Providers of online therapy can be classified by how they provide therapy. Most providers fall under one of 2 categories; those offering unlimited access to therapists and those that are purely session-based.
Providers offering unlimited access allow their users various forms of digital communication with their therapists. This may include phone, text, live chat, message boards, video messages and audio messages. In addition, they may also offer live therapy sessions via video. Although the therapists might respond only a few hours, and sometimes a couple of days, after the messages have been sent, there is still an ongoing dialogue that allows clients to communicate exactly how they feel in real time. The therapists then respond and provide support, often referencing previous live sessions or messages.
Those platforms that are more session-based typically do not offer additional ways to communicate with the therapists outside of the actual sessions which are typically conducted via video conferencing software. The sessions themselves can last 45 minutes to an hour, as compared with the 30-45 minutes sessions that normally place on through platforms offering unlimited access. However, the cost of a weekly session normally costs around $100, considerably more than the $50 to $65 charged by those offering unlimited access.