Cognitive behavioral therapy, known as CBT, is an incredibly popular therapy modality (or type of treatment) based around recognizing and learning to change negative, unhelpful, or harmful thoughts. “The goal of CBT is not ‘positive thinking’ but rather ‘realistic thinking,’” explains Dr. Judith Beck, President of the Beck Institute, which specializes in CBT. It’s the most-studied modality of therapy, and it’s been proven effective to help treat a wide range of issues—from anxiety and depression to obsessive-compulsive disorder and even chronic pain—for a wide range of people, from kids to adults.
More good news: CBT lends itself well to online therapy. In fact, studies bear out that it’s just as effective as in-person therapy. That’s where I come in. I’m a licensed social worker and Verywell Mind’s Mental Health Editor, and I’ve spent the last three years researching, testing, and reviewing 55 different online therapy services to tease out the differences between the many services that offer CBT. After delving into my extensive testing results based on years of insights, these are the best online therapy companies for accessible, useful CBT therapy.
Compare Top Picks
Compare Top Picks
Best for Anxiety and Depression
Brightside
Best for Anxiety and Depression Brightside
brightside
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People seeking CBT for anxiety and/or depression
Yes, check to see if your insurance is accepted
$95 to $349 per month, billed as a monthly subscription
Individual therapy, teen therapy
Video, unlimited messaging
Yes
Full Review
Best for Couples
Online-Therapy.com
Best for Couples Online-Therapy.com
Online-Therapy.com
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People looking for individual or couples therapy entirely based in CBT
No
$60 to $120 per week, billed as a monthly subscription
Individual therapy, couples therapy
Live video, audio, messaging
No
Full Review
Best with Insurance
Thriveworks
Best with Insurance Thriveworks
thriveworks
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People who want to use their insurance to pay for their CBT sessions
Yes, 585+ plans, check to see if your insurance is accepted
$200-$240 for intake sessions, $160-$195 for follow-ups
Individual therapy, couples therapy, child/teen therapy, family therapy
Video, phone, in-person
Yes
Full Review
Best with Additional Tools
Wellnite
Best with Additional Tools Wellnite
wellnite
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People who want tools to be able to track their progress in therapy
Yes
$450 per month for therapy, $245 per month for therapy plus psychiatry
Individual therapy, couples therapy, child/teen therapy
Video
Yes
Full Review
Most Flexible
BetterHelp
Most Flexible BetterHelp
betterhelp
See Retailer
People who want to start therapy right away
No
$70 to $100 per week, billed as a monthly subscription
Individual therapy
Video, phone, messaging
No
Full Review
Best for Chronic Pain
Amwell
Best for Chronic Pain Amwell
amwell
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People who want to use CBT to treat specific issues, such as chronic pain
Yes, check to see if your insurance is accepted
$99 per session
Individual therapy, couples therapy, child/teen therapy
Video
Yes
Full Review
How Much Does CBT Therapy Cost?
Out-of-pocket, the CBT services on this list can cost as little as $60 per session (for Online-Therapy.com) or up to $240 or more.
Some companies, such as Brightside, Thriveworks, Wellnite, and Amwell, accept insurance, which means that you will only be responsible for your copay per session. Other companies that don’t accept insurance or are not covered by your particular insurance plan may charge an out-of-pocket rate. This could be a fixed rate or a rate that changes based on your location, the qualifications of your therapist, and how in-demand the company’s services are where you live.
Other companies offer subscriptions, meaning you pay a certain amount per month in order to access certain weekly services (such as unlimited messaging and one therapy session per week). Messaging-only plans are the cheapest, though as a therapist, personally I feel as though plans with video or at least phone sessions included are the most effective.
How I Reviewed CBT Online Therapy Services
As Verywell Mind’s Mental Health Editor, I’ve spent years testing and surveying real therapy users and reviewing their experiences to help rate and share the best online therapy services.
Firsthand Experience
I’ve reviewed 55 different online therapy companies using 65 different testers over the past three years, publishing 153 reviews.
For this story, I evaluated all of my testing insights from companies that specifically offer CBT as a therapeutic modality and reviewed my testers’ experiences with the CBT services they received. This included how knowledgeable their therapists were with the tenets of CBT, the specific CBT-based approaches they used in sessions, and the homework they assigned my testers to complete between sessions to strengthen their CBT skills.
I asked each tester to try each service for at least a month, which usually meant between two and six sessions at each company. I also asked testers to switch therapists partway through, if possible, in order to get a holistic idea of the offerings and quality of each company. My testers were located all across the United States and abroad, meaning I gained extensive information about each company’s services in a variety of areas.
Expert Interviews
I also spoke to two CBT experts who founded their own CBT practices and provided insight about what CBT is, who it’s best for, and the most optimal way of using it in the treatment of mental health concerns.
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Dr. Judith Beck, President of the Beck Institute
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Dr. Steve Weissman, founder of the New York therapy practice NYCBT
User Surveys
I surveyed more than 8,000 therapy clients who are currently using one of the 55 online therapy companies tested or who had used one in the recent past. I collected 350 different data points in which I asked users to evaluate each company’s services, from their therapist’s qualifications to whether they found a therapist who met all their needs to how they’d rate the company overall.
Here, you can see a full breakdown of our online therapy research and testing process on Verywell Mind.
Why Trust Verywell Mind
Hannah Owens is Verywell Mind’s Mental Health Editor. Hannah is a licensed social worker with a clinical background in community mental health. She’s worked at programs treating those with serious mental illness, providing both individual and group therapy. In her time at Verywell Mind, Hannah has designed and run years of online therapy testing, overseeing and editing reviews of the top online therapy companies out there and writing and editing roundups of the best online therapy services based on our extensive and thorough testing. Hannah brings her unique combination of both clinical and editorial expertise to her work for Verywell Mind.
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Licensed social worker since 2019
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Clinical background in community mental health
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Specializes in serious mental illness
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Believes in the mission of online therapy to make mental healthcare more accessible
