Best Online Help for Depression

When it comes to treating symptoms of depression, Amwell is well-outfitted with some of the most qualified help around. It has a whole host of therapists and psychiatrists available to help you anytime you need: You can connect with a therapist 24/7, 365 days a year. However, once you start working with a specific therapist and want to continue being treated by them, their availability may be somewhat more limited.

Amwell also has a regularly updated blog written by mental health experts on a wide variety of topics useful for those coping with depression. For those on social media, Amwell’s Twitter account is filled with mental health advice and information about upcoming webinars and supportive partnerships.

Amwell offers a wide range of therapy services, and its therapists treat a number of different types of depression, including bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, and seasonal affective disorder. It also has therapists ready and able to help manage acute symptoms with medication. However, the service is pay-per-session, which can get expensive if you don’t have insurance or if Amwell does not accept yours.

A lot of online therapy services don’t accept insurance or are out of network, but Peer Collective is one of the few that’s trying to change that by offering affordable care without insurance.

Start by filling out Peer Collective’s brief questionnaire to access the counselors’ bios and select one who works for you. You then can live chat with that counselor for $14 for a 30-minute session or $28 for a 60-minute session. These counselors aren’t licensed therapists, but they do have experience with many different mental health issues, including depression.

You can schedule sessions with your counselor on live video at convenient times, and since you pay by session, you can reduce costs by cutting back on sessions anytime. The site also includes a number of blog posts about the potential benefits of using a counselor instead of a licensed therapist.

Doctors on Demand makes signing up and connecting with a therapist easy, so you can start working on a treatment plan as soon as possible. You first take a two-minute assessment to see how you rank your depression and anxiety levels. After that, you’re directed to a list of therapists who can help. If you think you need medication, there’s a simple process to be evaluated by a psychiatrist and then get prescriptions filled and sent to your home.

Many accredited therapists with Doctors on Demand have experience helping people cope with several types of depression and symptoms. It also has a blog and social media presence supported by doctors who share advice and background on issues across the spectrum of health care.

You pay by the session, so you don’t have to stick to a regular schedule if you don’t want to. Doctors on Demand also accepts a number of insurance plans, so you might end up paying very little out of pocket. The site makes it relatively simple to see if your plan offers coverage and what your co-pay will be.

According to the Trevor Project, those in the LGBTQIA+ community are nearly twice as likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression than cisgender, heterosexual youth. Additionally, they are four times as likely to have attempted suicide.

The Trevor Project claims to be the world’s largest crisis intervention organization and offers a support system to help LGBTQIA+ youth cope with challenging symptoms of depression like suicidal ideation. Anyone younger than 25 can call, text, or message its crisis counselors 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you don’t feel ready to talk to a counselor, there is also has a wealth of educational resources on its website that help answer questions on everything from sexual orientation to navigating rejection from family members to mental health issues like depression. If you’re hoping to find a new peer support group, there’s TrevorSpace—an online, moderated community where you can chat with others who might be dealing with similar issues, get advice, and maybe even make new friends. You also can interact with peers and counselors on Trevor Project’s robust social platforms.

Couples counseling typically begins with partners addressing outward issues in their relationship, but deeper issues—including depression—might emerge as therapy continues. When that happens, partners need to work together to address the problem.

Couples Therapy Inc. offers intensive couples retreats in-person or online, or, if you’d prefer, you can sign up for more traditional online therapy sessions. If you’re not sure what will work best, you can take a quiz on the website that will guide you to what likely will work best for you and your partner.  

The company also has a regularly updated blog on its website that’s filled with relevant articles written by accredited therapists on important relationship issues like emotional intimacy and financial planning. One post, for example, addresses how you can support a partner who’s struggling with depression. Plus, it has a few self-guided programs you can follow to learn some relationship therapy basics.

Therapy sessions are run by therapists with more than 20 years of training in science-backed relationship therapy. You can read their bios ahead of time before moving forward with one. Before getting started, your chosen therapist will have you fill out an assessment about your relationship, and what you’re hoping to address.

Depression can go hand-in-hand with substance abuse, and addressing depressive symptoms is just one aspect of comprehensive treatment programs for substance abuse. Recovery Village offers many levels of treatment, including partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient services, offered through Recovery Village’s Nobu app. It treats all types of substance abuse, including alcohol, recreational and prescription drugs.

Recovery Village also treats a number of co-occurring mental health disorders through its app, including anxiety and depression. Its medical professionals can also help with medication management if that’s part of your recovery process. To start, you’ll have three sessions: a medical assessment, a clinical assessment with a licensed therapist, and financial counseling, where you can learn your insurance coverage options. If you decide to go ahead with online therapy, you’ll meet with the same therapist you’re initially matched with unless you’d prefer to change to someone else.

You can also peruse Recovery Village’s vast collection of educational resources online on various types of substance abuse anytime. Read recovery stories, use its sobriety calculator, and even participate in free online recovery meetings.

Recovery Village aims to make your treatment program flexible to fit your life as needed. However, more intensive levels of care, like partial hospitalization, are available if needed. You also can opt into group sessions with others coping with similar substance abuse issues. Support is available for specific groups like veterans, first responders, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Talking with peers sometimes can be a good way to start addressing depression, which is why 7 Cups is such a helpful service. In existence since 2013, 7 Cups has trained volunteers it calls “active listeners” available to chat online 24/7 via its user-friendly app. Active listeners have to pass an online course to learn how to support users with empathy, understanding, and respect. There also are forums and private chat rooms available for users should they want to connect with others struggling with similar issues.

For people just dipping their toes into peer counseling for depression, 7 Cups has a comprehensive blog written by mental health experts that offers advice on things like boosting self-esteem and setting healthy boundaries with loved ones.

If you’re looking for more traditional therapy, 7 Cups has you covered there, too. You can chat online with an accredited, licensed therapist on an unlimited basis for just $150 a month. The platform is backed by a number of peer-reviewed publications, according to its website. However, if you’re hoping to have a live audio or video conversation with a therapist, this service is not for you.

Good Therapy is a free directory service that aims to give you as much background on therapists as possible so you can feel like you’re moving forward with the right person the first time around.

All you have to do is type in your zip code and whether you’re looking for in-person or telehealth sessions, and Good Therapy will give you a list of therapists with varying areas of expertise. And you don’t just get the bullet points; each therapist provides a bio detailing how they work and what areas they specialize in. You can can narrow your search by insurance, as well as by gender, type of therapy (like cognitive behavioral therapy or collaborative therapy), age group focus, languages spoken, and accessibility. Essentially, Good Therapy makes it incredibly easy to zero in on a therapist who fits all of your needs with relatively little legwork.

If you’re still not sure about how to proceed, Good Therapist has a number of blog posts with questions to ask yourself about what you’re looking for and how you feel therapy is progressing once you choose a therapist and get started.

People living with depression sometimes don’t have the means to treat their symptoms effectively, either because they don’t have insurance or it’s otherwise cost-prohibitive. The Canadian Nonprofit Center for Interactive Mental Health (CIMHS) has a somewhat different approach that puts mental health treatment back into your hands.

It offers a free program called Bliss to help you develop coping skills for various common mental illnesses, like depression and anxiety. It’s based on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) principles, which the American Psychological Association says is an effective method of treating depression. While it is a Canadian nonprofit, the service is available to everyone, no matter where they live.

Bliss consists of eight “interactive sessions” designed to target depression and depressive symptoms. Throughout the sessions, you learn coping skills and strategies for creating healthy changes as well as methods for tracking your mood and overall mental health weekly. You can work at your own pace and use the program tool in therapy if you decide you’d also like to pursue that course.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, only about 30% of Black, indigenous peoples, people of color, and other marginalized communities received mental health services in 2015. And due to risk factors like racism, economic disparity, and food insecurity, their rate of suicide is higher, especially among black youth.  

Lack of access, along with other risk factors, can exacerbate symptoms of depression. To better serve minorities, Ayana Therapy provides more accessible online therapy with a pool of qualified, diverse professionals. There is an online blog that addresses potential mental health triggers like microaggressions, racial trauma, compassion fatigue, or the loss of feelings of empathy and compassion for others due to ongoing trauma. Interesting mental health facts are posted regularly on their social media pages, where you can also reach out for help. 

Ayana uses a simple questionnaire to match users with a therapist who fits their needs. Cost-wise, Ayana is average compared to similar companies, and you can either pay on a subscription basis or per session, which may be less expensive if you don’t need regular sessions. You can connect with your therapist from anywhere at any time, which may help you stick with therapy.