prefer talking to females… If I didn’t have that choice [between male and female therapists], I would not want to use a platform.”
While Cerebral allows you to select your provider, we notice that some states don’t have a choice between male and female practitioners: Only women are available in some locations. So, people who want a broader selection of therapists may prefer another platform.
Some focus group members also said they like to message or email their therapist between sessions. Cerebral offers unlimited messaging with its therapy tier, allowing you to share thoughts and observations on your own time. During your first session, ask your provider how often you can expect to hear back from them.
Department of Justice investigations
In May 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an investigation into Cerebral for possible violations of the Controlled Substances Act, alleging that the platform was overprescribing stimulant medications like Adderall and Ritalin to ADHD patients and that some patients set up multiple accounts in order to receive more medication. Some Cerebral clinicians also reported that they felt the 30-minute psychiatric consultations weren’t long enough to properly diagnose someone with ADHD. In response to the investigation, Cerebral stopped prescribing controlled substances to new and existing patients in May 2022.
In June 2024, Cerebral settled a lawsuit with the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) related to the platform’s failure to protect users’ sensitive health information from data breaches and for sharing users’ information with third parties for business purposes, such as targeted advertising.
Because of these issues, we do not recommend Cerebral as one of the best online therapy platforms and encourage readers to select a different platform for virtual therapy or psychiatry services.
Data privacy on mental health platforms
In addition to understanding how your data is collected and used before signing up for a platform, we recommend the following basic steps that we learned from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) and Mozilla Foundation’s *Privacy Not Included project:
- Attend your online therapy appointment in a private location, preferably not on a public Wi-Fi network.
- Use your personal computer when possible.
- Look out for checkboxes during sign-up to opt out of data tracking or medical information disclosure.
- Sign up with your email, not a social login like Facebook.
- Choose a strong password to create a secure account login.
- When choosing a provider, review the platforms’ privacy guidelines to understand whether they share private information.
Our testing experience
HelpGuide’s Handbook Team has put in more than 10,000 hours of research to bring you our recommendations for the best online therapy and psychiatry platforms. We consult with more than 60 mental health experts, conduct focus groups with current and prospective online therapy users, and personally test online therapy platforms to gain behind-the-scenes insight.
We strive to bring these unique perspectives and observations to our reviews, enabling you to find the online therapy platform that best suits your unique needs.
How we tested Cerebral
Fill out the intake assessment.
Subscribe as a new user and invite their teen to join the platform.
Get matched with a therapist.
Go through steps to change therapists.
Schedule and attend four weeks of appointments.
Contact customer support with questions.
Explore other platform features, including digital journals and worksheets.
Review billing policies and cancel subscription.
Our Handbook Team tested Cerebral and attended online therapy sessions for four weeks. Our tester tried the platform through the lens of a real user, paying attention to every step of the process. They logged their experience in a weekly diary and shared the findings with us. We used their insider knowledge and feedback to write our Cerebral review and bring you up-to-date information on the platform’s pros and cons.
Compare Cerebral with other online therapy platforms
| Monthly cost for therapy | $295 | $280–$400 | $300–$349 | $276–$436 | Varies by provider |
| Services offered | Therapy; psychiatry | Therapy | Therapy; psychiatry | Therapy; psychiatry | Therapy; psychiatry |
| Accepts insurance? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can prescribe a controlled substance? | No | No | No | No | Yes, in some states |
Cerebral cost and payment options
Cerebral’s therapy plan costs $295 per month out of pocket. It includes an initial consultation with a therapist, a personalized care plan for your areas of concern, and weekly 45-minute live sessions with your therapist conducted via video or phone. You can also message your therapist anytime between appointments.
If you’re interested in adding medication to your mental health care plan, Cerebral also offers a medication-only tier that costs $95 per month. It includes an initial 30-minute consultation with a licensed prescriber, a 15-minute follow-up, and two monthly check-ins to assess your concerns. You can message your care team at any time. Cerebral prescribers can no longer prescribe controlled substances following the DOJ investigation previously mentioned.
If you’re interested in combining medication and therapy, Cerebral offers a tier with both services for $365 per month (a $30 saving).
Cerebral also offers discounted bundles for new users who want to pay for multiple months upfront. For instance, paying for two months of the therapy-only plan costs $490, a saving of $50. You can pay for your monthly subscription by credit, debit, health savings account (HSA), or flexible spending account (FSA.)
If you’re looking for more ways to save on teletherapy, read our review of the most affordable online therapy platforms.
Insurance options
Cerebral accepts insurance plans from certain companies, including BlueCross BlueShield, Humana, United Healthcare, and Cigna. If you’re covered, your monthly therapy payment will cost $30, plus any additional costs, such as prescriptions.
Note that Cerebral only accepts insurance options in the following 21 states:
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- New York
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
For an online platform that works with a wider variety of insurance plans from other states, check out our roundup of the best online therapy platforms that take insurance.
Our final verdict
Cerebral can offer a straightforward way to connect with a therapist virtually. Our tester found their therapist empathetic, kind, and helpful. Video sessions were easy to book and went smoothly without technical issues, and the journaling feature provided an excellent tool.
That said, we are alarmed by the Justice Department investigation into Cerebral prescribing practices and the lawsuit related to its handling of users’ sensitive data. Our tester finds the selection of providers and currently accepted insurance plans limited and thinks the platform could offer more resources to supplement sessions, such as worksheets or mindfulness exercises. Ultimately, we do not recommend Cerebral and want users to have all of the information available to them when making a decision about their mental health.
If you’d prefer a platform that offers a broader selection of therapists, accepts more insurance companies, or provides more resources, another online therapy service—such as BetterHelp, Talkspace, or Brightside—may suit your needs better. Don’t be afraid to explore different avenues and practitioners until you find an approach that feels right to you.
Frequently asked questions
No. Cerebral doesn’t accept any government programs for mental health, including Medicaid or Medicare. If you rely on these programs to pay for online therapy, you may want to explore other options.
Cerebral is available in every state in the United States but only accepts insurance plans from 21 states at the time of writing. Keep in mind that provider selection can vary greatly from state to state.
Cerebral costs $295 per month for therapy only. Paying for two months at once can offer a $50 saving on the initial out-of-pocket cost. Paying for Cerebral’s therapy subscription with insurance can lower the cost to as little as $30 per month.
- Mongelli, F., Georgakopoulos, P., & Pato, M. (2020). Challenges and opportunities to meet the mental health needs of underserved and disenfranchised populations in the United States. Focus: The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry, 18(1), 16–24. Link
- (2021, November 29). Is online therapy right for you? UCLA Health. Link
- (2017). What is cognitive behavioral therapy? American Psychology Association. Link
- Kleiven, G.S., Hjeltnes, A., Råbu, M., & Moltu, C. (2020). Opening up: Clients’ inner struggles in the initial phase of therapy. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. Link
- Landi, H. (2022, May). Cerebral under federal investigation for possible violations of controlled substances law. Fierce Healthcare. Link
- Landi, H. (2022, May). Cerebral stops prescribing Adderall for new ADHD patients as reports of DEA investigation surface. Fierce Healthcare. Link
- Office of Public Affairs. (2024, June 10). United States sues telehealth providers and executives for unfair and deceptive conduct. U.S. Department of Justice. Link