An Alternative to Talkspace: DoMental

As soon as you search for online therapy, you're faced with a riddle. A bombardment of service providers. Which to choose?

Talkspace is one of the largest online therapy services. But DoMental provides a new alternative to Talkspace. Choosing between the two takes careful consideration. And to do that, you need to know the facts. Here, we answer the fundamental question: Is Talkspace really the best talk space for you and your therapist?

We'll compare Talkspace and DoMental on pricing, services, and the quality of the support provided. You’ll also be taken on a tour of their signing-up processes and additional features.

Online Therapy: Does It Work?

Some people are not sure if meeting with a therapist online is for them. But is it a waste of time? With the development of new research, we can answer this question once and for all.

A primary determiner of therapeutic outcome is the client-therapist relationship. Without this, you’ll struggle to make progress. And in fact, research shows that there is little to no difference in therapeutic relationships when comparing online and face-to-face counseling. The empathy and attentiveness of the therapist and how much the client is willing to disclose are no different, either.

So the evidence would suggest that, yes, online therapy does work. 

Comparing Talkspace and DoMental

To form a comprehensive comparison, we’ve considered the services Talkspace and DoMental provide, the experience and qualifications of their mental health professionals, and how they pair you with those professionals. 

Pricing determines whether the service is accessible to all, so we’ve included this, too.

Pricing

Let’s be honest, counseling costs a lot. The cost of therapy frequently prevents people from seeking mental health support.

For both services, the price depends on the type of support you need. Although both stay underneath $110 a week, DoMental is a much cheaper alternative to Talkspace, making therapy more accessible to all. 

Talkspace

Talkspace pricing comes in higher, costing between $68–109 per week. The price varies depending on which subscription plan you choose, the billing period, and the level of support you require. You’ll pay more for more frequent sessions and psychiatrists. 

Talkspace's monthly billing plan with one video session is the most popular. 

DoMental

DoMental offers monthly, quarterly, and biannual plans. 

DoMental's monthly plan is its most popular option. It's billed every month, equating to $188 per month. DoMental's quarterly plan is billed every three months at $468. For the biannual plan, you'll pay $696 every 6 months.

Services 

Before getting involved, it’s essential to know the various services each provider offers. Both Talkspace and DoMental give you options - providing different therapy routes.

But DoMental’s additional services give all-around therapeutic support, so you don’t always have to rely on the professionals. This makes it a more independent-led alternative to Talkspace. 

Talkspace

Talkspace offers 4 therapy routes: messaging, audio calls, and video calls. You don’t have to stick to just one – you have one or more live sessions a month and can book them whenever you want.

You’ll also get access to your therapy journey tracking, where you fill a survey once every 20 days to check how your therapy is working. 

DoMental

DoMental provides therapy via video and audio messaging and text. It allows unlimited messaging and guarantees you’ll receive at least 2 messages from your therapist a day.

DoMental offers additional support through CBT worksheets, guided meditations, and a gratitude journal.

Its mood tracker helps you keep on top of your activity levels, water consumption, screen time, and sleep duration. 

Therapy Quality

Talkspace’s therapists all have at least a Master’s degree and are qualified and certified mental health professionals. Talkspace provides psychological and psychiatric support.

It allows you to book a certain number of video sessions and gives one free 10-minute session to get to know your therapist.

Talkspace reviews are quite mixed, most people are happy about the quality of therapy they receive, while others complain that messages are very generic, and therapists and customer support don’t have time for them. Knowing that it’s one of the largest online therapy providers, this is less surprising.

DoMental also provides qualified and experienced professionals, but the platform does not state the level of either. Its therapists are readily available at all times, and your therapist will message you at least twice daily. 

Signing Up

Signing up for therapy is intimidating. And a difficult start makes matters worse.

When comparing the two, Talkspace’s sign-up process is more long-winded, with more steps. DoMental makes sure you don’t have to get lost on your way to feeling better. 

Talkspace

How to use Talkspace? Just like any online therapy service, they try to make their sign-up process simple.

Talkspace’s homepage allows you to choose the type of therapy you want: individual, couples, teen, or psychiatry. Alternatively, you can click the blue “Get Started” button, asking you to create an account.

In the first step, you fill in your account by entering your email, password, nickname, and state where you live. After you finish your account, they send you an email telling you that Talkspace works better in the app. However, these several minutes can be confusing, as you realize you still didn’t connect with your therapist.

In the app, you are greeted by a matching agent who explains how things will work, which is also not very comfortable because they send you really long texts. However, you can always ask questions. They will then offer you to choose from payment plans and give you a questionnaire. Based on your answer, the agent will choose 3 therapists. 

DoMental

The first step to signing up with DoMental is to choose between individual, couples, or teen counseling. Its homepage is similar to Talkspace but with a more clear design. 

You’ll then be redirected to a short questionnaire. This starts with questions on the primary reasons you’re seeking mental health support, then moves on to how you feel day-to-day. 

DoMental analyzes your answers and presents a bright welcome page containing personalized statistics and your personal therapeutic aims. You can scroll down to see their plans. 

To access DoMental’s homepage, click here.

Additional Features 

When it comes to additional features, DoMental is the clear winner. This alternative to Talkspace provides mental health resources that you can complete independently, so you don’t always need a professional!

These include CBT worksheets, mindfulness meditations, a gratitude journal, and a mood tracker, which helps you keep an eye on your exercise, water consumption, sleep pattern, and screen time. Talkspace provides only video tips on how to get the most of the service and therapy progress tracker. 

How to Choose

Now you’ve got all the info, you can decide whether Talkspace is better for you. Talkspace is the bigger online therapy provider and recruits both therapists and psychiatrists.

But DoMental presents an alternative to Talkspace. With DoMental’s more active therapists and extra features, it may be time for Talkspace to move aside. Providing 24/7 messaging support with speedy response times, DoMental improves online therapy accessibility. The Talkspace cost is higher, too. 

Ultimately, you need to choose what’s right for you – the provider that is best suited to your individual needs. So take a look at Talkspace and DoMental’s websites, keeping in mind what we’ve explored in this article.

And remember, improving your mental health is the most important thing of all.