According to the Mental health treatment or therapy among American adults 2002-2021 | Statista, State of Health report published in Jan 2023, by John Elfien – 41.7 million American adults consulted mental health care professionals for therapy and counseling in the year 2021.
More and more adults in the United States are willingly seeking treatment and therapy to cope with mental illnesses or emotional distress, given the improved accessibility of mental healthcare and psychiatry services.
The stigma around mental problems is still quite prevalent and a big deal, especially among other ethnicities and races.
As per the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there is a considerable increase in the number of adults opting for mental healthcare. It shot up from 19.2% in 2019 to 21.6% in 2021. Since then, the trend of Americans proactively going for mental healthcare services has been rising.
This positive trend is likely to improve as access to good quality mental healthcare is made easier. Thanks to the numerous telehealth and teletherapy platforms coming up nowadays.
SonderMind’s Mission
Now, there are two sides to this aspect.
The good thing was that people were willing to address and fix their mental health issues more than ever. But the other side of the equation was hardly addressed – the requirements of the therapists and other telehealth service providers in the ecosystem.
So, SonderMind was established in 2017 to solve this problem. It not only provides patients with the right therapists but also ensures that deserving counselors get fairly compensated.
SonderMind Review: Pros, Cons, Pricing & More Details
SonderMind is an outcome-focused mental healthcare and therapy provider founded by Sean Boyd and Mark Frank, operational since 2017.
The digital telehealth company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and the company’s objective is to make mental healthcare easily accessible for all. SonderMind wants to offer professional services to those battling several mental/emotional health issues.
SonderMind is an integrated digital platform that connects mental healthcare providers with the clients requiring their services and is supported by insurance.
So, SonderMind’s primary goal is to completely transform behavioral health approaches via optimized access to high-quality mental healthcare services and their better utilization.
1. How Does it Work?
There are two ways we analyze the working of Sondermind: one for the patients and the other for therapists. We will discuss here both ways that helps you understand how it works for each group.
SonderMind for Patients:
SonderMind helps you to get connected with its network of licensed therapists at affordable rates. You can easily enroll with the platform by answering a short quiz to get yourself matched with the right therapist.
Generally, you can find the right match in 24 to 48 hours. On weekends, the platform assigns a suitable therapist on the next business day. You can also request a re-match for free to explore more options.
The counselor will need 1 to 2 business days to approve your request and start therapy. You can then schedule an in-person consultation or a video appointment with the assigned therapist at your convenience.
If you have any questions or concerns before signing up for the services, you can also connect with SonderMind’s wellness coordinators from Monday to Friday till 6 PM MST (Mountain Standard Time).
The good news is that SonderMind accepts insurance. So, the platform chooses your therapist based on your needs and your insurance provider. More on this later in the article.
SonderMind for Therapists:
As a mental health professional, you can join SonderMind’s network of licensed clinicians by signing up with the platform. SonderMind has ample career growth opportunities, job security, and a flexible working schedule.
Note – All certified therapists, psychiatrists, and psychiatric nurse practitioners are eligible to join this community.
In order to get started, you need to schedule an interview with the SonderMind team. If you are a good fit, the team onboards, guides, and trains you with one-on-one support.
Post training, you become a part of the extensive SonderMind network. It is equipped with many insightful resources and modern tools so that you can provide top-quality therapy to your clients.
You also have the option to contribute to the community and its resources.
2. Cost/Affordability
Just like the therapy services offered by SonderMind, the pricing depends on your needs. There is no monthly subscription, and you can pay anywhere in the range of $80 to $175 for a 60-minute session.
In some cases, the per session cost can go as high as $200, depending on the therapist assigned. This makes SonderMind a not-so-affordable mental therapy option. The more specific your requirements are, the more money you spend per appointment.
SonderMind also has a 24-hour cancellation policy. Your therapist will reschedule the session if you manage to cancel the appointment within 24 hours of booking. However, the platform charges a hefty cancellation fee equivalent to the session cost.
The pricing details are highly personalized and are only available after you complete the signup process. So, the platform’s claim of affordable mental health care seems more like a facade.
SonderMind also collects your credit card details before your first appointment. According to the company, this is done to remove billing hassles every time a session takes place. But many clients are apprehensive about this.
In a nutshell, the platform is not budget-friendly at all.
3. Insurance Coverage
Therapy & psychiatric assistance at SonderMind is as expensive as traditional healthcare. Thankfully, the platform accepts a comprehensive list of state-wise insurance plans to cover your therapy costs.
You will be matched to a therapist that accepts your insurance. Simply select your carrier to check accepted insurance providers. You can choose your preferred insurance carrier while you sign up with SonderMind. Here is the list of available carriers:
- Aetna
- Anthem
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Carefirst
- Cigna
- Friday Health Plans
- Kaiser Permanente
- Medical Mutual
- Medicare
- Optum
- Oscar Health Plan
- United Healthcare
You can get in touch with customer service at SonderMind to find out more about your insurance benefits and how much you need to pay.
The platform also supports payments via EAP (Employee Assistance Program). It’s advisable to inform your employer beforehand to start reaping the benefits via EAP. Typically, you are eligible to receive a few initial sessions for free before you start paying on your own or using your insurance.
You can even make use of multiple insurance plans to cover your therapy sessions at SonderMind. You will be assigned a counselor who accepts all your plans.
However, new clients can’t add all their insurance plans during the signup process. Once they set up an account on the platform, they can easily update the information regarding multiple insurances under the “Insurance” tab.
SonderMind will also inquire about your primary and secondary insurance coverage. This ensures the order in which your insurance is billed is as per your requirement.
SonderMind is not an economical therapy platform by itself. But therapists do accept HSA, FSA, and Medicare plans to help you access mental healthcare at reduced prices.
4. Accessibility
SonderMind is only accessible in 17 states across the United States. In addition to Washington D.C, SonderMind mental health care services accepting insurance are currently only available in the following states across the United States:
- Arizona
- Colorado
- District of Columbia
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- Ohio
- Texas
- Vermont
- Virginia
5. Privacy
In light of several online mental therapy platforms resorting to unfair business practices and sharing classified client data with partners, the protection of patient privacy is of the highest importance.
According to SonderMind’s privacy policy, the platform is 100 % HIPAA-compliant. The company values the privacy of its customers and keeps sensitive information completely confidential.
The Better Business Bureau has awarded an A rating to SonderMind, considering its positive reviews and ethical business practices. The extensive privacy policy clearly mentions the usage of personal data for improving the overall business experience.
Also, the encrypted software is well-equipped to keep customer information and healthcare records safe at all times.
All the video sessions with your therapists take place in a HIPPA-compliant environment and are never recorded.
6. SonderMind Pros and Cons
Pros
- Provides both mental therapy and psychiatry services with medication management
- You are matched to a licensed therapist in 24 to 48 hours
- You can find a free re-match if required
- Has a responsive app for mobile counseling sessions
- The platform is given an A rating by the Better Business Bureau
- SonderMind services are covered by insurance
- You can easily estimate your mental healthcare expenses using insurance
- The treatments are covered by the EAP (Employee Assistance Program)
- Mental therapy and psychiatric services are offered through
a hybrid model -you can opt for both in-person and video consultations - All sessions are protected through compulsory HIPAA compliance
- Complete protection of sensitive patient information on SSL-encrypted servers
- The app and the customer portal are easy to use and navigate
- There is no dearth of information and insightful resources on the website
- Providers or clinicians can also contribute to the community and resources
- There are dedicated resources for clients, partners, and providers
- Emergency resources listing all 24×7 helplines are also available on the website.
Cons
- Customers have reported serious billing issues calling it a money grab
- Insurance billing on the platform is also problematic
- There are discrepancies between session scheduling and billing
- SonderMind services are only available in 17 states across the country
- Clients have complained about unresponsive customer service, for issues, especially concerning billing and insurance
- Without insurance, SonderMind may not be an affordable platform for mental therapy
- There is a rigid 24-hour cancellation policy and a high cancellation fee
- SonderMind does not clearly mention the qualifications of their therapists
- The video sessions have been reported to be slow and laggy
- Providers have also complained about not receiving timely payments due to a messed-up billing system.
Who Should Seek Help at SonderMind?
SonderMind is a hybrid mental therapy option. You are an ideal candidate if you wish to explore both in-person and video sessions on a single platform.
The company’s community of professionals is only authorized to offer therapy. You can also consult SonderMind for psychiatric treatment and partial medication management.
You should look elsewhere if you need help with the diagnosis of severe mental health illnesses.
How Does SonderMind Stack Up Against its Competitors?
Talkspace, Headway, and BetterHelp are some of the leading competitors of SonderMind.
Headway is a marketplace that connects you with a network of therapists for one-on-one sessions. It does not offer video, phone, or chat therapy at all making it a more personalized counseling service.
On the other hand, SonderMind is more convenient as it is a virtual mental therapy platform specializing in both video and in-person consultations. You can choose your go-to mode of communication for maximum comfort throughout the treatment duration.
However, Headway has a larger pool of verified mental health professionals, which is a big plus. Most of the therapists also accept insurance making therapy at Headway slightly more affordable.
Moreover, the pricing at Headway is more transparent, so you can easily gauge your mental healthcare expenses. It is a great advantage if you wish to seek therapy on a budget.
SonderMind in comparison, is way too expensive. Customers have reported insurance and billing issues with no response from customer support for days on end. Some of them have complained about paying far more than the estimated costs.
The clinicians have also spoken about their unsatisfactory experience with SonderMind.
Also, SonderMind does not provide subscription-based services like Talkspace and BetterHelp. So, customers have found the other two platforms to be more affordable and flexible than SonderMind.
Conclusion
SonderMind seems like a decent platform for mental therapy and medication management. However, the price range is a bit too prohibitive.
You can bring down the overall costs for treatment using one or more of your insurance plans. This is probably one of the biggest advantages of SonderMind. It accepts payments via a wide variety of government and private insurance providers.
SonderMind’s availability is still quite restricted. The company has been making significant efforts to expand its business into other states across America. But it is yet to reach a wider audience spanning multiple states and is not adequately recognized for its services.
Some customers have advised against enrolling with SonderMind if they have anxiety issues due to severe financial problems. The glitchy billing system can lead to incorrect reimbursements blowing up your mental therapy budget.
The poor customer service combined with unsustainable billing can make therapy at SonderMind more stressful. It defeats the purpose of the solution, which is meant to provide patients some respite from costly mental health treatments.
If you do not want membership-based therapy and can successfully navigate the payment or scheduling issues on SonderMind, the platform is a good option to experiment with.
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.