- We have spent over 10,000 hours researching more than 70 online therapy platforms, narrowing those down to 20 of the most popular services for hands-on testing by our reviews team.
- We surveyed over 2,000 online therapy users about their experience with online therapy, held focus groups, and interviewed mental health experts to understand what is most important in online mental healthcare.
- During testing and research, we scored each platform on four indexes, rating each service independently in affordability, data privacy, availability, and inclusivity.
- Our testers spent four weeks testing Talkiatry. We went behind the paywall, signing up for the service and attending online therapy sessions. When appropriate, we tried to switch therapists while documenting the process.
Learn more about how we tested Talkiatry.
Key takeaways
- Talkiatry offers online psychiatry, mental health diagnoses, and medication management.
- The average cost for Talkiatry is a $30 copay per session, but pricing varies by insurance coverage.
- Talkiatry requires insurance and does not accept out-of-pocket payments.
- Talkiatry is one of the few telehealth platforms where providers can prescribe certain controlled substances A controlled substance is a drug, medication, or chemical whose manufacture, distribution, and use is regulated by the federal government.
- Talkiatry provides treatment for adults, teens, and children
Finding accessible, affordable mental health care that aligns with your insurance coverage and specific needs can feel overwhelming. Online psychiatry platforms like Talkiatry can help to remove some of the obstacles to getting care by allowing you to take appointments from the privacy and convenience of your home. Talkiatry stands out for online psychiatric care through its wide network of providers, its ability to prescribe and manage medications for patients as young as six, and its convenient and secure platform.
The Helpguide Handbook Team aims to give you a comprehensive, honest look at whether meeting with a psychiatrist online is the right choice for you. We did extensive research into Talkiatry, a telehealth platform for online psychiatry and medication management, analyzing its cost, the types of psychiatric care offered, customer service, and the accepted forms of health insurance. Our Talkiatry tester has been with the platform since October 2022, offering us unique insight into their experience working with multiple Talkiatry providers.
Talkiatry highlights
What is Talkiatry?
Talkiatry is an online psychiatry platform that allows users to work directly with a psychiatric care provider from the comfort of their homes. Talkiatry providers can diagnose mental health conditions, manage medications, and provide patients with a custom care plan to achieve their goals.
Since many people choose online psychiatry platforms for convenience, we were impressed by Talkiatry’s features, which offer easy sign-up and use. Talkiatry’s free Healow app allows users to schedule appointments, communicate with a psychiatrist, view medical records, and manage medications.
When you sign up for Talkiatry, the platform matches you with a provider. You can also review other provider profiles and select your own. However, once you select a provider, you’ll need to call or email to switch clinicians. While the process is simple, it can take up to 10 days.
Talkiatry also stands out from other online psychiatry providers for two reasons. It is one of the few platforms that offers online psychiatric care for children and adolescents, including providing psychiatry for teens. It is also one of the few online platforms that can prescribe certain controlled substances, including certain types of anxiety medications and stimulants for ADHD. This is important because, in the case of ADHD, stimulants are considered a first-line treatment by many providers. While other online therapy platforms may offer specific support for online therapy for ADHD, they may not be able to provide care using these standard treatment options.
Understanding Talkiatry’s billing structure, co-pay, and late fee/no-show policies is critical before becoming a client. Since some factors depend on your location, insurance coverage, and individual needs, you’ll want to clarify these policies on your own and with your insurance provider.
We would like to see Talkiatry offer care to people without insurance and enable them to pay what they can afford on a sliding scale.
How does Talkiatry work?
When signing up for Talkiatry on the website or your smart device, you’ll need to answer a brief questionnaire to gauge your needs. Once completed, the platform pairs you with potential psychiatrists. You can read their profiles, which include their biographies and specialties, before choosing one. The first new patient appointment is an hour to 75 minutes long, and subsequent appointments depend on the care plan you discuss with the provider. According to a Talkiatry care coordinator, these follow-up appointments typically take 30–45 minutes.
The Talkiatry website offers a 30-second informational video explaining their services and online psychiatry basics.
After your first appointment, you can schedule follow-up visits with your provider to check in during your mental health journey or to alter your prescription. Talkiatry is mainly for medication management, but psychiatrists can refer you to a therapist for talk therapy.
As of this writing, Talkiatry offers online psychiatry in most states, except for the following:
- Alaska
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- Wyoming
Services may be extended into new areas in the future. You can check for updates on this map.
How to sign up for Talkiatry online psychiatry
Before your appointment, set aside five to 10 minutes to ensure your internet connection is secure. To protect your privacy, avoid public places with open internet connections. Next, enter your payment information for a potential copay. You can attend appointments on your browser or the Healow app, and there’s a helpful troubleshooting page if you have any issues.
After your initial appointment, you can choose to schedule a follow-up. If you have any issues with insurance coverage, pharmacy communications, side effects, or other concerns, email your clinician anytime via the Healow app.
How to match with an online psychiatrist
Based on the answers provided during the initial intake, Talkiatry sent our tester three different potential matches for online psychiatry care. From those three options, our tester could view each provider’s profile, which includes a picture and information about their experience, education, specializations, and which insurance platforms they accept. From there, our tester could book an online appointment with the chosen provider.
In our February 2024 Talkiatry survey, respondents scored the platform high on the diversity of providers. Over 70 percent ranked Talkiatry’s providers as diverse, and 79 percent reported that their providers shared part of their identity. Additionally, over 80 percent of respondents felt their provider was culturally competent.
From one of our Talkiatry testers:
“I feel like I really have someone who cares about me, my mental health, and supports my plans.”
We were impressed with how many of our respondents found a good match with the first provider they worked with through Talkiary. Over 80 percent of respondents felt their initial provider met their needs and preferences.
How to switch providers with Talkiatry
Talkiatry recommends trying a few sessions before deciding to switch providers. If you’re looking for a provider with specific professional experience—or if your initial match isn’t a good fit—you can ask for a new match.
However, when our tester decided to switch providers, they could not find an option in the portal to make that switch. Instead, our tester was given the option to contact Talkiatry by calling 833-351-TALK (8255) or emailing [email protected] and requesting a new provider. The process can take up to 10 days.
How to get started with Talkiatry
Before your appointment, set aside five to 10 minutes to ensure your internet connection is secure. To protect your privacy, avoid public places with open internet connections. Next, enter your payment information for a potential copay. You can attend appointments on your browser or the Healow app, and there’s a helpful troubleshooting page if you have any issues.
After your initial appointment, you can choose to schedule a follow-up. If you have any issues with insurance coverage, pharmacy communications, side effects, or other concerns, email your clinician anytime via the Healow app.
Talkiatry does not have its own mobile app, but works through the Healow app. You can download the free Healow app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store for Talkiatry or other health providers. Once you become a patient, Healow allows you to access medical records and lab results and manage appointments and medications. If you have more than one family member using this platform, each person will have their own account. Healow allows you to sync your wearable devices if you want to share information such as steps walked each day, weight, or other biometric information with your doctor.
What other users are saying
During testing, we surveyed over 1,200 therapy users, including 100 respondents with experience with the Talkiatry platform. In this February 2024 survey, 84 percent of surveyed users stated that they had positive interactions with their Talkiatry provider, with 86 percent answering that they felt their provider respected their identity. Eighty-six percent of survey respondents said they “completely agreed” or “somewhat agreed” that signing up for Talkiatry was quick and relatively easy. Unfortunately, 21 percent of respondents stated they completely disagreed or somewhat disagreed that Talkiatry makes it easy to switch providers if the first match isn’t a good fit. Fifty percent of Talkiatry users somewhat or completely agreed with the statement that their provider made assumptions about them during sessions.
How much does Talkiatry cost?
Talkiatry advertises it costs, on average, a $30 copay per session, but pricing varies by insurance coverage. Costs include copayment, deductible, and coinsurance. The medical visit costs are insurance-dependent. These costs do not include any medications you’re prescribed if your provider determines they are appropriate. To fill your prescription, you can ask your Talkiatry clinician to send it to your pharmacy of choice, and you will then pay for the prescription at the pharmacy. Talkiatry offers payment plans for balances over $250.
Visit pay.talkiatry.com to set up a new payment plan.
Is Talkiatry covered by insurance?
Talkiatry advertises itself as offering “in-network psychiatric care.” The platform currently only accepts patients whose insurance it accepts, and no self-pay options exist.
Talkiatry takes insurance from these major providers, among others:
- Aetna
- BlueCross BlueShield
- Cigna
- Humana
- Medicare
- Medicaid
- United Healthcare
You can also search for your provider through Talkiatry’s website. If your insurance provider is not accepted by Talkiatry, look into other platforms for online therapy that take insurance.
How to save money on Talkiatry
With insurance, Talkiatry could cost as little as $30 or less, depending on your plan’s co-pay. At this time, Talkiatry doesn’t offer discounts or free trials, and they do not have financial aid available. To keep expenses low while using Talkiatry, we suggest calling your insurance provider or using the online portal to get an estimated cost of services before signing up.
Avoiding last-minute cancellations is another way to keep expenses low when using this platform. Talkiatry charges a $100 fee for canceling or rescheduling an appointment with less than 48 hours’ notice. Your insurance may not cover this fee. Penalty fees will show up on your bill as a No-Show fee, and Talkiatry will charge the credit card on file.
Our research found verified customer complaints about surprise bills and unclear billing practices. If you believe you were billed in error, contact Talkiatry’s patient billing support center at 833-351-8255 or email them at [email protected]. For people living in California and New Jersey patients who can’t find a bill for a recent session, go to billpay.talkiatry.com.
Our experience with Talkiatry customer service
We contacted Talkiatry customer service with questions about billing and insurance. We found the customer service helpful and responsive in resolving questions, but their response time was a bit slower. Each time we reached out, it took a full day to receive a response, even if we were responding to an existing conversation with customer service.
During testing, we found Brightside to respond faster to questions. For more information, read our in-depth Brightside review.
Our Talkiatry testing experience
We spent over 10,000 hours researching more than 70 online mental health platforms, narrowing those down to 20 of the most popular services for hands-on testing. We also surveyed over 2,000 online counseling and medication management users, conducting in-person interviews with 30 individuals signed up for online psychiatry as well as more than 70 mental health experts to compile data on what is most important in online mental health services.
We also signed up for services at Talkiatry, going behind the paywall to get first-hand experience with this medication management service. Based on information gathered from research, interviews, and our testing experience, we evaluated Talkiatry across a number of categories, including:
- Customer service: Our testers reached out to Talkiatry’s customer service department on more than one occasion about separate issues. We took note of the response time as well as the friendliness and helpfulness of the response.
- Brand trustworthiness: Knowing that seeing a mental health provider is a vulnerable step for many, we evaluated Talkiatry on brand trustworthiness. We compiled information on existing lawsuits or negative press to fully understand whether Talkiatry is an online psychiatric service you can trust.
- Features: During testing, we used each feature offered by Talkiatry, documenting our experience with the helpfulness and useability of these resources.
- User experience: By consulting third-party review websites and user services, we evaluated Talkiatry based on factors we feel are important to the user experience, including useability, reliability of the video and audio technology, and transparency on pricing and policies.
- Affordability: We compared Talkiatry’s therapy and medication management costs with similar brands. Since Talkiatry only sees patients with insurance, we found out which plans are in-network with the platform.
- Diversity of therapists: During the sign-up process, we documented the diversity of mental healthcare providers practicing on Talkiatry, noting whether users can select a psychiatrist who shares their gender identity, native language, sexual orientation, or religion.
How we tested Talkiatry
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.
Compare Talkiatry to other online psychiatry platforms
Compared with other brands, Talkiatry stands out for its medication management services because psychiatrists are authorized to prescribe controlled substances commonly used to treat mental health conditions like ADHD. Like Talkspace and Brightside, Talkiatry is in-network with several insurance plans. Talkiatry doesn’t accept self-pay patients or out-of-network insurance, but Talkspace is available to underinsured and uninsured patients. If you want an online psychiatrist with self-pay options, learn more in our in-depth Talkpsace review.
Talkiatry isn’t available in all 50 states, and providers cannot offer care to patients in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Brightside, another online platform offering psychiatric services, is available in all 50 states. Learn more in our in-depth Brightside review.
Talkiatry review
Compare Talkiatry with other online psychiatry platforms
| Platform | Cost | Insurance options | Can prescribe a controlled substance?* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Talkiatry | $30 average copay per session, varies by insurance | Yes, but not Medicaid | Yes |
| Brightside | $95 per month for psychiatry plus your pharmacy’s copay; $349 per month for psychiatry plus therapy | Yes, but not Medicaid | No |
| Talkspace | $299 per initial consultation plus $175 per follow-up session; other bundles available; $69–$109 for therapy | Yes, not including Medicaid or Medicare | No |
| Sesame | Varies by provider | No | No |
| Live Health Online | $185 per initial consultation plus $80 per follow-up | Yes | No |
| Dr. on Demand | $299 for an initial consultation; $129 for follow-up | Yes, including Medicare part B |
*Depending on the state where you currently reside. Certain states require an in-person visit with your doctor before they can prescribe controlled substances. You can learn more about your state’s online prescribing laws through the Center for Connected Health Policy.
Our final verdict
The Talkiatry online platform provides psychiatry support and medication management for a variety of mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression. Talkiatry stands out because its clinicians are able to prescribe certain controlled substances that other online psychiatry platforms do not. For those with certain conditions, like ADHD, this is important as a prescription for a controlled substance can be part of treatment. Talkiatry can be a good option if it accepts your insurance, but the fact that it does not accept out-of-pocket payments does limit access for those without insurance.
Online psychiatry is not right for everyone. If you are seeking psychiatric care for the first time, or if you are dealing with one of the listed conditions that Talkiatry does not treat, you should consider seeing a psychiatrist in person first for a full evaluation.
Frequently asked questions
Talkiatry is an online psychiatry platform that supports children, teens, and adults. Psychiatrists on this platform can diagnose conditions and prescribe medications. If needed, their providers can refer you to a therapist for teletherapy.
Yes, Talkiatry takes many forms of insurance, including Aetna, BlueCross BlueShield, Humana, Medicare, and Medicaid, among others.
Depending on your diagnosis, Talkiatry psychiatrists can prescribe antidepressants, mood stabilizers, anti-anxiety medications, beta-blockers, stimulants, or sleep medications. Before you start any new medications, it’s important to tell your provider about any other medications you’re currently taking and any other health conditions you may have. Additionally, you should ensure you understand all potential side effects of your medications.
Talkiatry psychiatrists can assess you for ADHD and can prescribe stimulants, such as methylphenidate hydrochloride (Ritalin) and dextroamphetamine-amphetamine (Adderall).
Talkiatry’s psychiatrists can diagnose and treat mental health conditions, including anxiety, bipolar disorder, insomnia, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and substance use disorders.
However, Talkiatry does not currently provide treatment for some conditions or situations, including schizophrenia, eating disorders, patients who feel they’re at risk of taking their own life, who require treatments that must be administered in person, or who’ve been hospitalized for a mental health condition in the last six months.
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