Thriveworks Online Therapy and Psychiatry Review: Expert Tested in 2024

Therapy can help you take charge of your mental health and address the root cause of your emotional concerns. If you don’t have access to any therapists nearby, feel more comfortable in your home, or live with mobility challenges, online therapy can offer a convenient and effective alternative to in-person therapy for most mental health concerns. 

Thriveworks offers telehealth therapy services in most states and Washington, DC. Its practitioners can address a wide variety of conditions, such as depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and more. While its out-of-pocket expenses for individual therapy sessions fall on the more expensive end of the best online therapy platforms we’ve reviewed, it also accepts many insurance plans, which can lower your overall payment. 

Read about our experience with Thriveworks below, and see how it compares to other platforms. 

BetterHelp: Our Alternative Pick

While Thriveworks therapists accept insurance, out-of-pocket prices can be expensive, and therapists aren’t available in every state. If you’re looking for a more widely available platform that offers a therapy subscription at more affordable out-of-pocket rates, a service like BetterHelp may be better for you. 

9.9 Exceptional

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Out-of-pocket cost of $260–$400 per month.

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Therapists available in every state.

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Offers bonus features like group sessions and journaling.

9.9 Exceptional

Visit SIte

Thriveworks overview

Thriveworks

8.6 Very Good

Thriveworks

Features

• Best for: People who want the option of both in-person and online therapy and don’t want to pay a monthly subscription.
• Cost: Varies by state. 
• Session lengths: 50–60 minutes.
• Types of services offered: Online therapy, in-person therapy, online psychiatry.
• Providers can prescribe medication: Yes, through psychiatry.
• Accepts insurance: Yes.

Pros and cons of Thriveworks

Pros Accepts more than 500 insurance plans. Some practitioners provide both online and in-person care. Accepts Medicare. Longer sessions than other online therapy platforms we’ve tried. Responsive customer service. Cons Not available in every state. No mobile app. Out-of-pocket costs are more expensive than other online therapy options we’ve tested.

Insights from our testers

Signing up for Thriveworks is quick and easy and our tester was able to choose their therapist rather than have one assigned to them. Thriveworks allows you to view the platform’s therapists and their bios before creating an account.

Every therapist’s profile contains a bio with information on their:

• Background and education.
• Specialties.
• Accepted insurance plans.
• Scheduling availability.

This information made it easy for our tester to find a therapist who fit their schedule and addressed their areas of concern.

From our tester:

“The booking process was super easy! I chose a therapist who had the specialties I was looking for, and they had plenty of availability both before, during, and after working hours. I was able to book an appointment for the next day.”

According to Thriveworks, over 2,200 clinicians practice on the platform in the United States. That said, provider selection and availability vary by state.

For example, Georgia has 37 therapists available for online therapy at the time of writing. There are many male and female therapists, and therapists of various races and cultural backgrounds. Many therapists have weekday time slots, from morning appointments as early as 8 a.m. and evening appointments as late as 6:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, Tennessee has just 15 providers available. The majority are women, and there is only one non-white provider available. Some states, like New York, don’t have any therapists available for online sessions.

After our tester chose their provider, the therapist emailed them an introduction and a list of questions to consider in preparation for their first session. These materials helped our tester understand what to expect, and they worked with their therapist to create a treatment plan during their first session.

During subsequent sessions, the therapist offered practical solutions that our tester could incorporate into their daily routine. They also provided supplemental resources and visual aids, like charts and graphs, to spark conversations. While our tester’s therapist gave them extra resources, the Thriveworks platform does not provide bonus features like yoga, journaling, or worksheets like Regain and Brightside do.

Rescheduling appointments with Thriveworks is easy. When our tester needed to move a session, they emailed their therapist and received a quick response confirming the change in plans. Customer service was also quick to respond when our tester reached out.

From our tester:

“Thriveworks is extremely responsive, both through chat and via email. When I used the chat feature, I got answers to questions within minutes, and it was evident I was talking to a real person.”

What other users are saying

“The hardest part for the client, in my experience, is typically at the beginning of therapy,” said Brent Metcalf, a licensed clinical social worker practicing at Tri-Star Counseling in Johnson City, Tennessee.

According to Metcalf, therapy newcomers may have trouble opening up and speaking freely with someone new. However, video sessions with a platform like Thriveworks can allow you to conduct therapy sessions in a comfortable, private space.

From our focus group:

“In the comfort of my home, I can be vulnerable. I feel like if I were to go into an office, it would feel kind of fake for me. Like, I have to be aware of my surroundings, I have to develop this relationship. There's so much pressure. But because it's been online, I felt like there's this new layer to myself where I've just felt more humble, more honest with myself.”

In contrast, some therapists informed us that certain people may find it easier to build a relationship with their therapist in person. If you’re unsure which approach would suit you better, you may be able to try both through Thriveworks.

Some Thriveworks therapists offer in-person sessions at Thriveworks facilities. There are 340 Thriveworks locations across the United States, but facilities aren’t available in every state, and not every Thriveworks therapist practices at an in-person location.

According to a survey of 1,000 people conducted by the American Psychological Association, 87 percent of those polled answered that a lack of insurance coverage kept them from seeking mental health treatment. Additionally, our focus group named insurance acceptance as a major factor in their choice of online platforms. Some participants said they couldn’t afford online therapy at all without insurance. In fact, according to 2023 statistics from Mental Health America, approximately 42 percent of adults with a mental illness couldn’t afford mental health care.

Thriveworks accepts more than 500 insurance plans from major companies like BlueCross, Aetna, and Humana. If you prefer to use insurance to pay for therapy, Thriveworks may be a solid choice for you.

Our testing experience 

10,000+   hours

of research

70   platforms

researched

26   platforms

tested

2,000   people

surveyed

30   people

interviewed

60+   experts

consulted

Collectively, the Handbook Team has put in more than 10,000 hours of research, testing, and evaluation to review different online therapy and psychiatry platforms, down to the fine print. We write our reviews to guide you in finding a provider who can best fit your mental health care needs.

Our Handbook Team has consulted with more than 60 mental health experts in total. We ask for details on when online therapy can be beneficial and when online mental health care is not appropriate. For example, we learned that in the case of someone with agoraphobia, experts told us that in-person sessions are more meaningful to the individual’s progress compared to avoiding exposure therapy by exclusively attending online appointments.

Our challenge is to test and evaluate the features and experience of the platforms rather than the care from individual providers.

How we tested Thriveworks

Our Online Therapy Testing Process

1

Fill out the intake assessment.

2

Subscribe as a new user and invite their teen to join the platform.

3

Get matched with a therapist.

4

Go through steps to change therapists.

5

Schedule and attend four weeks of appointments.

6

Contact customer support with questions.

7

Explore other platform features, including digital journals and worksheets.

8

Review billing policies and cancel subscription.

Our tester explored Thriveworks and attended online therapy sessions for four weeks. They tried the platform through the lens of a real user throughout every step, from onboarding to cancellation. They recorded their experience in a diary and shared their findings with us at the end of the testing period. We use their firsthand insights in our Thriveworks review to bring their findings to you. 

Compare Thriveworks with other online therapy/psychiatry platforms

	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site
Types of care offered	Online therapy, in-person therapy, and online psychiatry	Online therapy	Online therapy and psychiatry	Online psychiatry
Cost	Varies by location	$260–$400 per month	$276–$436 per month	Varies by insurance plan
Accepts insurance?	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Can prescribe a controlled substance?	No	No	No	Yes, in some states

Thriveworks cost and payment options

Thriveworks allows you to pay by credit card, debit card, health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or employer health reimbursement arrangement (HRA).

Individual out-of-pocket therapy session costs vary between states, but many initial sessions start at $200, with subsequent sessions costing less. For example, in Georgia, the initial session costs $200, while follow-up sessions cost $160 each. 

Thriveworks also offers online psychiatry in 22 states and Washington, DC. Again, the cost per session varies by location. However, initial sessions generally cost $300 out-of-pocket, with the price decreasing for follow-up sessions. For instance, in Georgia, the initial evaluation costs $325, and follow-up sessions cost $210 each. 

If you’re looking for more low-cost sessions than Thriveworks offers, look at our picks for the best affordable online therapy platforms. 

Insurance options

Thriveworks accepts more than 500 insurance plans, including options from the following companies:

• Aetna.
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
• Cigna.
• Humana.
• Tricare West. 
• Optum/United Healthcare.
• Beacon Health.
• Tufts Health Plans.

The platform accepts Medicare, but it only accepts Medicaid at Thriveworks facilities in McDonough, Georgia, and Newark, Delaware. 

If your plan is accepted, your therapy sessions will typically cost $50 or less per visit, but this varies by plan and policy. You can see if your insurance plan is covered before signing up on Thriveworks’ website. If you don’t see your plan covered, check out our picks for the top online therapy platforms that accept insurance. 

Our final verdict

If you want a therapist who accepts your insurance or can offer both online and in-person sessions, Thriveworks could provide the flexible solution you want. Our tester tells us the site is easy to use and that they were able to connect with a caring therapist who formulated an in-depth treatment plan with solutions they can actualize during their normal daily routine. 
That said, Thriveworks doesn’t have online therapists available in some states, and while they accept many insurance plans, their per-session cost can be expensive. So, if you want an online therapy platform with a wider variety of providers or more affordable out-of-pocket costs, look at some of our other online therapy platform reviews to find a good fit.

Frequently asked questions