EAPs are amazing! EAPs are workplace intervention programs funded by employers to help their employees achieve proper work-life balance.
They help employees juggle work and personal lives with effortless ease. They are effective because they curb employee absenteeism and promote a harmonious work environment.
Lyra, a popular EAP provider, is one of the latest, most raved mental healthcare platforms in the US. It earned an impressive reputation in the mental healthcare landscape in a short period of time. This article covers a detailed review of the platform.
About Lyra
Lyra Health was launched by David Ebersman (former CFO at Meta and Genentech) in 2015 in Burlingame, California. The platform aims to transform the quality and delivery methods of mental healthcare services in America.
Lyra was built with a mission to overcome medical and administrative barriers in facilitating mental healthcare. These barriers are real and are responsible for a huge crisis in the US.
The platform is equipped with a reliable virtual system for both patients and licensed providers. This way, they can come together online and connect at their own convenience without compromising the quality of service.
The platform ensures affected patients receive the right mental health treatment in the quickest and easiest possible way.
Lyra has been proudly taking care of more than 2.5 million mental health patients worldwide.
In this section, I will provide a comprehensive account of the important differences between Lyra and BetterHelp that are worth considering for you to make the right decision.
Lyra Review: Features, Pricing, Pros, Cons, and More
In this section, I will dive into a comprehensive review of Lyra.
1. How Does it Work?
This section will explain how exactly mental healthcare services work at Lyra.
Lyra is a platform connecting mental health patients and certified mental healthcare providers. The services focus on offering evidence-based treatment for all age groups. Lyra even provides extensive mental health services focusing on family care.
Therefore, the platform is quite popular among both patients and clinicians. And holds a respectable position in the mental healthcare industry in the US.
Firstly, I was happy with the flexibility when I signed up with Lyra. I was able to quickly get in touch with my therapist in multiple ways. I had the option to pick the mode that was the best and the most convenient for me.
I was able to connect with my counselor the day I signed up with Lyra – that was pretty fast, and I was excited for the journey. You may have to wait for 24 to 48 hours before an appropriate match is found.
Lyra provides communication with providers via offline office visits, video calls, live chat, and text messages. It was really interesting as to how I could be in complete control of my care plan and treatment using self-help resources.
The digital tools, relaxation exercises, and cognitive behavioral therapy lessons came in handy throughout my treatment duration. I observed that these definitely made a world of difference to my overall treatment outcome.
The best part was I could contact my provider even on the weekends. I would like to give a solid 10 on 10 to Lyra for having a network of dedicated mental health professionals who respond to you on day offs. This is great if you are always neck deep in work the entire working week from Monday to Friday.
Unless you get a bad match, you are in good hands. Nevertheless, vet their profiles properly.
There is more to this. Lyra’s flexibility and versatility are worth mentioning due to its fully integrated mental healthcare system. The platform has everything from virtual counseling to self-care psychiatry and offline care with medication management. It is therefore, compatible to suit all kinds of patients with varying locations, schedules, and lifestyles.
I was quite impressed with the clinically tested treatments and impact-driven protocols based on effective pre-assessments of patient history. The platform uses the PHQ9 and GAD7 tests for correct evaluation which is great.
If you doubt the reliability of Lyra’s providers, there is no concern here! I was in the same boat as you a few months ago. However, the platform only accepts licensed care professionals who strictly provide evidence-based treatments.
Lyra’s demo definitely helped me make my decision quickly. Once I enrolled, the smart progress-tracking features helped me.
- Stay motivated to achieve crucial mental health goals and key milestones
- Improve steadily
- Measure my achievements in a scientific, more meaningful way such that it gives me long-term positive results.
If you are a company, you can join Lyra to provide mental healthcare benefits to your employees via the EAP (Employee Assistance Program).
2. Pricing/Affordability
Is Lyra pocket-friendly enough? Let us find out in this section.
Lyra’s website does not mention any pricing information upfront because it is an EAP service.
Companies generally collaborate with Lyra to provide EAP benefits to their employees. I was fortunate enough to be eligible for its services, free of charge, via my employer.
As mentioned earlier, Lyra offers EAP support. And the counseling/psychiatry services are no-cost even for all your dependents.
So, Lyra is affordable if your employer has partnered with the platform. However, if you plan to take the EAP services, remember this. Never miss your appointments. Otherwise, you will need to pay back the session cost to your company.
However, you have the option to use your insurance plan for low-cost treatment costs. This is only possible after completing a fixed number of paid consultations with Lyra.
How can you go about this? I would advise taking a free session before you start scheduling paid appointments with your provider.
You also have the option to opt out of your company’s EAP. It is not mandatory.
3. Insurance Coverage
This section talks about whether or not Lyra provides insurance coverage to its clients.
The employers partnering with Lyra’s mental healthcare services fund the treatment cost of their employees through EAP. If you work with such a company, you are already insured by enrolling in their EAP (Employee Assistance Program)
However, Lyra has a mandatory limit of 12 consultations for those without EAP. Once you complete these sessions, the platform is unlocked to accept multiple popular insurance providers to cover your treatment costs.
4. Accessibility
Let us review Lyra on the ease of access front. Are there any geographical restrictions? Let us find out in this section.
Lyra is an international integrated mental healthcare platform. It offers extensive mental healthcare services in around 180 countries across the world.
So, I was thoroughly impressed with how easily accessible the services are. They go seamlessly beyond geographical and cultural barriers worldwide. This includes Lyra’s offerings – therapy, psychiatry, and medication management.
5. Available Treatments
Let us take a look at all the available mental healthcare services offered at Lyra in this section.
Improving your mental and emotional health is the primary target area of Lyra. The platform aims to alleviate mental health concerns by improving the overall care journey.
You can receive treatment for autism, major depressive disorder, ADHD, speech disabilities, OCD, PTSD, anxiety, and more. Most mental issues that hinder your work progress can be addressed at Lyra.
It follows a holistic approach, which is unique in its way. There are many care plans to choose from as per your mental healthcare needs. Broadly, the platform offers the following:
- Family care
- Preventive care
- Effective evidence-based treatment for moderate to severe psychiatric issues
- Mental healthcare techniques and protocols to treat complex mental health conditions
- Medication management, and more.
I am listing down the services available at Lyra. However, I think the website is missing crucial details of its key offerings or primary care plans. Patients may need help with that when picking the right one.
- Clinical leave evaluation
- Unlimited manager consultations
- On-site therapy
- Training and workshops
For companies that have already partnered with Lyra, their employees are eligible for the following benefits through EAP:
- Financial services
- Critical incident support
- Child care
- Elderly and pet care
- ID theft services and legal services
The platform also provides specialized care to help you fight off substance abuse issues, suicidal tendencies, and other acute mental health troubles.
6. Privacy
Are you worried about sharing sensitive personal information on mental healthcare platforms? The fear is valid! Let us see how Lyra performs in this aspect.
Lyra claims to be fully committed to providing 100 percent customer data protection. The privacy policy states different ways to ensure the identity and privacy of patients are maintained with integrity.
Lyra is compliant with all HIPAA regulations. However, since it is an EAP, employees are always concerned about a potential leak of personal details to their employers. Many employees have suspected that Lyra could be involved in this unethical data-sharing practice.
The employees mentioned Lyra using different types of surveys to disclose employee information to their companies/employers, which is concerning. Lyra responded by saying that the data is shared anonymously.
However, it is still a cause of concern for patients. Patient consent is casually trampled upon in this case, which is not acceptable and not fair on Lyra’s part.
Given this backdrop, many employees are demanding more transparency from Lyra and the employers. I would recommend you carefully review the privacy policy to avoid making rushed decisions
7. Pros and Cons
Pros
- Clinically proven methodologies and protocols used strictly for treatments
- A dedicated care team provides tailor-made solutions for all your mental health problems
- Talk therapy, psychiatry, medication management, child care, pet care, legal, financial services, and a wide variety of services are available at Lyra
- The first 12 sessions for eligible employees are free
- Insurance coverage is available after the initial quota of paid appointments is fulfilled
- The self-guided care option has effective self-care resources, tools and exercises
- Lyra is accessible worldwide in about 180 countries
- All important modes of communication with your provider are available. You can opt for in-person visits or via video calls, phone calls, text messages, live chat, etc
- Provides solutions to a variety of mental health issues, including serious psychiatric disorders
- Lyra offers services to all age groups
- Easy payments
- Helps providers get referrals and widen their clinical exposure
Cons
- It is an EAP provider, so employees in companies in partnership with Lyra can take the services
- The number of sessions you get depends on your employer and its collaboration with Lyra
- You are eligible for insurance coverage only after you exhaust the initial paid sessions if you are not covered by Lyra EAP
- Mandatory payment out-of-pocket or via insurance after exhausting the 12 sessions per year limit
- Suspected sharing of personal information with employers
Conclusion
Lyra is great if your company is already associated with the platform. It is affordable and effective if used as an EAP provider. However, you can skip this one if you have dedicated insurance such as Cigna, Aetna, United Healthcare, etc.
Save your money. Because the initial mandatory 12 sessions to make your insurance plan eligible for acceptance by Lyra may not be entirely worth it.
There are many better platforms out there that score way higher on the accessibility, pricing, and insurance coverage fronts. The services are amazing. But being an EAP provider, you must be an employee to get the benefits.
So, you can give this one a try if you are really curious. However, I would not recommend it in the long run without an EAP.
She is an experienced Clinical Psychologist and Mental Health Writer with a decade of expertise in psychology. Skilled in assessment, therapy, and patient care. Committed to helping individuals through clinical practice and mental health writing at Therapyjourney.co. Passionate about promoting mental well-being and awareness. Open to aligned opportunities.