You may have been suffering from a mental health problem and are trying to find a way to get therapy. You might have already tried one or several therapy providers but would like to search for another option. Or maybe you are not sure what your therapy online will look like. Searching online seems to be a dead-end because there are simply too many options.
It is easy to get lost in the labyrinth of online therapy providers as all seem to have pros and cons.
If you have used Cerebral or just wish to know how it is different from other options before starting, getting more information is a good idea. If you are looking for an alternative to Cerebral, this article will compare this therapy provider with a new option in online therapy services – DoMental.
Pricing
Both online therapy providers have similar pricing methods offering 3 subscription-based plans. However, what you will get with each of the providers differs.
Cerebral pricing is based on monthly plans.
- The medication and care counseling plan. This plan costs $85 per month. It includes mental health evaluation, diagnosis, and if required, a prescription from a medical provider. In addition, you will have the possibility to have monthly video and phone sessions with your care counselor. Cerebral will have your medication automatically shipped to your house.
- The therapy plan. This is a plan for people who are not interested in medication. It costs $259 per month and includes weekly video or phone sessions with a licensed therapist. It also allows you to massage the therapist anytime but doesn’t state how often the therapist will answer.
- The medication + therapy plan. This Cerebral subscription plan costs $325 per month. You will receive all the benefits mentioned in the first two plans; just instead of the Cerebral care counselor, you will communicate with a therapist.
However, these plans don’t cover medication costs.
If you want your therapy and medication in one place, Cerebral is a good option. However, if you are looking for online therapy, Cerebral prices are not the lowest in the market. DoMental is an excellent alternative to Cerebral in terms of this.
DoMental provides therapy via video and messaging, together with additional self-help tools, such as guided meditations, CBT worksheets, and others. It offers monthly, quarterly, and biannual plans:
- Monthly Therapy Plan at the cost of $47 per week
- Quarterly Therapy Plan at the cost of $39 per week
- Biannual Therapy Plan at the cost of $29 per week
DoMental's most popular option is the monthly plan. It is billed every month, resulting in $188 per month.
Comparing the prices, we see that both online therapy providers offer therapy for less than $100 per week. However, Cerebral costs for therapy plans start at $65 per week while the DoMental pricing stays under $50 per week, probably due to different approaches to therapy.
Services
Both online therapy providers, Cerebral and DoMental, have videos that link you with a therapist and allow you to use text messages. In addition, DoMental also guarantees 2 messages from a therapist a day.
Some Cerebral online therapy plans also include medication prescription and delivery. On the other hand, the alternative to Cerebral focuses more on people who are only interested in online therapy. It established ways to receive daily and comfortable contact with a therapist while also offering more features.
The DoMental app includes guided meditations, a gratitude journal, and a mood tracker incorporating activity, water consumption, and sleep.
Before deciding which service to try, it’s always a good idea to look at reviews. Cerebral reviews are mainly positive; you can find them scrolling down their website and checking reviews online. You will find that DoMental reviews are similar.
It’s also a good idea to check if the provider covers your state. Cerebral provides talk therapy only in 30 states and medication management in all 50 states and Washington D.C.
Therapy Quality
Cerebral employs licensed therapists, care counselors, and prescribers team, consisting of psychiatrists, medical doctors, or board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioners. All Cerebral therapists are licensed in their respective states.
Cerebral therapy might be based on different therapeutic approaches, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness, breathing exercises, and other techniques.
DoMental also provides qualified professionals with experience in different mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, borderline personality disorder, and others. DoMental guarantees a daily connection with a therapist with two messages a day.
Signing Up
When you are looking to get help, you definitely don’t want to navigate the website for hours and wait a week to connect with a therapist. Let’s look at how these two online therapy providers differ in their signing-up process.
On Cerebral
After you’ve created your account, you will have to answer a series of clinical questions as part of an emotional assessment. After that, Cerebral will recommend you a plan and available professionals. Once the sign-up process is completed, your provider will schedule a video or phone call within a day or several days.
On DoMental
In order to sign up on DoMental, you can choose what kind of issue you want to deal with. Then, you will complete a short questionnaire. The questionnaire touches on the primary reasons you seek mental health support and how you feel in your day-to-day life.
Your answers are analyzed, and you are presented with a page that shows personalized statistics and your therapeutic aims. After that, you can choose what plan will be the most beneficial to you.
After that, you can write to the therapist and expect their answer on the same day unless it’s outside their working hours.
Both online therapy providers have a fairly straightforward signing-up process. However, if you are looking for an immediate start, DoMental is a great alternative to Cerebral.
Additional Features
Apart from medication and connection with a therapist, Cerebral doesn’t have much else to offer.
DoMental, on the other hand, has several complementary features you might benefit from.
You can find guided meditations for various mental health issues such as depression or insomnia.
A gratitude journal is also there to help you track positive things in your life and foster your mental health.
You can also track your mood this way, noticing your emotional state patterns. This will help you and your therapist determine what areas of your life might need improvement.
In addition to that, the mood tracker has additional options to track your sleep, water intake, activity, and screen time, to help you determine if they have any effect on your mental state.
If you are interested in self-help options, DoMental provides these additional features to strengthen the therapeutic process and speed up the recovery of people who suffer from different mental disorders.
How to Choose
Cerebral might have seemed to be the online therapy provider that you’ve been looking for. Still, if for any reason you have decided to look for something else, there are several good options out there, and DoMental might be a great alternative to Cerebral.
Before deciding, take your time to read through the website of the therapy provider. Check both DoMental and Cerebral reviews. Take a note of the price difference and what services are included in that price.
Make the list of your priorities, as it will also help determine the right choice. And if you have made a mistake, don’t be afraid to try something new. There are thousands of therapists out there, and finding the right one is important for your course of recovery.
