Headway vs Grow Therapy: Which is Better for Mental Health?

Technology is a part of every aspect of our lives, and this includes not only our physical health but also our mental condition.

We have indeed come a long way, especially when it comes to healthcare in general, and the best part is mental healthcare, which is often considered a taboo subject, is now gradually being embraced and normalized.

The acceptance of mental and psychiatric healthcare was even more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic years, after which online mental therapy, as well as psychiatric treatments, became a norm.

The wave of virtual mental Virtual mental therapy, counseling, and psychiatry have established a lasting presence Virtual mental therapy, counseling, and psychiatry is here to stay, and many online mental healthcare platforms have emerged over the years in response to this revolutionary change.

Given the ever-expanding nature of the healthcare industry and the plethora of healthcare app/platform choices available today, we know you need to make the right decision. As a way of supporting this mission to help you out, we will be comparing Headway and Grow Therapy in this article.

Headway Vs. Grow Therapy: Updated Comparison 2023

In this section of the article, we will elaborate on all the important parameters to help you compare the two mental healthcare platforms.

1. How Does it Work?

Let’s understand how both these platforms work:

Headway

It works very similarly to Grow Therapy and is equipped with a built-in search filter to match my specific criteria driven by my treatment needs. This helped me find my go-to provider/psychiatrist by auto-sorting through its huge network of medical professionals, particularly those accepting my insurance.

Next, I was also able to get a rough estimate of my total treatment cost with in-network prices based on the insurance plan I had. I was just required to fill in my insurance information, which is how I got my free quote.

After the right provider was chosen, I was then able to schedule an appointment by making a quick reservation on the platform. The bill was sent to me after the completion of my session with my doctor.

I must say the process was pretty smooth, quicker than I expected, and easy to understand. The search filter definitely saves a ton of effort and time by simplifying the sorting process. Moreover, no login or pre-sign-up is needed to use the filter.

There is also a way to directly trigger provider searches based on their names. Another way is to check the website footer, which has an exhaustive list of therapists/psychiatrists segregated on the basis of the states they provide services. And I could further drill down to a narrower list by adding my own preferences to the comprehensive search filters. These were the parameters available:

• Concern: I had the option to choose multiple mental disorders/conditions.
• Insurance provider: All insurance carriers are listed here in alphabetical order, so it is quite an extensive list, but Headway does not accept Medicaid and Medicare.
• Specific healthcare requirements: I could choose all three options given here, that is, talk therapy, psychiatry, and medication management
• My availability: I used this for selecting my preferred time slots for sessions. Providers available and comfortable in these slots were shown to me
• Gender and ethnicity
• The option to choose a phone consultation if you want one: I did not need this.

Grow Therapy

Grow Therapy also comes with a great search filter to simplify and quicken the process of connecting me to the right set of providers based on my needs, such as:

• The location or state I lived in
• Age, ethnic background, race, and gender
• The insurance I had
• My preferred mode of consultation, along with available time slots/days/dates
• The reason for consultation: Psychotherapy, medication management, or psychiatric treatment

The platform provides both online and face-to-face counseling, medication management, and psychiatric services. In-person sessions, phone consultations, and online chats are some of the modes of communication available.

The process is simple. I just had to set the required criteria in the search filter on the platform, select my local or nearest provider from my state, set the date and time that fit my schedule, and book a session.

A text message with a link to the video call was sent to me prior to the scheduled appointment time, and the session went on for about 50 to 60 minutes. The session duration was perfect for me, and I felt it was not too short or long.

I took a few in-person consultations, too, for which I had access to a handy calendar showing the availability of practitioners in my area. The booking process remained the same.

This convenience of having quick access to provider schedules/free time slots made it very simple for me to book appointments, and I managed to get the care I needed as the appointments are typically activated in about 48 hours or 2 days.

Medication management is also provided, but the practitioners are not authorized to prescribe stimulants.

2. Pricing/Affordability

Headway

Headway follows dynamic pricing, so prices will vary depending on your medical provider’s qualification, experience, state, availability, specific treatment needs, insurance plans, and so on.

Grow Therapy

Insurance coverage managed to reduce my overall treatment cost, but individual preferences, treatment needs, location, provider availability, provider experience, and a lot of other factors will determine the final cost/pricing as Grow Therapy does not offer any membership or subscription-based pricing.

Essentially, both platforms are responsible for processing your insurance and bills and have lesser control over how your individual appointments would turn out.

3. Insurance Coverage

Headway

Yes, Headway’s services are covered by insurance. The search filter on the homepage helped me find the carriers according to my state of residence and healthcare needs.

Being from Tampa, Florida, I was provided with five very popular insurance carriers in my state or nearby places, and they were: Aetna, Cigna, Oscar Health, and BlueCross BlueShield of Massachusetts.

Please note, in this case, I chose to hide my concern and selected “I’ll share later,” for which the system gave me this list of insurance providers. So, the list will vary based on your preferences added to the search filter.

Meanwhile, my friend from Maryland had the following system-generated insurance carrier options:

• Aetna
• Cigna
• CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
• BlueCross BlueShield of Massachusetts

Grow Therapy

Grow Therapy also accepts insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid. Additionally, the platform provides insurance coverage via the following providers:

• Optum
• OptumHealth Complex Medical Conditions
• Florida Blue
• Humana
• United Health
• United Medical Resources
• Husky Health
• Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Golden Rule
• Aetna
• Cigna
• Carefirst
• WellCare and more

4. Accessibility

Headway

Headway services are available in the following states of America:

• Washington
• Virginia
• Texas
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Ohio
• Tennessee
• Pennsylvania
• Michigan
• North Carolina
• New Jersey
• Minnesota
• New York
• District of Columbia
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Florida
• Illinois
• Georgia
• Louisiana
• Arizona
• Connecticut
• California
• Colorado

Headway services will soon be available in the below states, so hang in there if Headway is not yet in your state of residence:

• Idaho
• Maine
• Iowa
• Delaware
• Nebraska
• Kansas
• Utah
• Wyoming
• Kentucky
• Mississippi
• Hawaii
• Indiana
• West Virginia
• Vermont
• Missouri
• Rhode Island
• New Hampshire
• Wisconsin
• South Dakota
• North Dakota
• South Carolina
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• Alaska
• Arkansas
• Alabama
• Montana

Grow Therapy

Grow Therapy has better accessibility as its providers are well spread out across the country, and their services are available in 47 states at present. Here is the list:

• New York
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Missouri
• Maine
• Kansas
• Oregon
• Texas
• Alabama
• Ohio
• Montana
• Florida
• Hawaii
• Indiana
• California
• Utah
• Oklahoma
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Delaware
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Michigan
• Georgia
• Maine
• Alaska
• Nevada
• Wyoming
• Tennessee
• New Jersey
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• Virginia
• Arkansas
• Arizona
• Illinois
• District of Columbia
• Maryland
• Louisiana
• Rhode Island
• Wisconsin
• West Virginia
• Pennsylvania
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Washington

5. Privacy

Headway

Headway, just like Grow Therapy, has a well-explained, upfront privacy policy that collects user information like patient name, email address, postal address, IP address, username, password, phone number, purchase records, session recordings, age, gender, race, ethnicity, search history, device ID, etc. for similar purposes as Grow Therapy such as:

• enhancing customer service
• data analytics for improving platform experience
• marketing communications
• servicing individual patient accounts
• improving products/services
• error resolution, debugging
• transaction fulfillment and more

I particularly find nothing controversial here, but a couple of Reddit users have complained about Headway using a third-party app called Plaid to steal your bank account information. However, it is important to note that Plaid is a legitimate app used by many apps to link affiliated bank accounts to other apps. So, I do not see any red flags.

Grow Therapy

Grow Therapy’s privacy policy does not raise any special concerns. The HIPAA-compliant platform clearly states what type of customer details are collected and stored on its servers for different purposes, such as:

• Improving website experience/interaction
• Let customers know about new events
• Understand patient feedback
• Sharing marketing communication and newsletters

Also, Grow Therapy records all video sessions by default, but you can request privacy and confidentiality to prevent the platform from capturing your video calls.

6. Available Treatments

Headway

Headway caters to many mental health troubles but has fewer services on its list compared to Grow Therapy. You also get the option to share your specific mental condition later if you do not see it on the list of disorders mentioned on the website. Here are the mental issues that Headway claims to address:

• Anxiety
• ADD
• ADHD
• Bipolar Disorder
• Grief and loss management
• Depression
• Infertility issues
• Anger management
• OCD
• Stress
• PTSD
• Eating disorders
• Sleeping disorder
• Women’s and men’s issues
• Relationship problems
• Substance abuse issues
• Trauma
• LGBTQIA+ issues
• Post-pregnancy/maternal mental health problems
• Family issues

Grow Therapy

Grow Therapy offers a wider range of mental healthcare services compared to Headway.

• ADHD
• Anxiety
• Addiction
• Anger management
• Depression
• Bipolar disorder
• Counseling for children and adolescents
• OCD
• Coping skills
• Men’s issues
• Learning problems or disabilities
• Racism counseling
• Mood disorders
• Women’s issues
• Couples counseling
• Eating disorders
• Dissociative disorders
• LGBTQ issues
• Family Counseling
• Career advice and more (This list is not exhaustive. You can refer to Grow Therapy’s detailed review for the complete list)

7. Pros and Cons of Headway

8. Pros and Cons of Grow Therapy

Conclusion

Grow Therapy seems to be the winner for me because Headway is honestly yet to make its mark. Headway is a good platform, a decent place to start as it is free, but it has also been accused of multiple scheduling errors lately. Another non-negotiable condition before using Headway is to have an insurance plan. This makes the platform even more restrictive.

Moreover, Headway is still in the process of expanding to other states, so it has limited accessibility which is a non-issue, but it is still quite inconvenient. And the platform has not yet received any kind of accreditation from the Better Business Bureau, unlike Grow Therapy which has an A rating on BBB.

My thoughts – Headway has a long way to go. It will get there in a few years, perhaps, but I would prefer to choose Grow Therapy for now.