Sesame Online Therapy Review

Contact Methods

Sesame offers online mental healthcare services to patients in different geographical areas. The quantity and types of services available will depend on the number of participating service providers in your area.  

Among the mental healthcare services we found in New York were:

• Video psychiatry consults for new patients, which include psychiatric evaluations and treatment plans developed by doctors or nurses.
• Video mental health consults, including symptom and lifestyle assessment and a review of the patient’s medical history. 
• In-person mental health consult that includes symptom and lifestyle assessments, medical history review, and the ability to refer to a specialist. 
• Video therapy sessions managed by licensed therapists that can help with a variety of conditions such as depression, PTSD, anxiety, and many others. 
• Video couples therapy sessions provided by licensed practitioners for relationship counseling and advice.
• Video prescription refill visit to get the necessary medications refilled, available for pickup at the pharmacy of your choice.

The process to choose a provider is quite simple. Patients can search Sesame’s website by type of care or services and a list of available professionals is presented. Patients can compare the clinician’s specialties, prices, and availability 

Cost

Costs vary depending on the type of service requested and your location. Sesame is very transparent about the costs of receiving medical care. The company does not charge the customers for the use of its service and patients only need to pay the upfront cost of the visit. 

Patients pay the services directly as Sesame does not work with insurance providers. Patients with insurance could receive reimbursement from their insurers if eligible and can request a receipt from Sesame.

In New York, mental healthcare costs depended on the type of service being provided and the healthcare professional administering them. Video psychiatry consults varied between $198 to $660, video mental health consults were $42-$99, in-person mental health consults varied between $55 and $220, video therapy sessions for individuals or couples ranged from $88 to $275, and video prescription refills cost anywhere from $26 to $40.

All costs are prominently displayed on the provider’s profile, with no hidden fees or surprise costs in the future. This makes Sesame one of the most transparent online therapy or direct-to-patient care services available. 

Therapist Qualifications

All clinicians on Sesame are board-certified or licensed providers. To be able to participate in the service, healthcare practitioners must share their licensure, education history, and present a clean disciplinary history. Nonetheless, even with this rigorous vetting process, patients are urged to review the clinician’s medical qualifications before receiving care.

The type of mental healthcare providers available for consultations depends entirely on your location. In New York, we found medical doctors (MDs), nurse practitioners (NPs), osteopaths (OPs), physician assistants (PAs),  licensed master social workers (LMSWs), and licensed mental health counselors (LMHCs) who specialized in psychiatry, internal medicine, family medicine, counseling, and therapy (for both individuals and couples).

Patients who use Sesame have the advantage of being able to look at the medical service provider’s profile, which includes everything about their professional history including their credentials and specialties as well as the languages they speak.