Minded Vs Cerebral: Which is Better for Mental Health?

With great advancements in technology and telehealth care, millions across the world are now able to access the care they need without as much difficulty. Online patient consultations and psychiatric evaluations have become increasingly normal.

There are many virtual mental healthcare platforms that have been following the trend. Minded and Cerebral are two of the most credible ones on the list. Which platform is better, though? I have compared them to simplify your decision-making process.

Comparison Between Minded and Cerebral

This section comprehensively analyzes the key features, offerings, pricing, pros, and cons of Minded and Cerebral to help you pick the right platform for your mental well-being.

1. How Does it Work?

Minded

The process is super-simple and only needed me to complete the following:

• Pass the initial eligibility quiz to help the team eliminate other possibilities and severe illnesses such as schizophrenia
• Test number two, which is a bit more extensive, comprehensively assessed my mental health to look for symptoms of stress, anxiety, or depression

I took standard PHQ-9 and GAD-7 questionnaires so I can vouch for the validity of my mental health evaluation. What’s great is that everything is not fully automated, as appropriate human intervention is crucial for mental healthcare

So, my assigned psychiatrists and nurse practitioners helped me with the final diagnosis and prescription.

After clearing all eligibility tests mentioned above, I interacted weekly with my care team via video calls. I had the option to pick up my medication from a local pharmacy at my convenience.

The platform’s reminder feature to help me stay on track was a great feature. I got timely notifications to ensure my medication stock is sufficient enough to support long-term psychiatric treatment.

I was required to book appointments for renewing my prescriptions. And any request to modify or renew your prescription was supposed to be made beforehand to avoid treatment delays and achieve better outcomes.

Here are some important features of Minded that you should know:

• I got full-fledged online psychiatric services at Minded
• You need to connect with your physician in case a particular drug is not available at Minded, and alternatives will be prescribed
• No prior prescription, proof, or diagnosis is needed for taking treatments to address depression, insomnia, or anxiety
• Xanax, Adderall, Ritalin, Ativan, and other stimulants are strictly not recommended by professionals at Minded
• No provision of on-demand service and psychotherapy available

Cerebral

To get started with treatment on Cerebral, I had an initial assessment form to complete. The appropriate care team was allotted to me based on the evaluation of this form.

My mental therapist, responsible for psychotherapy, and a certified psychiatrist both formed the crux of my care team. This way, my medication as well as counseling requirements, were taken care of quite effectively.

Contacting professionals from my care team was convenient as I could send them messages whenever required or schedule quick live audio/phone and video sessions for more comprehensive virtual consultations.

I would like to give Cerebral extra points for its super personalized treatments and the provision to easily switch care teams if needed with personalized intervention.

Since changing care teams is not automated, the platform is better equipped to understand my specific mental healthcare requirements as there is a support team of experts to help me get the right care team.

2. Pricing/Affordability

Minded

Minded has a pricing structure based on a membership model, which is pretty affordable.

The subscription cost me $95 in the initial month and $45 for the remaining months without including medication expenses. These were non-refundable, but I could cancel my membership manually whenever.

Also, I could easily pick my nearest pharmacy for delivering medication. But I preferred Minded sending me a prescription online, and the cost of my medication was determined by the pharmacy of my choice.

Cerebral

Cerebral is costlier compared to Minded. The platform offers two major membership plans. One plan provides standalone therapy, while the other one covers both extensive diagnoses of mental illnesses and prescription management.

One advantage of Cerebral over Minded is that your package cost is all-inclusive and even includes the monthly medication cost.

I did not get a free trial before purchasing my go-to plan, but the 50% discount can bring down your treatment cost to a fair extent in the first month, making the deal pretty budger-friendly.

Still craving a higher discount? Cerebral’s Refer a Friend referral program can come in handy for affordably priced treatments with a maximum 70% discount.

Mental health therapy only	Therapy and medication management
This plan is priced at $295 USD per month, but the 50% discount offer on the site can get you the same plan for $145 USD per month in the first month	This plan costs $365 USD per month without any discount. But you can get the plan for $175 USD per month in the first month with the 50% discount offer
You will be billed monthly	You will be billed monthly
Cerebral pairs you with the right psychotherapist depending on your mental health needs	Cerebral pairs you with the right psychotherapist depending on your mental health needs and also provide you with a qualified psychiatrist for proper diagnosis and prescription
Weekly counseling sessions through phone or video calls	Weekly counseling sessions through phone or video calls plus expert-led medication management
The care team provides regular assistance and a personalized treatment plan that is tweaked as and when required	The care team provides regular assistance and a personalized treatment plan that is tweaked as and when required
Prescriptions are not managed under this plan	You can reach out to your medical prescriber through phone, or video calls to book sessions with him or her
Appointment scheduling just takes a few minutes on the app. The app also provides a variety of mental healthcare resources and progress-monitoring tools	Appointment scheduling just takes a few minutes on the app. The app also provides a variety of mental healthcare resources and progress-monitoring tools
FSA/HSA cards accepted for payment	FSA/HSA cards accepted for payment

3. Insurance Coverage

Minded

Minded did accept insurance to cover my treatment. And I could not process payments via Medicare/Medicaid. The first step for me was to reach out to its customer support via email to check the eligibility of my insurance plan.

I could even use my HSA card, which made the platform truly affordable. You can also process your payments via your FSA or HSA cards to bring down treatment costs.

The membership costs are budget-friendly compared to Cerebral and insurance payments. So, it is always advisable to have a word with your insurance provider and understand your coverage plans better to know how much of your cost would be reimbursed.

Cerebral

The insurance plans of the below-mentioned companies are accepted by Cerebral:

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

To know my benefits, I simply had to take a short insurance eligibility test which also helped me find out if my insurance company is one of Cerebral’s insurance network partners.

My final treatment cost was determined by my insurance plan, the deductible amount, and the subscription plan I chose.

However, my insurance covered everything, including my counseling sessions and medication management, except it did not cover the $30 USD universal access fee.

I would advise you to quickly check with your insurance company and the benefits included in your plan to get more clarity on the overall cost of your treatment.

4. Privacy

Minded

According to me, the privacy policy ensured enough transparency, but I am not sure about full protection of medical records or sensitive patient data. Minded is HIPAA-compliant, but it also states that the platform may share client information with social media and third-party websites.

Cerebral

Cerebral gained a lot of negative publicity when ex-employees exposed its unfair medical prescription methods. Practitioners were accused of recommending stimulants and psychoactive drugs to expedite positive results.

Also, Cerebral’s privacy policy claims that the platform is HIPAA-compliant, but it is known to share patient details with third-party providers, partners, and insurance companies.

In my opinion, the platform’s transparency is questionable, so I would suggest understanding the privacy policy of Cerebral before signing up.

5. Accessibility

Minded

Minded is currently available in a limited number of states, such as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, Virginia, Illinois, and California. Being from Irving, Texas, I could easily access treatment on this platform.

Just shoot an email to customer support team if Minded is not active in your state. The company will send you a notification as soon as it expands services to your location.

Also, no requests pertaining to getting letters of support for special accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act will be entertained by Minded.

Cerebral

Being on the costlier side, Cerebral has more regional coverage and mental health treatment options.

It is one of the most accessible and highly flexible providers, except for treatment addressing alcohol dependence which is only available in 36 states.

Apart from this, the platform’s website and the app perform quite well for differently-abled customers on the usability front.

All the plans provided by Cerebral are available across all states in the US, including the state of Washington, D.C. If you have signed up for prescription-based medication service, your prescriber will have to be certified in the state you reside in.

Cerebral’s network of prescription providers is only licensed to issue or prescribe mental illness medicines in the United States.

6. Available Treatments

Minded

You need to satisfy the following conditions to be able to consult Minded:

• You are an adult aged 18 years and above
• Patients aged 16 years old require presence of their legal guardians throughout the treatment process on prior email request
• You want to go beyond psychotherapy
• Your mental condition is not too complex and severe that may need hospitalization
• You need medications and consisent psychiatric support to address illnesses such as depression, stress, anxiety, insomnia, etc.
• You need to be a resident of a state in which Minded is fully operational

Cerebral

Cerebral addresses the following mental disorders with evidence-based treatments:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Insomnia
• ADHD in selected states of the US
• Bipolar Disorder in selected states of the US
• Alcohol Use Disorder – not offered in all states
• PTSD
• Post-partum and menopausal depression

Cerebral also offers talk therapy for anger, grief, stress management, and more psychological problems such as:

• Trauma
• Relationship Troubles
• Phobias
• Self-esteem issues
• LGBTQI issues

7. Pros and Cons of Minded

8. Pros and Cons of Cerebral

Conclusion

The unethical prescription methods and contentious data-sharing practices by Cerebral are a cause of concern for me. So, I would specifically go for Minded for psychiatric treatments.

Minded also wins when it comes to affordable mental health treatments. However, if you are looking to address more complex and severe mental illnesses, Cerebral might be a better pick for you, given its flexibility and ability to target a wider spectrum of mental disorders.