Popularized by the circumstances of the pandemic, online therapy and online psychiatry can be convenient ways to access mental health support from the comfort of home. Yet according to Mental Health America, more than half of American adults with a mental illness don’t receive treatment despite most (89 percent) having insurance coverage. In researching and testing online therapy platforms, our team looks for ways in which mental health care can be more affordable, like whether platforms accept insurance as a payment form.
Grow Therapy is an online mental health platform that takes insurance and connects users with virtual therapy and psychiatry providers. Read on for our full review of the platform and tips on getting the most out of your experience on Grow Therapy.
Grow therapy overview
In a mental health emergency
Online therapists may not be the most appropriate resource to help in a mental health crisis. If you or someone you know is a danger to themselves or others around them, it is an emergency, and cannot wait for an online therapist’s response.
Don’t wait. You can find help immediately by:
- Visiting urgent care or the emergency room
- Calling or texting 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- Chatting online at 988lifeline.org
- Calling the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)’s Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 or text your zip code to 435748
All the above options will connect you with trained professionals who can provide crisis support. You can find even more resources, including international options, on our helpline directory page.
Insights from our testers
Getting started on Grow Therapy is fairly simple compared to other online therapy platforms we’ve tested. There isn’t a lengthy questionnaire to fill out before you get to browse and choose your therapist. Our testers like that the filters in the Grow Therapy search tool help them find a provider with an approach they identify with. You can search Grow Therapy providers based on:
- Your state of residence.
- Your insurance plan.
- Your age.
- Whether you’re looking for online or in-person appointments.
- Whether you’re looking for therapy or psychiatry.
- Conditions or concerns your provider specializes in addressing (e.g., anxiety, depression, or eating disorders).
- Treatment approaches your provider specializes in using (e.g., acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), or emotionally-focused therapy (EFT)).
- Gender identity, including gender-fluid, transgender, and non-binary providers.
- Individual identities (e.g., race, faith, or sexual orientation).
- Appointment availability (e.g., time of day or days of the week).
Grow Therapy’s provider profiles have helpful features to help users further narrow down their choice of therapist. We like that important information like cost (if paying out-of-pocket), availability, insurance plans accepted, and years of experience are displayed on each provider’s profile. We also like that many providers have plenty of availability. For example, our Handbook Team testers saw appointment availability within 48 hours on many therapists’ pages.
We also like that Grow Therapy has providers with many different services, including couples therapy, family therapy, and psychiatry. You can find a whole team of mental health care providers on the platform. For example, someone can manage their anxiety through online therapy sessions and online medication management sessions with a psychiatry provider Psychiatry providers are board-certified, licensed physicians or psychiatric nurse practitioners who offer mental health care that is distinctly different from that provided by therapists. .
Grow Therapy users can message their therapist before and during their scheduled appointments. During our tester’s sessions, their provider used the chat to send resources for further reading or reflection worksheets. Unlike other online therapy platforms like BetterHelp and Talkspace, Grow Therapy doesn’t have a feature to message your provider anytime between sessions.
Our Handbook Team tester notes that canceling or rescheduling an appointment through Grow Therapy was easy. Because the platform doesn’t offer a subscription for online therapy, our tester felt no pressure to reschedule within a billing cycle to fit four therapy sessions in a month. Grow Therapy may be a great choice if you have a busy schedule and prefer the pay-per-session cadence for your appointments.
From our tester
“It was very easy and straightforward [to cancel my appointment]. I like that because it’s not a subscription, I don’t have to worry about ongoing fees.”
Though our tester’s experience with Grow Therapy went smoothly and as expected, they encountered some technical difficulties when trying to join their online therapy session. In one of the four sessions, our tester had trouble connecting to the video call on Grow Therapy’s desktop page but could connect and conduct their session through the Grow Therapy mobile app.
Handbook tip #1
Here are some ways you can prepare for your online therapy sessions and get the most out of your appointment time:
- Attend your session in a quiet, private space where there are no distractions.
- Make sure you have a strong internet connection.
- Log in and test your audio or video settings on your desktop or mobile phone.
- If using a mobile phone, consider using a phone stand to keep your hands free.
- Consider using headphones to get better audio, prevent audio feedback, or reduce noise in the call.
What other users are saying
When we conducted a focus group of real online therapy users in November 2023, a few expressed that they felt limited in their therapist choice because of their insurance coverage. We like that Grow Therapy has providers that are in-network with many insurance plans, so users can feel empowered to choose a therapist they both feel comfortable with and who takes their insurance.
In addition to being able to choose from in-network therapists, Grow Therapy also offers the option for users to book in-person appointments with its providers. This can be helpful if you prefer in-person sessions or a hybrid format for your mental health care. In our November 2023 survey of 600 online therapy users, about two in four (55 percent) respondents felt that their experience with online therapy was more effective than in-person therapy, while one in four (26 percent) achieved similar results with either in-person or online therapy.
Our testing experience
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 suffering from 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 Grow Therapy
Fill out the intake assessment.
Subscribe as a new user.
Get matched with a therapist.
Schedule and attend sessions on the platform for one month.
Go through the steps to switch therapists.
Contact customer support with questions.
Explore platform features such as journals, worksheets, and symptom trackers.
Cancel subscription.
Our Handbook Team explored the Grow Therapy platform and attended online therapy sessions for four weeks. We instruct testers to try the platform through the lens of a real user, paying attention to how easy or difficult it was to find a therapist they could talk to. They log their experience in a diary and share their findings when testing is concluded. We used these findings and our research into online therapy to write this Grow Therapy review.
Compare Grow Therapy with other online therapy platforms
| Cost | Varies by provider and insurance policy | $299 per month for therapy; $95 per month for psychiatry; $349 per month for psychiatry plus therapy | $260–$400 for therapy | Varies by provider | Varies by provider and insurance policy |
| Insurance? | Yes, including Medicare and Medicaid in select states | Yes, including Medicare and Medicaid in select states | No | No | Yes, but not Medicaid |
| Can prescribe a controlled substance? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Grow Therapy cost and payment options
The cost of therapy and psychiatry on Grow Therapy can vary based on the provider and whether you’re using insurance. Grow Therapy providers set their own per-session rates, and each has different insurance plans they’re in network with.
Online therapy sessions through Grow Therapy can cost $75–$250 without using insurance. To find out how much an online therapy session would cost, select a therapist practicing in your state and that you’re paying by cash.
Online psychiatry sessions through the platform can cost $90–$325 without insurance. Similar to therapy session rates, each provider will have a different rate for their online psychiatry sessions. The provider’s rates will show on their provider profile before you book an appointment.
Grow Therapy also accepts Employee Assistance Program (EAP) benefits from Cigna, Health Advocate, Humana, and United Health/Optum.
Learn more about other budget-friendly mental health support options in our review of the best affordable online therapy platforms.
Insurance options
If you’re using your insurance benefits to pay for teletherapy, select your insurance plan after clicking “Find a therapist.” Grow Therapy states that users who use their insurance benefits pay an average of $24 per session, depending on their copay.
You can also use Grow Therapy’s cost estimate tool to determine how much you’ll pay using an in-network insurance plan. Otherwise, you can consult with your insurance plan administrator to figure what your copay would be per session.
Handbook tip #2
If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment on Grow Therapy, be sure to do so more than 24 hours before your appointment to avoid any charges. Providers may charge you up to $200 for canceling an appointment within 24 hours of your scheduled time. The same applies if you miss an appointment—your provider may charge you up to $200 for missing a session. These fees aren’t covered by insurance.
To check out more platforms that take insurance, read our review of the best online therapy platforms that take insurance.
Our final verdict
Grow Therapy is a simple and easy-to-use online mental health platform. It can help you find in-network providers for individual online therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, and online psychiatry. Our testers like that its search function helps them find a provider based on their preferences. Individuals seeking mental health support online can consider Grow Therapy if they prefer choosing their therapist via search, want to use their insurance benefits, prefer to have pay-per-session billing, or don’t need the extra features (e.g., worksheets, workshops, mood journals) built into other online therapy platforms like BetterHelp or Brightside. If you’re interested in worksheets, apps, or activities, your Grow Therapy provider may still provide individualized recommendations supporting your mental health care.
Frequently asked questions
Grow Therapy users choose their mental health provider using its search tool, upload insurance information if they wish to use benefits, and then pay per session rather than a monthly subscription fee. They can attend therapy or psychiatry sessions online or in person.
Grow Therapy is an online mental health platform where users can book appointments with a therapist or psychiatrist. You don’t need insurance for Grow Therapy, but its providers are in-network with select insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Grow Therapy is a good choice if you’re looking for an online therapy or psychiatry platform that will accept your behavioral health benefits. It’s easy to find in-network providers, and you can find many appointment slots within 48 hours.
Yes, mental health providers on Grow Therapy accept insurance. You can filter for providers that accept your insurance plan by using its search function.
- (n.d.) Access to Care Data 2022. Mental Health America. Link