Calmerry Online Therapy Review

With the average price of therapy reaching as high as $200 per session, and with many therapists choosing not to accept insurance due to high administrative burdens and low reimbursement rates, therapy is financially inaccessible to many who need it. Additionally, in therapy deserts—areas of the country in which access to mental health providers is limited or nonexistent—the demand for mental health care far exceeds what is actually available.

Calmerry is an online therapy company that aims to remove obstacles such as hefty fees, location barriers, and overbooked calendars from the world of mental health care. In bringing therapy to an online format, Calmerry is also making therapy more accessible and effortless for patients and therapists and attempts to provide flexibility with easy-access scheduling via different types of communication. To review how Calmerry stacks up to other online therapy providers, we surveyed 100 users and I signed up to test the service as well. Here’s how it fared. 

What Is Calmerry?

Calmerry is a telehealth company that was founded in 2020 by tech wizard Alex Vitchenko, and funded by $5 million in seed money to fill the gap in accessible, reliable mental health care.   Calmerry aimed to bring convenience and flexibility to patients who were trapped in a world of uncertainty, fear, and stress.  

Since launching in 2020, there have been a couple of changes of note to the service tools and offerings. In August 2021, the company rolled out a new feature called Reflection Helper, a free online tool which allows clients to track their moods daily, take note of their thoughts, set reminders, and share feedback with their therapist. Phone therapy became an active benefit of a subscription and subscription packages that included both video and chat functions.

According to the experts, accessibility has long been an issue in mental healthcare.  Online therapy tools such as Calmerry have taken notice of that gap and have built a bridge which is not only stable, but viable as well. 

“In my professional opinion, online therapy is a viable, long-term mental health solution,” says Nic Hardy, PhD, LCSW, psychotherapist and subject matter expert for Verywell Mind. “Research shows comparable outcomes to in-person treatment options.”

What Services Does Calmerry Offer?

The service is limited to patients 18 years of age or older, and is designed for individual therapy rather than group therapy, family therapy, or couples therapy (although Calmerry does offer individual relationship counseling). 

Who Is Calmerry For?

Calmerry specializes in helping adults with emotional issues such as:

• Anger management
• Anxiety and stress
• Childhood abuse
• Chronic illness
• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Emotional abuse
• Family conflict
• Grief and trauma
• LGBTQIA+ concerns
• PTSD
• OCD
• Relationship issues
• Low self-esteem

“In my opinion, online therapy misses the mark when it comes to servicing various psychiatric disorders and supporting individuals with prescription management,” says Dr. Hardy.  “In both instances, you can observe someone’s physical appearance, affect, and other responses in more detail in person. There is a non-verbal component of therapy, which is sometimes better observed in person,” he says.  

How Much Does Calmerry Cost?

Calmerry’s pricing and subscription plans can be found here: https://calmerry.com/pricing/. You can also get a 20% discount listed on the website.

Turns out, there are four plans available, all as monthly subscriptions: 

• Messaging only: $57 per week ($49.50 for first month)
• Four video chats per month: $62.50 per week ($54.50 for first month)
• Messaging plus two video chats per month: $77.50 per week ($66 for first month)
• Messaging plus four video chats per month: $90 per week ($73.75 for first month)

When I tried Calmerry, its prices were different, and I was offered a discount on my first month of therapy. However, with this in mind, there is very little cost difference between in-person and online therapy, though online therapy can be slightly less expensive. In-person therapy sessions average between $100 and $200 per visit. In addition, while in-person therapy sessions are usually 45 minutes to an hour long, Calmerry only offers 30-minute sessions.  

Does Calmerry Take Insurance? 

Calmerry doesn’t accept insurance. 

The site does mention that it will provide documentation that patients may submit to insurance companies for potential reimbursement, but this process is slow. It may make take days before you get your receipt.

Does Calmerry Offer Free Trials and Discounts? 

As of writing this review, Calmerry offered 20% off the first month of service. This discount is only applicable for the first month. At the end of the month, unless canceled, the subscription will auto renew at the non-discounted rate. 

You can apply for financial aid for the following month and get up to 30% compensation.

Navigating the Calmerry Website

There really isn’t much flash or definitive substance on Calmerry’s homepage. The fonts, images, and headers are very basic, and the language surrounding service offerings, costs, and program details is vague and lacking. 

While there are plenty of buttons to select to “Get Started” and begin the registration process, and a good amount of verbiage broadly describing what online therapy is, there are few details on what precisely a user is registering for.  Details surrounding subscription levels, benefits, and the costs of treatment are not available on the website.  

Navigating the site is fairly easy, but the information available—once you find it—is sometimes questionable. 

For example, there is some confusion around the credentials required of Calmerry’s therapists. Per its FAQs, Calmerry therapists have LMFT, LCSW/LMSW, or LPC credentials. Yet, when reviewing the site's "Online Therapy '' page, additional credentials are referenced. The mention of these credentials, which do not apply to current Calmerry therapists, could be a bit misleading to potential and existing patients. 

One of the strongest and potentially most overlooked features on the site is the company’s blog. The content is fresh, relevant, and could be of assistance to patients, with entries like “9 Ways to Improve Your Mental Health at Work” and “How to Set and Achieve Life Goals the Right Way.” 

How Do You Sign Up for Therapy at Calmerry?

To join the Calmerry platform, you go through two steps: creating an account and registering for services. 

Registering for a Calmerry account is as simple as supplying an email address and creating a password in a registration form. Upon submission of the form, you'll get an email with a verification code to validate your account. Once you enter the code and it's accepted, your account is active. 

Once an active account has been created, the next step is to register for services.

You’ll be guided through a series of questions to understand your therapy needs, preferences, and any specific issues you’re facing. After completing this questionnaire, you will create an account by providing your email and setting a password. You will then select a subscription plan that suits your needs. Once registered, you will be matched with a licensed therapist, and you can begin your therapy sessions through text or video chat.

If you have difficulties with choosing the right package, a customer support concierge will provide a nice personal touch via online chat. When I spoke with this concierge, most of the conversation consisted of pleasantries and small talk, nothing too in-depth or personal. While it was nice to know I wasn’t conducting business with a robot, I sort of missed the robot efficiency of “this is what we have, this is what we can give you, what would you like to do?” 

Matching With a Therapist at Calmerry

For as personal an experience as therapy can be, the steps for matching with a therapist seemed very impersonal.

Once you select and pay for a package, the support concierge’s work is done, and the form intake process begins. The information gathered assists Calmerry in matching you with your therapist. It includes your name, state of residence, age, history with counseling, and a bit of background explaining why you are seeking therapy with Calmerry. From there, the algorithm crunches the numbers, spits out the name of your therapist, and assigns you a wellbeing score—the numeric value of your current state of mind.  This number is shown next to a comparison number to illustrate how your wellbeing score should increase with just two or so months of Calmerry therapy.  

As a person who has taken her fair share of corporate-focused personality tests, I was a bit surprised by how underwhelming the counselor-matching assessment was. I never got the sense that the counselor who was matched to me was matched by any criteria other than geography and time zone.

How Do Therapy Sessions Work at Calmerry?

Once logged into your patient portal, you see a tile on the page that instructs you to click to schedule a time with your therapist. From there, a set of dates and times are made available and you can select the date and time that works best for you. I would presume from this point on, a calendar invite would be shared with the patient and the therapist, but I personally never got past the step of selecting a date and time with my therapist.  

When attempting to schedule my first therapy session, every session I selected was unavailable, and I’d receive a message to refresh my page. After numerous scheduling attempts and refreshes, it occurred to me that something wasn’t quite right.  

I reached out to the support team and described my scheduling experience. At this time I was informed that the scheduling system was not working as expected and that I should work directly with my counselor to schedule a time. 

While the scheduling tool was a miss, the sessions with my therapist were smooth. My therapist was personable, kind, and available to listen. While she was gentle in her approach, I definitely got the feeling that we were on the clock. Despite her best efforts, the 30 minutes felt rushed, and both of us felt the pressure to get down to business. There was very little time for pleasantries or a warm-up conversation. It was basically just saying hello and jumping into the thick of things.  

Personally, this approach wasn’t my favorite. I need time to warm up and become comfortable with the person I am speaking with, as well as get my mind wrapped around what I am hoping to share.  

While the short 30-minute session wasn't really a fit for me, there were times that a brief and easily accessible conversation was appreciated. If I had had a rough day, or just needed to let off a bit of steam, sometimes, 30 minutes of talk time did the trick. Again, while not a sustainable therapy solution for me, I can see how the model has its benefits for folks when they just need to relax, relate, and release.  

Switching Therapists at Calmerry

As part of my research, I had planned on switching therapists in an effort to test this part of the service, but my initial therapist switch actually occurred due to a lack of communication.  

Upon registering for a subscription package, I was matched with a counselor. Once I was matched, I sent my therapist a note to say hello and arrange for the next steps. After 24 hours, I still had not received a response. For a service that promotes accessibility and ease of connection, it was a little off-putting to not hear back from a therapist.  

After 24 hours had passed, I connected with my support concierge to request a counselor switch. The support team member asked for the reason for my switch. When I shared it was a lack of communication, there was no pushback and no offer to help me connect with that therapist—instead, the concierge began the switching process right away. As of September 2024, Calmerry reports that this process has been corrected and revised.

Pausing or Cancelling Therapy at Calmerry

Per the site’s FAQs, patients can cancel their Calmerry subscription at any time by connecting with customer support. It should be noted that language in regard to cancellations is tucked in under the section referencing pricing and packages. Also, searching “cancellation” or “how to cancel my subscription” within the site’s help section yields no results. 

Quality of Care and User Satisfaction

During my therapy sessions, my therapist and I were able to make a connection and find some common ground. Over the course of our conversation, we talked about family and kids. Coincidentally, my therapist has a child about my son’s age. She was good at relating to and identifying with the things I was experiencing. As a fellow mom, she was also always good at highlighting the importance of self-care, and how moms especially struggle with taking the time for themselves. As a mom of a toddler, this was reassuring to hear from someone who wasn’t a family member or friend. 

Overall, I felt my therapist was able to meet and address my specific needs.  

Of the Calmerry users surveyed as part of this project, 91% agreed that their Calmerry therapist met all or most of their needs. Ninety-eight percent thought the credentials and qualifications of their Calmerry therapists ranged from good to excellent. Interestingly, despite the overall positive experience with Calmerry therapists, 87% of users surveyed thought they would still be seeing their Calmerry therapist 12 months from now. 

Privacy Policies at Calmerry

We spoke to a representative of Calmerry regarding its privacy policies. They told us that "We have a set of internal policies and procedures to ensure Calmerry stays fully compliant with the HIPAA rules and regulations. These various policies are unified under the broader HIPAA Compliance Manual of Calmerry. We perform security assessments, audits, and training for all our teams to ensure our ongoing HIPAA compliance." We were also told that the company actually has one privacy policy for the website (which you can find here) and one for the platform itself; however, you cannot find the platform privacy policy anywhere on the website (it was shared with us as a Google document).

Calmerry vs. Talkspace

Talkspace is another large scale online therapy company with a similar therapy structure as Calmerry, consisting of monthly subscription packages that include text and video therapy.  

Talkspace does come with a slightly bigger price tag than Calmerry. At Talkspace, four video sessions with chat access is priced at $129 a week, whereas Calmerry offers a similar package for $89 a week. It should be noted that with Talkspace, therapy sessions are 45 minutes in length vs. Calmerry’s 30-minute online visits. Also, Talkspace does accept insurance and provides users resources for validating their benefits, whereas Calmerry suggests insurance reimbursement to patients searching for coverage options.  

In regard to the user experience, our survey found that both Talkspace and Calmerry patients were generally pleased with their overall experience and treatment. Of our respondents, 97% of Talkspace clients had a positive experience, while 98% of Calmerry’s clients had positive feedback. At 84% of users surveyed, Talkspace patients were slightly less likely to say they would continue with their Talkspace therapist after six months, compared to 87% for Calmerry patients. Interestingly, when users were asked whether they would continue therapy into the next 12 months, 80% of Talkspace and 87% of Calmerry users stated they intended to continue speaking with a therapist at that company.   

Talkspace also offers options beyond individual therapy, including couples and teen counseling and psychiatric treatment. Calmerry only provides services to adults over the age of 18, surrounding specific areas of concern such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and family conflict. 

When asked to compare Calmerry to in-person therapy services they’d received in the past, 95% of users reported that the care they received through Calmerry was better than the care they’d received before. This was true of only 80% of Talkspace users. However, while 83% of Talkspace users felt that its services were better than any they’d used in the past, in person or virtual, 92% of Calmerry users agreed.

Final Verdict

I can’t say I was overly pleased with Calmerry as an online therapy service. However, most of my complaints were about the clunky website and buggy functionality of the service itself; Calmerry reports that, as of September 2024, these issues have been addressed and it has updated and streamlined its process. 

In regard to affordability, numbers tell the story here. While there is cost savings in the first month of service, afterwards the fee increases. And while the convenience to access a session from anywhere is attractive, it’s hard to get past the limited 30-minute sessions when compared to the hourly rate of in-person therapy.  

I don’t see this being an overall sustainable model for many therapy patients, but I do see a benefit for quick talks, brief interactions, and venting sessions. While these talks might not make a huge dent in a person's overall emotional development, they did provide me some relief on an overly stressful day.  

Methodology

To fairly and accurately review the best online therapy programs, we sent questionnaires to 55 companies and surveyed 100 current users of each. This allowed us to directly compare services offered by gathering qualitative and quantitative data about each company and its users’ experiences.

Specifically, we evaluated each company on the following factors: website usability, the signup and therapist matching processes, therapist qualifications, types of therapy offered, the service's quality of care, client-therapist communication options, session length, subscription offerings, client privacy protections, average cost and value for money, whether it accepts insurance, how easy it is to change therapists, overall user satisfaction, and the likelihood that clients would recommend them.

We also signed up for the companies in order to get a sense of how this process worked, how easy to use the platform is, and how therapy takes place at the company. Then, we worked with three subject matter experts to get their expert analysis on how suited this company is to provide quality care to therapy seekers.