VPhA is excited to announce a new benefit for all members from the teletherapy company BetterHelp. This new partnership supports the mission of the recently formed Academy for Workplace Well-Being. Other partners that offer this program include: the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), American Society of Composers, Authors and Performers (ASCAP) and The Berkeley Well-Being Institute.
BetterHelp is the largest online counseling platform worldwide. BetterHelp will provide convenient, discreet and affordable access to a licensed therapist. BetterHelp makes professional counseling available anytime, anywhere, through a computer, tablet or smartphone.
VPhA secured 1 month of free therapy ($280 value) on the BetterHelp platform as a benefit for our members.
BetterHelp will match VPhA members with a licensed counselor to serve our members with the clinical expertise to address your needs within 24 hours.
Members can get counseling in four ways:
- Exchanging messages with the counselor
- Chatting live with the counselor
- Speaking over the phone with the counselor
- Video conferencing with the counselor
VPhA members can use different ways at different times as they wish, based on the member’s needs, availability, and convenience.
VPhA members get a weekly scheduled session which can be video, phone or real time chat according to their preference plus an unlimited ability to exchange asynchronous messages with their counselor.
If the counselor deems it clinically appropriate to schedule more sessions, the cost does not change for the VPhA member. (typically though it is 1 per week)
The cost of counseling through BetterHelp ranges from $40 to $70 per week (billed monthly). You can cancel your membership at any time for any reason.
Who are the Counselors?
Counselors on BetterHelp are licensed, trained, experienced, and accredited psychologists (PhD / PsyD), marriage and family therapists (LMFT), clinical social workers (LCSW / LMSW), or licensed professional counselors (LPC). All of them have a Masters Degree or a Doctorate Degree in their field. They have been qualified and certified by their state’s professional board after successfully completing the necessary education, exams, training and practice. While their experience, expertise and background vary, they all possess at least 3 years and 2,000 hours of hands-on experience. Click here to learn more about the counselors.
Betterhelp has counselors in all 50 states who are specialized in specific issues, such as stress, anxiety, relationships, parenting, depression, addictions, eating, sleeping, trauma, anger, family conflicts, LGBT matters, grief, religion, self esteem and more.
Privacy Information:
You don’t need to identify yourself (see more about staying anonymous here). Everything you tell your counselor is protected by strict federal and state laws. BetterHelp doesn’t cooperate or work with any insurance companies or employers, so nothing needs to be shared, reported or filed.
VPhA members can always click the “Shred” button next to each message that you’ve sent so it will no longer show in your account. All the messages between you and your counselor are secured and encrypted by banking-grade 256-bit encryption. Servers are hosted in an “A Grade” facility, ensuring the best-in-class security and protection.
Browsing encryption system (SSL) follows modern best practices, providing world class online security and encryption. Databases are encrypted and scrambled so they essentially become useless in the very unlikely event that they are being stolen or inappropriately used.
A note from BetterHelp on their Privacy Philosophy: “We are totally obsessed about securing your privacy and confidentiality. We have built a state-of-the-art technology, operation, and infrastructure with one thing in mind: protecting your privacy and safeguarding the information you provide. Our privacy and confidentiality standards are by far more advanced than what is required by law or regulations, so you can feel safe and comfortable.”
To Get Started:
To begin the benefit the VPhA member will be required to provide a credit card. The first month is free and BetterHelp will notify members when the month end is approaching and give them an opportunity to cancel and never have their card charged if they don’t wish to continue. (Cancelling is accomplished by logging in, going to settings and canceling their membership with a few clicks.) If the VPhA member does nothing BetterHelp will bill their card for the next month of service and it becomes a monthly reoccurring billing subscription. (their standard retail service)
https://www.betterhelp.com/faq/
BetterHelp is not the right solution for you if any of the following is true:
- You have thoughts of hurting yourself or others
- You are a minor or you are under the care of a legal guardian
- You are in an urgent crisis or an emergency situation
- You have been diagnosed with a severe mental illness, or if you have been advised to be in psychological supervision or psychiatric care
- You were required to undergo therapy or counseling either by a court order or by any other authority
- You do not have a device that can connect to the Internet or you do not have a reliable Internet connection
If you have any additional questions about how this benefit works with you VPhA membership please contact info@virginiapharmacists.org