Klarity vs Cerebral: Which Online Therapy is Better?

Klarity and Cerebral are competitors in the virtual mental healthcare industry. But both platforms have different offerings, features, and their own set of pros and cons.

I have compared them in detail in this article for you to make a better decision and choose the right telehealth portal for your mental wellness.

Klarity vs Cerebral: Comparison

In this section, I will take you through the key differences between Cerebral and Klarity based on seven important parameters of comparison.

1. How Does it Work?

Klarity

While signing up for Klarity, I received two evaluation questionnaires. I clicked on the “Find Providers” button, which helps you search for mental healthcare specialists in your state.

Unfortunately, Klarity services were not available in my state of Arkansas but were active in the state of California. The second quiz takes slightly longer, and I found this to be the most confusing bit on the platform. Klarity should have kept it short and sweet with just one mental health test.

Also, I would not be signing up for something that asks for a lot of personal details, like your contact number, even before throwing the test results on my screen or receiving any kind of service.

The sign-up process remains similar to most mental healthcare platforms out there.

• Complete the questionnaire.
• Find out if the services are offered in your state.
• While booking a session with them, check if psychiatric providers are available and select the one that best fits your requirements based on past performance, reviews, background information, etc.
• Review the background, patient reviews, past performance, etc., to choose the right provider.
• Consult the chosen psychiatrist for 30 minutes.
• The provider will then make a personalized treatment plan based on your needs.
• Schedule more appointments if needed based on treatment outcomes and progress.
• Appropriate medicines will be prescribed, and prescriptions will be modified throughout treatment if required.

Regarding the cancellation of an already booked appointment, I could easily cancel my session 24 hours before the scheduled time without any penalty.

However, I am not a fan of the process needed to switch my provider, for which I had to put in an email request for approval to the customer support team. This is entirely at the discretion of the staff at Klarity and might eat into your schedule as it did in my case, which was a bit disappointing.

I was quite satisfied with the other features that offered more flexibility, such as team-based monthly progress tracking of treatment and medication, as well as the provision of hybrid (online plus offline) sessions.

Cerebral

Signing up for Cerebral services required me to do the following three steps:

• Took a quick online mental health test that prompts for medical history
• Got on a phone call to discuss my counseling needs. I also had the option to video call.
• I did not opt for prescription medication but the care team will recommend psychiatry and medication for severe mental disorders.
• My care team ensured I followed all recommendations and met my goals as planned.
• I changed my care team once without any additional fee by getting in touch with customer service.
• The process of rescheduling or canceling sessions is pretty smooth, so I have no complaints.
• I could not pause my subscription temporarily, so the only option I had was to cancel it.

2. Pricing/Affordability

Klarity

At Klarity, I had more flexibility when it came to scheduling sessions because I could pay as and when I took the services without having to purchase long-term, expensive memberships, unlike Cerebral.

Here is the breakdown of its pricing structure:

• First online session – This 30-minute appointment costs $149 USD. I was provided a detailed treatment plan in this session.
• Follow-up sessions – These were shorter calls that lasted for 15 minutes tops and cost me $59 USD per session.
• Prescription refills – After my treatment protocol was completely finalized, I was charged $25 USD per prescription refill to ensure my medication stock was up to date. Be sure to check if this service is offered in your state.
• Face-to-face consultation – Klarity offers both virtual and in-person appointments.  The hybrid appointment system by Klarity added to my convenience.

Cerebral

Cerebral has membership-based plans, namely Only Therapy, Only Medication, and Therapy Plus Medication.

I opted for plain therapy which was worth $295 USD per month and included weekly 45-minute consultations.

The only Medication plan costs $99 per month and offers the options of local pharmacy or doorstep delivery.

Therapy plus medication worth $365 USD per month was the most popular option that provided the benefits of both the above-mentioned plans.

Moreover, there are discounts and referral programs available to reduce the cost of treatment.

The platform is expensive compared to Klarity and offers less flexibility due to its fixed subscription-oriented pricing model.

3. Insurance Coverage

Klarity

Klarity does not provide insurance coverage as the pay-per-visit system of appointments makes mental healthcare quite inexpensive and straightforward.

But the platform does accept HSA/FSA cards to cover treatment bills. And what I really liked was that since the care providers offered independent, individualized psychiatric assistance, I could use a few of my discount cards because my practitioner was ready to accept them.

To reduce spending too much on medicines, there is an option to purchase them from GoodRX.com.

Cerebral

The insurance companies can help you cover your treatment costs at Cerebral:

• Anthem
• Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Blue Shield
• Cigna
• Magellan Health

I would advise you to confirm the incentives/benefits from your insurance company so you know how much you will spend on mental health care treatments at Cerebral.

4. Privacy

Klarity

Klarity ADHD complies with HIPAA guidelines and does not share sensitive patient client details with third parties, which is quite impressive compared to Cerebral tarnished reputation.

Cerebral

Unfortunately, Cerebral has a proven track record of engaging in unfair prescription practices and selling client data to companies such as Meta, Google, and more for monetary gains.

Although the platform’s privacy policy does mention that it might share user data for facilitating targeted advertisements online, I would not consider Cerebral’s services as these policies are subject to change anytime whenever the company deems fit to do so.

5. Accessibility

Klarity

Klarity services are available to adults across over 30 states. The primary evaluation test depends on whether or not the services are active in your state.

Due to the rise in demand for mental therapy and psychiatry on the platform, there is a waiting list that you can join till the services are not available in your state or till your appointment is finally booked and confirmed.

Cerebral

Cerebral’s network is wider and better than Klarity’s. As of now, there are 36 states offering telehealth and psychiatry services:

Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

6. Available Treatments

Klarity

Klarity could be your go-to platform for treating ADHD, depression, stress, anxiety, and insomnia if you want to receive both – virtual mental healthcare and in-person consultations for a deeper connection and better diagnosis.

Cerebral

Evidence-based treatment approaches are followed at Cerebral for the following mental illnesses:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Insomnia
• ADHD 
• Bipolar Disorder
• Alcohol Use Disorder
• PTSD
• Post-partum and menopausal depression
• Anger, grief, stress management
• Treatment for dealing with phobias
• Relationship and self-esteem issues
• Trauma management
• Support for the LBTQ+ community
• Phobias
• Self-esteem issues
• LGBTQI issues

7. Pros and Cons of Klarity ADHD

8. Pros and Cons of Cerebral

Conclusion

Klarity specializes in treating ADHD and related disorders like insomnia, anxiety, and depression. So, if you are experiencing ADHD-like symptoms, you can choose Klarity for a highly personalized treatment that follows a targeted approach.

Also, Klarity is particularly great if you want a mix of both online and offline appointments. Cerebral, on the other hand, is relatively expensive but covers a wider range of mental illnesses. It also follows a different pricing model as compared to Klarity.

For me, Klarity is a clear winner as I do not have to be as concerned about using the platform as I would be while using Cerebral’s portal. But if you need help with addressing other mental issues not covered by Klarity, you could go for Cerebral services.