Brightside Online Therapy Review

Range of Treatment Options

Brightside focuses on treating anxiety and depression, which are considered disorders themselves, but may also be symptoms of other mental health conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, panic disorder, and agoraphobia. Brightside offers two different kinds of treatment—talk therapy and prescription medicine. Patients can choose one, the other, or both when they subscribe to Brightside.

From what we can tell, Brightside favors treating anxiety and depression with a combination of talk therapy and prescription medicine. Certainly, some studies have indicated that combining counseling with psychoactive drugs is more effective than using either method alone. For patients who prefer not to take medication for mental health issues, that approach may not sit well. 

Brightside operates as an online pharmacy, selling and shipping medications directly to patients. Particularly in the age of COVID-19 when social distancing is a priority, direct shipment of medication may alleviate patients' concerns.

Treating depression and anxiety with medication can be complicated. Sometimes the first medicine a patient is prescribed or the dosage recommended doesn't produce ideal results. For that reason, Brightside will have you check in with your provider periodically in case adjustments in your treatment are warranted. Based on your progress and response to the medicine you're prescribed—some medicines product side effects that patients can't tolerate—doctors may change your medication and/or the amount prescribed. Or he or she might augment your medication plan with additional medicines. Many patients require more than one drug to alleviate their symptoms.

The information provided on Brightside's website suggests that the therapists affiliated with the company practice Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which research has demonstrated to the most effective type of talk therapy.

Licensures and Professional Credentials

Depending on the type of help you're seeking, Brightside may connect you with an MD psychiatrist, psychologist, or other therapists who have Masters-level training or above. Presently, the company provides therapy services in just over 30 states. Medication services are offered in a few more and the company reports that it will be expanding its geographic reach soon. All providers assigned to you will be licensed to practice in your state. Brightside publishes profiles for its clinical advisory board, which is comprised of experts who've trained at top institutions, on its website. Some practitioner profiles are also published.

Ease of Use

Brightside offers a free evaluation when you log onto its website. The assessment consists of a standard questionnaire that illuminates symptoms of anxiety and depression. When you complete it, the company returns a general assessment that charts your symptoms along a continuum from mild to severe. Most patients won't find much new information in the assessment—they already know how they feel. Brightside then returns a list of treatment options that may be appropriate and prompts you to purchase a plan. 

Brightside uses the Zoom app to conduct video appointments. In some states, video is required by law. But if that's not the case in your state and you're uncomfortable using video, you can turn off your camera during your appointments. You can attend sessions via computer, but if you have downloaded Zoom to your mobile device, that opens up some options. You can also send an unlimited number of text messages to your provider(s) at any time. Providers will respond on weekdays only within 48 hours of receiving your message.  

Price 

Brightside offers three different subscription plans. You can select a therapy-only plan for $249 per month, a medication-only plan for $99 per month, or one that combines the two for $199 per month. The company has an introductory offer that reduces these prices for the first month only. 

Under Brightside's therapy-only and combined plans, patients receive one therapy session per month. You can also request an a la carte video conference with your therapist for $59 per session. Under the medication-only and combined plans, patients are responsible for a $15 medication co-pay each time they have a prescription filled. Delivery is included with the cost of medication.