Cerebral Online Therapy Review

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4.0

All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Cerebral Online Therapy

4.0

All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

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On Cerebral's Website

Pricing

Affordable

Clarity of options and rules

Good

Lowest cost option

$85 a month for the “Medication + Care Counseling Plan”

Summary

Usability: The platform is simple and intuitive to use, with only a minor technology glitch here and there.

Quality of care: Cerebral offers a diverse range of qualified therapists to meet most clients’ needs and preferences.

Cost: There are three pricing plans available, and the platform offers generous first-month promotions.

What I Liked:

• Extremely quick and easy to sign up, get assessed and book your appointment.
• Good selection of licensed therapists—mine was empathetic, astute and focused on my goals.
• Less expensive than traditional therapy for an out-of-network provider.

What I Didn’t Like:

• There isn’t a way to pause your plan or get credit for missed sessions during weeks you might travel out of your state.
• You can only book one week at a time (as opposed to your entire month).
• Every once in a while, the platform has glitchy audio.
• My health insurance—a major plan in my state—didn’t consider Cerebral an in-network provider (Note: Since the publication of this review, Cerebral has since added my provider—among a slew of others—to its network).

Cerebral is a teletherapy and medication management company focused on helping people dealing with insomnia, anxiety and depression specifically. In some states, Cerebral therapists also treat bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

After signing up and completing an assessment, I was informed that I had mild insomnia and mild anxiety. The platform steered me toward therapy-only treatment (which made me happy because I didn’t feel like my problems required medication).

Cerebral lays out its treatment options, subscription rules and cancellation and refund policies thoroughly. In fact, there’s an exhaustive FAQ section on its website. The company has it down as far as making the service easy to understand—and not at all intimidating. Within minutes I was signed up and completed a preliminary assessment.

Cerebral offers three types of subscriptions:

Medication and Care Counseling Plan: $85 a month

• Initial evaluation, diagnosis and prescription by a medical prescriber
• Monthly medication delivery (if prescribed)
• One check-in video session with an assigned care counselor
• Behavioral health counseling and regular progress checks

Medication and Therapy Plan: $325 a month

• Initial evaluation, diagnosis and prescription by a medical prescriber
• Weekly video/phone sessions with a licensed therapist
• Monthly medication delivery (if prescribed)
• Text chat any time
• Regular progress tracking by your prescriber and therapist

Therapy-Only Plan: $259 a month

• Weekly video/phone sessions with a licensed therapist
• Text chat any time
• Regular progress tracking by your therapist

I signed up for the therapy-only plan. For the first month, I was offered an introductory price of $99 and then charged $259 a month thereafter. I’ve since noticed Cerebral has specials for newbies—sometimes you can get your first month for as little as $30.

Cerebral also works with health insurance providers, making the cost of therapy (if your insurance considers Cerebral an in-network provider) considerably cheaper than traditional, in-person therapy. I am covered by a major health insurance provider in my state; unfortunately, Cerebral is not “in-network” under my plan.

You can also use a flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA) to cover the costs of Cerebral.

You can communicate with a therapist via video or phone. If you’re using health insurance, there may be rules about seeing your therapist primarily through video. You can also message your therapist via the Cerebral platform, which worked fine as well.

I didn’t use the medication feature, but Cerebral offers plans that include medication prescription and management for insomnia, depression and anxiety. Medications are mailed to people on these plans.

After signing up, I was able to select a licensed therapist and book a time for my first appointment. I had a diverse selection of therapists in terms of gender, race and level of expertise. After reviewing pictures and bios, I selected a female therapist who I simply thought looked like someone I could talk to comfortably. Lucky for me, she was great.

You can easily switch therapists if you need to, but I stuck with the same therapist over the course of about six weeks.

Each week I was able to go to the Cerebral website and book one appointment. I was always given a decent number of day and time options. Cerebral also recommended I send an email to my care coordinator (like a concierge) if I didn’t see a time and day combination that fit my schedule. (I appreciated the option, but didn’t end up needing it.)

I decided to use video chat for my appointment, which was hosted on the Cerebral platform. After that appointment, I was immediately prompted to book another appointment. You can’t book more than one appointment at a time. (I would have preferred the option to book a month’s worth of appointments at a certain day and time.)

During the sessions, there were occasional minor technical issues, but they went really well for the most part. Once or twice during my six weeks on the platform, we had an audio issue that required me to log out and back in again. And once or twice, either my connection or my therapist’s connection lagged. Again, it was nothing more than a minor glitch.

I felt as though my therapist was well trained and empathetic. She listened intently, took notes, remembered what I said from session to session and was definitely focused on my goals. I found myself making small changes as a result of what we discussed or, more accurately, the questions she asked. This seems like how good therapists work—they don’t tell you what to do, but rather encourage you to see connections and set goals.

One of my problems with sleep involved physical issues, as I had a very serious shoulder injury during the past year. My shoulder is on the mend, but there were actions I still hadn’t taken that could help with sleep. Just signing up for therapy and talking about it prompted me to bite the bullet and get the mattress and pillow that my chiropractor had recommended, which did help. I also decided to look into a standing desk (another recommendation from my healthcare provider).

Along with the shoulder injury, I was juggling two kids schooling at home all the time, as well as family and work obstacles. The therapist encouraged me to find more time to exercise (something I love but had not done enough with all the other demands on my time). I started prioritizing exercise, though, because I knew I’d have to report back. These small adjustments helped improve my sleep quality.

I also had the opportunity to discuss some family issues that have been weighing on me. I’m from the generation of women who have both young-ish kids and an aging parent with a lot of health problems. I worked with my therapist on boundaries when it comes to extended family, as well as some parenting concerns.

There was one hiccup during our time: The therapist had an emergency and had to reschedule my appointment. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the message right away, and it ended up that I couldn’t make the rescheduled time, so I missed therapy that week. The care coordinator credited my account for the missed week.

I also took a trip out of my state, and my therapist informed me she couldn’t treat me because she wasn’t licensed to practice in the state I was visiting. Unfortunately, Cerebral doesn’t credit weeks missed under these circumstances, which was disappointing. On the bright side, my therapist sent me links to some reading and a worksheet on boundaries she thought could be useful while I was gone. The Cerebral site also offers resources for members to access whenever, wherever. You can learn about cognitive behavioral therapy, insomnia, depression and more. There are exercises available, too, ranging from journaling to meditations.

Cerebral says its services are not a good fit for people with schizophrenia. For others, though, I have no hesitation recommending Cerebral. The platform was easy to use and any slight hiccups I experienced were balanced by the convenience of logging on from home and a selection of qualified therapists.

After six weeks of using Cerebral, I completed another assessment. The results showed I was a bit lower on both insomnia and anxiety scales. I think I can improve even more. Plus, I have a number of issues I haven’t even brought up with my therapist yet. I plan to stick with the weekly sessions for at least another month. If Cerebral were covered by my health insurance as an in-network provider, I’d likely stick with it for longer.