Yes, you guessed it, this review IS brought to you by BetterHelp. Special thanks to BetterHelp for sponsoring this issue of Craccum. Just kidding. Though we’d appreciate the cash.
If you’re an avid podcast listener, or a YouTube fiend, it’s highly likely that you’ve heard of BetterHelp. They are avid sponsors of a wide range of popular creators. Honestly, I could probably recite the copy from memory at this point. BetterHelp is an online counselling service that claims to connect users to licensed psychologists, therapists, social workers, and professional counsellors. However, over the years, the site has faced some controversies. There’s been some wrestling with the confusing wording within terms and services about whether the contacts are licensed, concerns about the use of online counselling services in more severe cases, and claims about unfair pricing. There’s also a clear distaste for the mode of marketing BetterHelp uses: paying creators to promote the service with their own stories of mental health struggles is bound to leave a bitter taste in the mouth. Within the Privacy Policy, BetterHelp also makes it clear that your information can be disclosed to third parties, for a wide variety of reasons including ‘business purposes’ and advertising. That’s not to say online therapy should be avoided if you’re interested. However, it’s worth considering the environment that creates a need for a company and service like this, and important to consider what these services actually do with the sensitive information you might provide.
“Caution is the best policy.”