Is an independent therapist better than BetterHelp?

If you’re reading this website you’re presumably keen to know more about therapy. So you’ll almost certainly have heard of BetterHelp. You may be wondering is BetterHelp as good as it claims, or is an independent therapist better than BetterHelp?

What is BetterHelp? Is an independent therapist better than BetterHelp?

BetterHelp are an American company which has recently moved into the UK. You may have seen their listing at the top of the sponsored results when you googled the word “psychotherapy” or “counselling” or “hypnotherapy.” Or you maybe heard the name in one of the many podcasts which they sponsor. They do spend over 500 million US dollars per year on advertising, so they’re hard to ignore! But it’s also hard to ignore the very negative reports about them which can be seen online.

Why do therapists believe an independent therapist is better than BetterHelp? (This includes many therapists who work for BetterHelp!)

In the past year or so they have pushed into the UK therapy market in a big way. Their stated aim is to “maximise market share,” which is another way of saying “wipe out the competition.”

So on behalf of “the competition” I thought I’d write about the pros and cons of BetterHelp versus independent therapists like Pete Luce Hypnotherapy, and the differences between what I provide and what BetterHelp provides, and also to be fair, what we have in common. That way you can make an informed choice of what is best for you.

Differences.

Why is an independent therapist better than BetterHelp? One reason may be because he or she enjoys working independently and does not resent the time they spend with clients. I enjoy my job, working independently and being self-employed. People who enjoy their work will generally do it better. That goes for any line of work. Therapists do not like working for BetterHelp, as a google search will soon tell you. One reason is because they generally get less than half of the £60 per week that clients pay for weekly sessions. There’s other reasons, but you can research that for yourself, in articles like this one.

How is an independent therapist better than BetterHelp? Independent therapists normally offer everyone a free initial assessment where you can meet them in person, or on Zoom or a phone call, so they can assess your problems and whether they can help you, and you can ask questions and decide whether you want to work with them. Only you can know if I’m the right therapist for you. An AI or other computer programme, like on the BetterHelp website, can’t decide this for you, because a computer can’t know you. It has no feelings, no personality, no life experience. If you decide you don’t want to work with me, that’s okay, you can look at others. On BetterHelp you can ditch your therapist but they will just give you another one, who might not suit you either.

When you work with me, your information is kept safely on my premises, and is not shared with anybody else. This would normally be the same for any private therapist. Your biggest secrets don’t end up in a computer in America. You can read more here about how I work.

BetterHelp attracts newly-qualified therapists who need to build up their experience. Few well-estblished therapists would join them. So you’d likely be working with quite an inexperienced therapist on BetterHelp. I have over thirty years experience in hypnotherapy, and a previous career in mental nursing before that. You can read more about me here.

Similarities.

Those are the differences, but what do BetterHelp and Pete Luce Hypnotherapy have in common?

The price (as of August 2026) is the same, £60 per weekly session.

Both BetterHelp and Pete Luce Hypnotherapy offer support between sessions via email or text for no extra charge. Most therapists don’t offer this but I do..

BetterHelp offers a wide variety of therapists, but their computer chooses your therapist for you, based on your answers to their questions. With Pete Luce Hypnotherapy you can also have a wide variety of methods and styles of therapy, because I have training and experience in many methods, and I tailor my approach to each individual client according to their needs and preferences. If you’re not making progress we can switch to a different approach.

Want to know more? You can contact me via the contact form below, or phone me on 01392574669