Grow Therapy Review

Grow Therapy is an online platform that offers therapy, medication management, and psychiatric services through a network of more than 26,000 providers. It’s available in all 50 US states and accepts over 125 insurance plans, including Aetna, Anthem, Cigna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and United Healthcare, as well as Medicaid and Medicare in many states.

The platform uses a pay-per-session model. In other words, you only pay for the sessions you book. This can be a significant benefit for users who want to avoid being locked into monthly subscriptions that other platforms offer.

HelpGuide evaluated Grow Therapy over a two-month period, using both its therapy and psychiatry services and assessing the experience at each stage of the process. We also surveyed over 200 Grow Therapy users and asked them to rate different aspects of the service and share their feedback. Here are a few key findings from our research:

Grow Therapy highlights

In our best online therapy, best online therapy with insurance, and best online psychiatry reviews, Grow Therapy was a top pick across the board.

• Tied for best therapy platform overall
• Our #1 pick for therapy platforms that take insurance
• One of our top picks for psychiatry & medication management
• Pay per appointment—no subscription required.
• Cost per session with insurance typically $20 or less

4.6

Try a single session

Grow Therapy excels in several areas.

• Many provider options (including in person). Grow Therapy has a wide network of more than 26,000 mental health providers. In addition, you can narrow your search by specialty, gender, race and ethnicity, and other aspects of a provider’s background. And unlike most mental health platforms we’ve tested, you can also opt for in-person services.
• High provider satisfaction. In our own testing, we were impressed with the quality of the therapist and psychiatric professional we saw. The Grow Therapy users we surveyed were similarly satisfied, with the vast majority happy with the first provider they selected. In fact, only 26 percent of surveyed users ever switched therapists.
• Broad, affordable insurance coverage. Grow Therapy accepts over 125 insurance plans, as well as Medicare and Medicaid. If your provider isn’t in-network with your plan, you can request a superbill from your provider to submit for potential reimbursement. And verifying coverage is quick and easy. All of this makes therapy and psychiatry on the platform very accessible and affordable.
• Pay-per-session model. Many therapy platforms require you to pay a monthly subscription. However, if you simply want to try out a single session or pay on a session-by-session basis, Grow Therapy’s model is a better fit.

Where Grow Therapy could improve

• Without insurance, out-of-pocket costs can be expensive. Self-pay fees for therapy can potentially range anywhere from $75 to $300 per session, depending on your provider. For psychiatry, self-pay fees ranged from $100 to $300. While those prices aren’t unreasonable, you can often find lower prices, particularly for therapy, if you’re willing to commit to a subscription service. 
• Possibility of slow customer support. During our hands-on testing, we experienced very fast, responsive customer support. However, in our survey of real therapy users, only about 13 percent of users who reached out to customer support said they received a response within 24 hours. With that in mind, know that customer support times may vary. 

Why you can trust our Grow Therapy review

To evaluate Grow Therapy firsthand, our team spent a full month actively using the platform and documenting the experience along the way. This involved completing the registration process, booking and attending therapy and psychiatry sessions, and reaching out to customer support with questions. We also explored additional platform tools, such as the therapist messaging feature, which is available between scheduled sessions.

Alongside our hands-on testing, we conducted surveys of 200 Grow Therapy users (100 who used the therapy services, and 100 who used the psychiatry services)  to get broader insight into the platform’s performance. Through extensive questionnaires, participants shared feedback on areas such as ease of use, cost, data privacy, provider quality, and their overall satisfaction with the service. Combining our direct experience with this user feedback gave us a well-rounded understanding of how Grow Therapy performs and how it stacks up against other online therapy and psychiatry platforms.

Sign-up and using the platform

1

Enter location, needs, and insurance provider into the search page

2

Select a provider from the filtered list

3

Complete sign-up and intake

Getting started with Grow Therapy was quick and easy. It took us about five minutes to complete the initial intake, then we were able to immediately select a provider. During the intake, you’re given the option to search specifically for in-person care or virtual care. For this review, we focused on virtual care.

Some therapy apps automatically pair you with a provider based on your preferences and answers in the intake questionnaire. On Grow Therapy, you make the final choice from a list of provider options based on your own selection criteria. You can view each therapist or psychiatrist’s bio before scheduling. You’re also able to see their availability, qualifications, and ratings and reviews from other users. 

The platform allows you to search for providers based on over 60 specialties, such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, and trauma. You can also filter based on factors like gender, sexual orientation, religious background, and ethnicity. You can even search for providers who use a particular approach to therapy, such as psychodynamic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), family and couples therapy, and EMDR. The amount of options really impressed our team and makes it easier to find someone who understands your perspective and needs.

The Frequently Asked Questions section at the bottom of the provider search page could be particularly helpful to anyone trying out virtual therapy for the first time. It included answers to questions such as “What happens during the first therapy session?” The page felt designed to gently ease new users into the experience.

Platform usability

We found the Grow Therapy platform very intuitive to use and easy to navigate. The dashboard neatly laid out our therapist’s details, when our appointment was, and the messaging features for communicating between sessions. When we started testing psychiatry services, we noticed the dashboard automatically updated to include our psychiatrist as well. 

About 84 percent of the users we surveyed agreed with us that the platform was easy or very easy to navigate. On the other hand, although we didn’t personally encounter any glitches or tech issues during our hands-on testing, some in our survey reported issues with the app crashing or freezing. 

As for customer support, when we submitted a question, we received a response within 10 minutes. They gave us a call and stayed on the phone until the issue was resolved. Like us, all surveyed users who contacted customer support reported that their issue was resolved to their satisfaction. However, response times varied, with only about 13 percent saying they received a response within 24 hours. Most waited one to three days. 

Privacy and security

When asked how confident they were that Grow Therapy would protect their personal information, about 81 percent of the users we surveyed said they were confident or very confident. Respondents gave similar ratings when asked if their conversations with therapists felt secure and private. Grow Therapy’s privacy policy is also easy to find and presented in plain language. During our own testing, we didn’t encounter any concerns over data security or the privacy of our health information.

That said, we did have some concerns about the privacy implications of the platform’s AI Coach. The coach offers tips and support between therapy sessions, and anything you share with it is also shared with your therapist—an important safeguard that’s vital for an AI tool used in a mental health setting. However, because AI chats can feel like private, one-on-one conversations, some users may not realize that their therapist will see these messages, potentially leading them to disclose something they didn’t intend to share. Ultimately, that’s not a bad thing. An AI chatbot is never going to be able to provide the insight and perspective of an actual person, let alone a mental health professional, so we appreciate that these conversations give therapists additional insight into what’s happening between sessions. We just think this should be made very clear to users before they begin chatting with the AI Coach.

Our therapy and psychiatry experience on Grow Therapy

After scheduling our first therapy appointment, but before the first session, we had to complete an intake questionnaire about our history and needs. The form had about 40 questions but only took us around 10 to 15 minutes to complete. 

We gave Grow Therapy top marks when it came to provider quality. The therapist we selected was focused, empathetic, engaged, and a great listener. Each session was helpful, and the therapist was very responsive between sessions when we messaged her.

The same was true when we tested out the psychiatry services. Our psychiatrist gave us clear answers to all our questions and honest information about various medications and their side effects. He also advised us on multiple treatment options, including a recommendation to see a local psychiatrist for ADHD treatment, since many first-line medications are controlled substances and require close monitoring.

The users we surveyed were impressed with their providers as well. About 84% were satisfied or very satisfied with their first therapist match. Most had positive words to share: “Great therapist, open mind and inclusive,” said one respondent. “My therapist gave me the tools to use to become more assertive,” said another. 

Psychiatry users also gave favorable reviews. 94% of our survey users said their Grow Therapy psychiatrist was responsive or very responsive to their questions and concerns. The same percentage said their psychiatrist was clear or very clear when explaining medication side effects. 

How sessions worked

Each therapy session was an hour long. The therapist followed up afterward through direct messaging and offered additional resources. We noted that the platform allows for unlimited messaging between sessions without charge. 

The psychiatry session had a more structured form, with the provider asking questions about our medical history and current medications. He also listened and responded carefully to our questions before laying out various treatment options. 

Slightly more than half of respondents said they also received a mix of casual and structured support in their sessions. Surveyed users reported that some of the most therapeutic approaches or techniques that were used during sessions included: 

• Mindfulness therapy or meditation techniques
• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)  
• Trauma-informed therapy  
• Journaling or written reflections