Best Online Therapy Platforms to Treat Your or Your Child’s OCD

Best Overall: NOCD

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Key Specs  

• Price: $170 per session
• Insurance Accepted?: Yes
• Types of Therapy: Individual therapy, medication management, children's and teen therapy

Why We Chose It

If you’re looking for an online therapy company for your child (or for you), NOCD is the most specialized platform to fit your needs. Unlike the majority of online therapy companies we evaluated, all of NOCD’s therapists specialize in treating all forms of OCD and use exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, which is considered an incredibly effective treatment type for OCD. This guarantees that no matter what your family is going through, you can find informed and effective treatment for OCD here.

Pros & Cons

Overview 

If left untreated, OCD can be debilitating, but it takes an average of 17 years for people with OCD to access appropriate treatment due to exorbitant costs and a shortage of specialists. That’s where NOCD stands out—it was explicitly founded by someone who knows what it is like to be misdiagnosed or untreated for OCD. And it treats kids and adults alike. 

All therapists at this company specialize in treating OCD, offering exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, which is considered the gold standard when treating OCD. This approach introduces you or your child to your usual triggers, obsessions, and phobias in a safe, controlled environment and teaches you not to respond to them with compulsive behaviors, effectively breaking the cycle of obsessive thoughts leading to compulsive actions. The website says its users experience a 35% reduction in OCD symptom severity through online ERP therapy. 

NOCD is also a company committed to offering culturally informed care to people of all genders, backgrounds, and OCD subtypes—this means that, no matter what, you and your family can find informed and effective care.

Types of Treatment Available

As mentioned, the main focus of NOCD is ERP therapy, a specific form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) adapted to treat OCD. All licensed therapists in the NOCD team are qualified in ERP, and therapist qualifications are something that stood out in our user survey, with 79% of users rating their provider’s qualifications as excellent, very good, or good.  

A second key treatment NOCD offers is habit reversal training (HRT), which is another highly effective treatment for OCD-related disorders, particularly for unwanted repetitive behaviors like hair pulling or skin picking. NOCD employs over 300 licensed therapists, including licensed psychologists, licensed counselors,  licensed social workers, and licensed marriage and family therapists who can treat any age group. Seventy percent of our surveyed users highly rated therapist diversity, and 69% felt NOCD were helpful in matching them with an appropriate therapist. 

In addition to professional support, NOCD hosts a community forum for peer-to-peer support and self-guided therapeutic tools; 57% of users rated the additional resources on the website as good to excellent.

Plans & Prices 

The NOCD program includes 60-, 45-, or 30-minute therapy sessions and messaging with NOCD providers. Each session costs $170, and payment is on a session-by-session basis; there are no subscription plans. Once signed up, members can use the online community forums and resources for free. 

NOCD is in-network with most major insurance plans, but a downside is it does not currently accept Medicaid. A list of the insurance plans it partners with is listed on the website and broken down state by state. There is also a handy tool to identify if it works with your insurance company.

User Satisfaction  

NOCD is a particularly niche online therapy service focusing specifically on OCD, which could be beneficial to those who haven’t been able to find effective OCD therapy. Sixty-four percent of the 105 users from our survey said they would recommend NOCD to a friend or someone like them. When it comes to comparing NOCD to other therapy services, 79% of our surveyed users stated it was better than those they have accessed in the past. What clearly stood out from the data collected about NOCD was that users found the therapists to have better specialized training and to be more culturally supportive than on other online therapy platforms, as well as having a website that was easy to use. 

Our reviewer of NOCD appreciated the fact that it is a niche service devoted specifically to OCD, saying that “having a therapist who understood OCD well was a positive experience.” She noted that she “was matched quickly with a therapist who was a good match for me in temperament and approach,” and reported that her overall experience was a positive one.

Best for Kids: Amwell

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Key Specs

• Price: Psychiatry $109-$279 per session, therapy $109-$129 per session
• Insurance accepted?: Yes
• Types of therapy: Individual therapy, medication management, psychiatry, children’s therapy, teen counseling, couples therapy, family therapy
  

Why We Chose It 

Amwell specifically lists OCD as one of the conditions its therapists specialize in, and its therapy services are available to children and adolescents over the age of 10, allowing every member of the family to access OCD treatment.

Pros & Cons

Overview

OCD often begins in childhood, and getting treatment early means a quicker path to a healthier and happier kid and, therefore, a healthier and happier family. Amwell delivers in this arena, with experts who can assess and diagnose OCD at any stage of the condition. Amwell can support almost any member of the family throughout the whole journey of OCD treatment. Once a diagnosis of OCD is confirmed and the severity of symptoms assessed, your clinician will discuss the risks and benefits of the various treatment plans available through Amwell, including therapy, medication, or both. 

Parents need to consent to therapy for their child through the Amwell website, but can then add a sub-account to their own account to make an appointment for a child. With a wide range of therapies available, Amwell can work with children and their parents not only to treat OCD, but also to address any other co-occurring conditions that might crop up in relation to this disorder, like depression and anxiety.

Types of Treatment Available 

Services offered by Amwell include individual, couples, and family therapy for anyone age 10 and over, as well as psychiatry and medication management for adults age 18 and up.

Common therapy approaches used by Amwell providers include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectal behavioral therapy (DBT), motivational interviewing, and other evidence-based treatments. The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health advises that cognitive behavioral therapy with exposure and response prevention (ERP) is the most effective treatment for OCD.

Plans & Prices

If paying out of pocket, the flat rates at Amwell are as follows:

• Therapy: $129 for an initial visit and $109 for follow-ups
• Psychiatry: $279 for an initial visit and $109 for follow-ups

However, Amwell currently works with 55 insurance plans (including Medicare) across all 50 states and accepts flexible spending account (FSA) and health savings account (HSA) payments. If your employer or insurance company offers a telehealth benefit, you may just need to pay a co-pay or meet a deductible.

You pay per session with Amwell, which makes the process of discontinuing services simple. If you don’t want another session, you just don’t book one. Our users highlighted this as positive, as sign-up, booking of sessions, and discontinuing care were all found to be easy processes.

User Satisfaction

The majority of our surveyed users (76%) had individual talk therapy with Amwell, and 88% said that their overall experience with the company was good to excellent. Eighty-seven percent reported that Amwell met all or most of their needs. Although the process of booking an appointment was seen as simple (65% said the website was easier to use than others they have used in the past), some people found problems with appointments being canceled at the last minute. Still, 88% of surveyed users said Amwell was a good to excellent value for the money. Four percent of Amwell users reported seeking treatment for OCD.

One of our Amwell reviewers reported that her “overall experience using Amwell was a good one,” specifically noting that “signing up was quick and easy and my therapist was well-qualified, compassionate, and professional.” Another tester of Amwell echoed our surveyed users feelings about the ease of use, saying, “I found the process of finding an individual therapist quite easy through Amwell. I also liked how easy it was to schedule sessions.”

Best for Teens: Teen Counseling

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Key Specs

• Price: $60 to $90 per week (billed every four weeks) 
• Insurance accepted?: No
• Types of therapy: Individual therapy, teen counseling
  

Why We Chose It 

Teen Counseling is designed specifically for teens and offers age-appropriate counseling for OCD, which is a condition that often begins in adolescence.

Pros & Cons

Overview 

When seeking therapy for your teenager, it’s important that they feel like they can connect with their therapist—especially if they’re experiencing symptoms of OCD, possibly for the first time, and don’t know how to deal with those symptoms. 

This is where Teen Counseling comes in. It provides mental health care tailored specifically to a teenager’s needs, with therapists who specialize in treating both teens and OCD. Teen Counseling offers therapy to teens ages 13 to 19 with a variety of communication modalities such as text messaging, live chat, audio calls, and video calls. Having different options to communicate can be beneficial in teen therapy, especially if your teen is anxious about meeting a therapist. Teens can access a 24-hour “messaging room” where they can privately text their therapist without oversight from a parent—this privacy is important when your teen is trying to develop a therapeutic relationship with their provider, and is especially helpful if your teen needs to talk about any OCD symptoms that they might be embarrassed about. 

Although Teen Counseling is clear that it offers talk therapies like CBT, the website doesn’t state if its therapists offer ERP, which is the treatment of choice for OCD. However, ERP falls under the umbrella of CBT, the focus of which is to learn coping skills, feel happier, achieve important goals, do better in school, and improve relationships—all helpful when a teen is dealing with OCD. Studies demonstrate that CBT is an effective treatment for children and teens with OCD, and CBT is associated with a 40% to 65% reduction in OCD symptoms.

Types of Treatment Available 

Teen Counseling is a monthly subscription service that includes four live sessions and unlimited messaging. Communication methods with a therapist include text messaging, live chat, audio calls, and video calls.

Teen Counseling focuses on talk therapies like CBT and mindfulness-based approaches provided by licensed psychologists, marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, and professional counselors.

Teen Counseling is not suitable for teens in an urgent crisis—this statement is made on the website. For teens experiencing suicidality, psychosis, or other severe mental health issues, in-person services are recommended.

Plans & Prices

Teen Counseling offers one subscription plan that includes unlimited asynchronous messaging for your teen with their therapist and four live virtual therapy sessions per month. The cost varies from $60 to $90 per week and depends on your location, preferences, and therapist availability. 

It’s important to note that Teen Counseling practices surge pricing, which means that if you live in an area where mental health care is in high demand, Teen Counseling’s services will cost more. The subscription is billed monthly, and you can cancel it anytime. 

Teen Counseling does not accept insurance, which might be off-putting for some people. However, you can request a bill and apply for out-of-network benefits from your insurance company.

User Satisfaction

The key aspect of Teen Counseling that stands out is the range of communication methods and the ability for teens to have private messaging with their therapist. The chat option was noted to be particularly effective and a very discreet option to communicate live with a therapist from anywhere. 

For teens with OCD who might be struggling with leaving the house or with anxiety, the different options mean there is likely to be a communication preference for everyone. However, while one of our testers of Teen Counseling noted that “changing providers was simple and quick”—especially important when trying to find a therapist that your teen can connect with—she did have problems with video calls due to technical issues on the therapist's side. Despite this, 71% of our users said they would recommend Teen Counseling to a friend. Four percent of Teen Counseling users reported that they turned to this service specifically for OCD treatment.

Seventy percent of surveyed users rated Teen Counseling as good, very good, or excellent value for money, despite it not accepting insurance. Overall, 85% of our surveyed users rated the service as good, very good, or excellent, and therapists were said to be open-minded, understanding, respectful, and good listeners. In fact, the son of one of our testers was so happy with the therapy he received he asked if he could continue seeing his therapist even after his mom’s review was written.

Best for CBT: Online-Therapy.com

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Key Specs

• Price: $200-$440 per month
• Insurance Accepted?: No
• Types of Therapy: Individual therapy and couples therapy

Why We Chose It 

The counseling at Online-Therapy.com is available to both individuals and their partners and is entirely based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), an evidence-backed, effective therapy for OCD.

Pros & Cons

Overview 

The symptoms of OCD are not only disruptive for the person experiencing them—they can affect the whole family and make parenting more difficult, as you might be stuck in rituals that take time and attention away from your children. So if you are looking for CBT to help with your or your partner’s OCD symptoms, then look no further than Online-Therapy.com—an online therapy platform entirely based on CBT. Some people find that CBT alone is effective for OCD. Studies show that CBT significantly helps the majority of people with OCD. One of the goals of CBT is to help people unlearn unwanted and unhealthy thought patterns and to learn a new way of reacting to those thoughts; this can be beneficial in treating OCD, which is characterized by intrusive thoughts and compulsive reactions.

Online-Therapy.com advertises OCD as one of the main conditions it treats, and provides therapists who specialize in it. The company also offers couples therapy along with individual therapy, so if your or your partner’s OCD symptoms are affecting your relationship, you can find help together through Online-Therapy.com. The service is also available worldwide, making it unique compared to many other online therapy services.

Types of Treatment Available 

Online-Therapy.com only offers CBT-based therapy through a subscription service. Its programs are available for both individuals and couples. The online therapy program is divided into eight sections, with each section introducing you to a different aspect of CBT, including information and hands-on tools to assist you in identifying, challenging, and overcoming problems. 

Subscriptions also include daily contact with a therapist (on weekdays), a daily journal and activity plan, yoga and meditation videos, and tests to assess progress. Talk CBT therapy alone can be effective for OCD, but if you or your partner require a combination of therapies or medication management, you might need to look elsewhere, as Online-Therapy.com does not offer those services.

Plans & Prices

There are four subscription packages available at Online-Therapy.com:

• Basic: 8-section CBT program, 25 worksheets, yoga and meditation videos, journal, activity plan, and tests, unlimited messaging with a therapist; $40 per week
• Standard: Basic package plus one weekly live 45-minute therapy session via video, voice, or text; $64 per week
• Premium: Basic package plus two weekly live 45-minute therapy sessions via video, voice, or text and express replies; $88 per week
• Couples: Basic package plus one weekly live 45-minute couples therapy session via video, voice, or text; $88 per week

Online-Therapy.com does not accept any form of insurance. It will provide itemized receipts in case your insurance offers reimbursement or direct payment for online therapy services (but you will have to check with your insurance provider).

User Satisfaction

Eighty-five percent of our 105 surveyed users rated Online-Therapy.com as good to excellent. Eighty-three percent of users were either satisfied or very satisfied with the therapist options provided on the platform. Some particular points discussed were that therapists were extremely quick to respond, were attentive, and gave thoughtful replies and feedback.

Since Online-Therapy.com is entirely based on a CBT approach, it might not fit everyone. It doesn’t offer other types of therapy or medication management, which might be needed for some people with OCD. But its worldwide availability is quite unique, as are the additional resources such as an online journal, assessments, yoga and meditation videos—70% of the users we surveyed rated the additional resources as good, very good, or excellent. Five percent of Online-Therapy.com users sought treatment specifically for OCD.

Our tester of Online-Therapy.com appreciated the ease with which you can switch providers, noting that “this system for quickly switching therapists is in place for good reason—it isn’t uncommon to need to try out a few different providers before finding a match.” This is especially important when every provider offers the same type of therapy; it means that the personality of your therapist and the therapeutic rapport you build with them is even more integral to your work together.

Best for Psychiatry: Talkiatry

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Key Specs

• Price: Depends on insurance coverage
• Insurance accepted?: Yes
• Types of therapy: Psychiatry and medication management, individual therapy
  

Why We Chose It 

Talkiatry specializes in psychiatry for kids over five and adults—and one of the conditions it treats is OCD. If your Talkiatry psychiatrist diagnoses OCD and deems medication necessary, they may prescribe you or your child a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)—the go-to psychotropic medication for OCD.

Pros & Cons

Overview 

Talkiatry specializes in conditions including OCD and can provide psychiatry and medication management services to the entire family, including you, your partner if you have one, and your children as long as they are at least 5 years old. 

The most commonly prescribed medication for OCD is a group of antidepressants called SSRIs. These medications can help increase serotonin levels in the brain, which can improve OCD symptoms. Although SSRIs are known to somewhat increase the risk of suicide in adolescents, four OCD medications have been FDA-approved to treat children: Anafranil (for ages 10 and up), Prozac, Luvox (for ages 8 and up), and Zoloft. For the most effective results in both adults and children, both medication and CBT or ERP is recommended—research shows that combining CBT with SRRIs is more effective in treating OCD than either of the individual modalities alone, although for children it is recommended that ERP is tried first before introducing any medication. And Talkiatry has the ability to offer a combination of psychiatry and talk therapy, if your psychiatrist thinks you or your child would benefit from speaking with a Talkiatry therapist as well.

Types of Treatment Available 

Talkiatry focuses on psychiatry and medication management, mainly specializing in:

• OCD
• ADHD
• Anxiety
• Bipolar disorder
• Depression
• Insomnia
• PTSD

Talkiatry is available to children 5 and over, adolescents, and adults—so the entire family can benefit from Talkiatry’s services. Over 400 psychiatrists make up the Talkiatry team, with virtual appointments available in 44 states. With such a wide range of psychiatrists available, it’s easy to find a provider who specializes in OCD for yourself or your child. 

Plans & Prices

Talkiatry is a pay-per-session service: you pay per psychiatry session and for the cost of your prescription. 

The company partners with a range of insurance providers and only accepts patients who have insurance with one of those providers. Talkiatry is in-network with major insurers including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Humana, Medicare, Oscar, and UnitedHealthcare. This means that the price you pay depends on the insurance plan you have, the complexity of your condition, and the services you require.

User Satisfaction

Of the 105 users of Talkiatry that we surveyed, 95% rated its service as good, very good, or excellent. Talkiatry psychiatrists stood out as having specialized training, being highly qualified, and being culturally supportive. Talkiatry only takes patients who have insurance with the providers it works with, and 77% found it either affordable or very affordable. In addition, ninety-two percent found it a good to excellent value for money. Seven percent of our Talkiatry users reported looking for OCD treatment specifically.

Talkiatry is predominantly a psychiatric service, and 89% of our surveyed users stated its psychiatry and medication management services were excellent, very good, or good. Treatment for OCD often includes SSRIs, and 16% of the users we surveyed were prescribed this type of medication. Surveyed users pointed out that the prescribers were available when needed and responsive to any questions. 

Our Talkiatry reviewer was “overwhelmingly impressed” with Talkiatry’s services, noting that “Talkiatry seems to be a company that is very focused on delivering accessible, affordable care, but also quality care.” He also pointed out that “both the intake and the sessions at the company are long and thorough, allowing your psychiatrist the time to really get to know you and diagnose you accurately”—important when tailoring OCD treatment specifically to the patient.

Best With Insurance: LifeStance Health

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Key Specs

• Price: $75-$300 per session
• Insurance accepted?: Yes
• Types of therapy: Individual therapy, medication management, psychiatry, teen counseling, children's therapy, family therapy, group therapy
  

Why We Chose It

LifeStance Health offers a large variety of services via both telehealth and in-person formats, with many providers who specialize in OCD and who accept a wide range of insurance plans. This makes OCD treatment through LifeStance Health affordable and accessible to many.

Pros & Cons

Overview 

Treating both parents and children ages 10 and up, LifeStance Health offers comprehensive and tailored treatment plans for people with OCD that are appropriate for anyone in your family. This can include any combination of CBT, ERP, group therapy sessions, or medication. You are able to choose your own therapist when working with LifeStance Health, so you can select a therapist who specializes in OCD treatment and interventions. In addition, LifeStance Health offers therapy for every age group, so whether it’s you, your partner, or your child struggling with OCD, you can find help and support for the whole family here. 

The LifeStance Health platform accepts a wide range of insurance plans, which are listed by state on the website; in many states, LifeStance Health accepts 20 to 30 different plans, often including Medicaid. This extensive list and the inclusion of Medicaid plans set LifeStance apart from its competitors.

LifeStance Health is available in 32 states and employs around 5,400 highly trained clinicians.

Types of Treatment Available

Therapy and psychiatric services available at LifeStance Health that might be used to treat OCD include:

• Group therapy: Useful for families where one person has OCD, or for peer-to-peer therapy alongside others with OCD
• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): A talk therapy approach that is very successful for many people with OCD
• Exposure and response prevention (ERP): A type of CBT seen as the most effective treatment for OCD, involving careful and systematic exposure to triggers alongside talk therapy
• Medication management: Includes prescription of SSRIs for OCD if advised
• Adult, child, and adolescent psychiatry: For diagnosis and prescription of medication

Sessions with a therapist are 60 minutes long, and you pay per session. Once signed up with LifeStance Health, you gain access to a private portal where you can take part in live video therapy sessions or message your therapist outside of sessions.

Plans & Prices

You pay per session with LIfeStance Health; it is not a subscription service. Users report sessions costing anywhere from $75 to $300 if paying out of pocket. However, one of the advantages of LifeStance Health is that it works with a lot of major insurance companies (over 50), which are listed by state on the website. The cost of a session with LifeStance Health depends on your insurance coverage and the type of appointment you need.

User Satisfaction

Overall, 88% of our 105 surveyed users rated LifeStance as good to excellent. Our users described LifeStance therapists as attentive and empathetic. We like the volume of insurance providers LifeStance works with, and two of the top five reasons users like LifeStance are that it accepts insurance and works with various providers. But only 57% of our surveyed users found the service affordable. 

Seventy-five percent of people surveyed would recommend LifeStance Health to a friend. Most of our surveyed users received either psychiatry and medication management or CBT, both effective treatments for OCD. Eighty-eight percent preferred LifeStance Health to other therapy platforms they had tried in the past. Ten percent of LifeStance users sought treatment for OCD—one of the highest percentages across all 55 companies we reviewed.

Our reviewer of LifeStance Health was “delighted” with her therapist, reporting that “I felt that they listened to me and were compassionate.” She noted that, “Due to the expansive network of providers LifeStance employs, the chances of receiving good quality of care for various mental health issues is likely,” also emphasizing that one of LifeStance’s specialties is OCD.

Best Subscription Service: Talkspace

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Key Specs

• Price: $69-$129/week for therapy and $125-$249 for psychiatry sessions
• Insurance accepted?: Yes
• Types of therapy: Individual, couples, teens, psychiatry, and medication management
  

Why We Chose It 

Talkspace is an affordable subscription service offering a full range of OCD services, making weekly treatment accessible for families with both teens and adults living with OCD.

Pros & Cons

Overview 

If you’re looking for an easy and affordable subscription service for you or your teenager to get help with OCD symptoms, look no further than Talkspace—a well-known provider of online therapy that was launched in 2012. It has an extensive portfolio of qualified clinicians and is designed to make therapy both affordable and accessible through its subscription services.  It has providers who specialize in OCD, and CBT and ERP are highlighted as therapies they can offer. Due to having several subscription packages and accepting many insurance providers, Talkspace can be an affordable option for both parents and teens seeking OCD treatment. 

While Talkspace’s therapy options—including unlimited messaging and live sessions—are covered under its subscription plans, psychiatry services for adults (age 18 and over) must be scheduled separately per session. Talkspace’s website also offers educational resources on various topics like OCD.

Types of Treatment Available

Talkspace offers individual therapy, couples therapy, unlimited messaging therapy, teen therapy, therapy for the LGBTQIA+ community, and therapy for veterans, as well as psychiatry and medication management for adults. Both its therapy services and psychiatry services offer treatment for those with OCD.

Plans & Prices

Talkspace is a subscription service with the following options:

• Messaging-only service: $69 per week; includes unlimited messaging with your therapist Monday to Friday
• Therapy-only service: $99 per week; includes four live video sessions per month (lasting 30 to 50 minutes)
• Combined therapy and messaging service: $129 per week; includes unlimited messaging and four therapy sessions per month
• Add-on psychiatry services: $249 for the initial evaluation and $125 for each follow-up appointment
• Couples therapy: $396 per month per couple; includes both live sessions and unlimited messaging

Talkspace partners with many insurance providers to help reduce the cost, and it also accepts HSA and FSA cards. However, Talkspace does not accept Medicare or Medicaid. It’s vital to bear in mind that you may need a combination of both therapy and medication management for OCD, so the costs can add up. Occasionally, Talkspace advertises discounts and coupon codes and offers discounts for veterans.

User Satisfaction

Talkspace was highly rated in our survey, with 90% of users rating the service as good to excellent. Eighty-two percent found the website easy to navigate, and therapists were noted to be particularly responsive, responding within a few hours. 

Therapist qualifications were also highly rated, with 92% of our 105 surveyed users stating they were good, very good or excellent. In addition, 90% positively rated the therapist diversity at Talkspace. Most of our users who tried Talkspace had individual therapy and received therapy approaches such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), CBT, trauma-focused therapy, and applied behavior analysis (ABA). Six percent of Talkspace users were specifically looking for OCD treatment.

Our Talkspace reviewer was pleased with the subscription service in particular, explaining that “one nice benefit that stood out to me is that you can schedule up to four sessions at a time–no need to schedule week by week, which is incredibly convenient.” For a family trying to juggle everyone’s schedules, this is extremely helpful.

Best Additional Resources: Thriveworks

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Key Specs

• Price: From $99 per session
• Insurance accepted?: Yes
• Types of therapy: Psychiatry, medication management, individual, child, adolescent, family, group, and couples therapy
  

Why We Chose It 

Thriveworks packs a large selection of resources, blogs posts, and information about OCD onto its website—so whether you are looking for resources on OCD for yourself or your child, Thriveworks has you covered. Thriveworks also has a vast pool of therapists offering a variety of specializations, including treatment for OCD for both parents and children.

Pros & Cons

Overview 

An OCD diagnosis can be confusing and scary, whether you’re dealing with it yourself or your child has been diagnosed—so having a one-stop shop for anything you’d like to know about the condition is extremely helpful. Thriveworks has an in-depth website with many educational resources about OCD, including a guide to OCD and several articles about different aspects of the condition, including trichotillomania (hair-pulling), excoriation (skin-picking), and hoarding. 

Because OCD symptoms can begin at a very young age, the fact that Thriveworks can treat people of all ages is especially beneficial to a family that has a child with OCD. It is also able to support the whole family, not just the family member(s) with OCD, by offering family therapy—which can help members better understand OCD and learn how to support their loved one living with the condition. And because it’s beneficial to work with a therapist who specializes in OCD, as symptoms can be complex and severe, Thriveworks’ vast network of providers makes it possible to find one who specializes in OCD to help you get the right treatment. And, with 380 in-person centers nationwide, you and your family can get the kind of help you need, be it in-person or online. 

Although not available everywhere, psychiatry and medication management are currently available in 25 states for those people needing both therapy and medication as part of their treatment plan. It is also important to point out that, while it is technically possible to search for both therapy and psychiatry services for children under 5 on Thriveworks’ website, there might not be providers available in your area who actually offer these services.

Types of Treatment Available

Thriveworks provides many types of therapy, including individual therapy, child therapy, family therapy, and couples therapy, as well as psychiatry and medication management—so you can access support for the whole family if needed. You can opt to have sessions in person or via telehealth. 

If opting for online therapy, your sessions can take place on either an audio or video call, but you can’t message your therapist in between sessions. One bonus is that sessions can be booked for evenings and weekends, providing more flexibility for a family trying to balance a hectic schedule, and each session lasts 50 to 60 minutes on average.

Plans & Prices

If Thriveworks accepts your insurance, the out-of-pocket copay cost is typically quite low: around $15 to $40 per session (most commonly, $20). Medicaid is not usually accepted, but a few providers do work with Medicaid. Some of the insurance providers the company works with are:

• Blue Cross
• Anthem
• Optum
• UnitedHealthcare
• Aetna
• Cigna
• Humana

Sessions start at $99 if you don’t have insurance. Prices vary by location and provider, and you can find exact prices on your local office’s "Our Team" or "Counselors" page.

User Satisfaction

Seventy percent of the users we surveyed highlighted Thrivework's additional resources as good, very good, or excellent, and 90% had an overall positive experience with the company. Eighty percent of our 105 surveyed users said they were likely or very likely to recommend Thriveworks to a friend. For those using its psychiatric and medication management services, 98% rated them as good to excellent. The top three reasons for this high rating were that the prescriber was available when needed, they were responsive to questions, and the users felt that the provider cared about their well-being. Seven percent of Thriveworks users reported receiving treatment for OCD specifically.

Although one of our reviewers had difficulty finding a provider for her 7-year-old daughter, she ultimately said that “the experience itself was positive and it was clear that the therapist was a good match;” another reviewer noted that Thriveworks’ ability to offer both in-person and online services “is something that very few of its competitors offer,” emphasizing that “It is so valuable to be able to choose a therapy setting that works best for you.”

Best Directory: Open Path Collective

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Key Specs

• Price: One time lifetime membership fee of $65, then $30-$70 per session
• Insurance accepted?: No
• Types of therapy: Psychotherapy (talk therapy)
  

Why We Chose It 

Open Path Collective is an online therapy directory designed for families who are uninsured or underinsured and have an annual household income below $100,000. It is a nonprofit association that sets its sliding scale psychotherapy session rates between $40 and $70 ($30 for student intern sessions) and makes it easy to search for providers who specialize in OCD—so the whole family can find affordable, OCD-specific care.

Pros & Cons

Overview 

For families who do not have health insurance or whose plans do not cover mental health care, access to mental health services can be limited or nonexistent. But if one or more members of the family are living with OCD or another mental health condition, you can turn to Open Path. 

Open Path Psychotherapy Collective is a nonprofit, nationwide network of therapists who offer affordable sliding scale fees, enabling people who are uninsured, underinsured, or have a low household income to connect with mental health professionals at a steeply reduced rate. As well as the low cost, we chose this directory because you can filter your search by therapists who specialize in OCD and offer evidence-based OCD treatments like ERP and CBT. Open Path Collective launched in the spring of 2013. 

Open Path is in partnership with mental health clinicians in private practice throughout the 50 U.S. states and Canada. In addition to being able to connect you with a therapist, Open Path offers affordable, high-quality courses designed to help people learn about their mental health, including courses on stress and anxiety. These could be beneficial to those with OCD, for whom stress and anxiety can exacerbate OCD symptoms and vice versa. However, this directory only connects people with therapists that offer psychotherapy—there are no psychiatrists or other types of prescribers listed at Open Path Psychotherapy Collective.

Plans & Prices

Open Path Collective is an online directory to help you find a therapist. It charges a one-time membership fee of $65 to enable lifetime access to the platform. The cost of the independent provider you choose to work with varies between $40 and $70 per session. Open Path also offers sessions with student interns for $30. Open Path Collective asks that you only use the platform if you are uninsured, under-insured, have a household income of less than $100,000, or cannot afford mental health care.

User Satisfaction

Of the 180 users of Open Path who we surveyed, 90% rated it as good or very good, and 74% were able to find a therapist that met all their needs. The diversity and qualifications of therapists available were also rated positively, with over 80% of surveyed users considering these aspects as good, very good, or excellent. The majority of people we surveyed using Open Path Collective received CBT as their primary therapy.

Best for Family Therapy: Little Otter

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Key Specs

• Price: Welcome session $90, therapy session $200, psychiatry session $250-$500
• Insurance accepted?: No
• Types of therapy: Children's therapy, family therapy, couples counseling, parent coaching, child psychiatry
  

Why We Chose It 

Little Otter provides care for the entire family, including infants, preschoolers, children, and early teens (ages 14 and under), from family therapy to individual children’s therapy to couples counseling. It’s a mental health service designed to care for every different type of family—though with a pretty hefty price tag.

Pros & Cons

Overview 

A diagnosis of OCD can affect the entire family—you may not know where to turn for support for yourself, your partner, and your children who might be experiencing symptoms, or who might be unsure of how to react to a family member’s struggles with OCD. 

Enter Little Otter, which provides online therapy for children up to age 14 as well as family therapy, parent training and support, couples therapy, and psychiatric services including medication management. Having a child with OCD can be challenging, and Little Otter’s parenting specialists focus on externalizing behaviors—that is, teaching both parents and children to recognize which thoughts are obsessive and which actions are compulsive and to then react to them differently with support from the family. Parenting strategies are offered first, but if a parent cannot engage with these strategies, therapy is then offered for adults via co-parenting support, couples support, and individual therapy.

Helen Egger, M.D., a world-renowned child psychiatrist, runs Little Otter’s team of childhood mental health care experts. Dr. Egger’s vision is to normalize mental health care for kids, so that it’s OK for kids who are having a tough time and trying to navigate big feelings to get the professional help they need. She founded Little Otter to offer a collaborative, evidence-based, whole-family therapy approach to the treatment of OCD and other mental health conditions in kids.

Types of Treatment Available

Before getting started with Little Otter, there are a couple of things you can access for free to see if it is the right fit for you. The first is a family health check assessment to look at your family's mental health—a free report is provided. The second is a free 30-minute welcome call to discuss Little Otter and if it’s suitable for your family. 

There are therapists, psychiatrists, parenting specialists, and couples counselors available to provide a variety of individual and couples' therapies. Examples of specialties LIttle Otter helps with are listed as:

• OCD
• Anxiety & worries
• Depression & sadness
• Attention, focus & ADHD
• Sleep & bedtime
• Tantrums
• Aggression
• Relationship conflicts
• Parenting challenges

The beauty of Little Otter is that it can support the whole family with options for both therapy and psychiatry (including assessment and diagnosis)

Plans & Prices

Little Otter’s out-of-pocket pricing is as follows:

• Welcome session: $90
• Therapy session: $200
• General psychiatry evaluation (75 minutes): $500
• Psychiatry follow-up/medication management (30 minutes): $250
• Assessment bundle (90 minute assessment + one standard therapy session): $540, a 10% savings
• 12-session bundle: $2,040, a 15% savings

Little Otter is out-of-network with all insurance providers except Kaiser Permanente. However, it will provide a superbill to submit to your insurance provider for reimbursement. The website advises that many plans will reimburse 40% to 70% of therapy and psychiatry sessions after you’ve met your deductible (depending on your personal coverage).

User Satisfaction

Seventy percent of surveyed users stated that Little Otter met most or all of their needs, and 65% were satisfied or very satisfied with the therapist options provided to them. Seventy-nine percent highly rated the therapists’ qualifications and there was a generally positive response to the diversity of therapists available. Overall, 76% of users found Little Otter very helpful in connecting them with a provider. When compared to other therapy services used in the past, 81% of people preferred Little Otter due to the therapists having better qualifications and specialized training and the platform being easier to use. The biggest concern with Little Otter is the cost, as it it out of network with most insurance plans, so only 54% of users found it affordable. However, despite that, 72% said the service was a good value for the money. Six percent of our 105 surveyed users said that they sought treatment specifically for OCD.

One of our Little Otter reviewers reported that “after completing an introductory session and two sessions with one of its experts, I was impressed with the company’s attention to detail and the quality of parental coaching I received.” She pointed out that “both my care lead and the parenting coach I was matched with seemed incredibly qualified, caring and empathetic,” and said that her coach was “someone I would have chosen on my own.”