Online Marriage Counselors: Every marriage at one time or the other encounters one or two hiccups as part of growth, it’s normal that these things happen but abnormal when it takes longer than it should have taken to get settled. In regards to this issue, marriage counseling is always recommended to such couples or matters which needs it. So, the couples involved have to reach out to a counselor to get counseling services.
Before going further on our topic of discussion (Online Marriage Counselor) let’s get know the meaning of marriage counseling so we don’t just talk about what we don’t have an insight to.
Marriage counseling is a process of getting professional guidance and therapy on a particular marriage issue. It can also be said to be psychotherapy for couples or a short term therapy session aimed at sorting marital differences or problems. So this is a process where a marriage counselor gets to counsel a couple or married person on certain issues which requires critical analysis by a psychotherapist so as to ascertain or prescribe immediate or long-term solutions.
Getting counsel isn’t done only by walking into a counselor’s office anymore like it used to be. Technological advancement has given us a platform to reach out to counselors right from our homes, offices or any location you might be at any time so far you’ve got a device with an internet connection. That’s how far we’ve gone in technology, and to our advantage, it has solved the issue of transporting ourselves to a counselor’s office before getting counsel.
Marriage counseling is a special function of a marriage counselor. A marriage counselor is trained to use different skills of therapy in handling marital cases regarding individuals, couples, and families. Such skills include possession of a minimum of Master’s degree (including specific training in marriage and family therapy). Marriage counselors are well-trained counselors specifically to handle marital issues.
Read More: What You Need To Know About Relationship Counselors Online
The reason why marriage counseling and counselors are so essential to us and the society at large is for the reduction of divorce and to help restore sanctity and peace to our homes by helping us resolve mental issues, physical violence or perhaps sexual issues relating to marriage.
Online Marriage Counselors in details
Getting help online from marriage counselors is somewhat easier, cheaper and safer. Couples who don’t have time to spare are now lucky as you could just make a simple conference call at your scheduled meeting time and have your issues attended to with ease. But to a certain limit, not all of these online counselors or counseling platform offers that feature. Before getting these counseling from counselors online, the partners may be encouraged to draw up a contract in which each partner describes the behaviour he or she will be trying to maintain and one which he or she wants to work on. Less I forget marriage counseling isn’t for a married couple alone but also to intending or partners going into marriage, marriage counselors also offer treatment for couples before they get married to help them understand potential problem areas which they encounter.
Here are the top online marriage counselors
1. Presto Experts
As was alluded, Presto Experts was started by LivePerson. a massive IT conglomerate based out of New York City. With over 1,000 employees, of which most deal with technological upgrades to the various services they offer, people have come to expect exceptional functionality from them. This is precisely what happened when they launched Presto Experts. There were no issues, no bugs, no downtime. This is the primary factor that propelled them to stardom in the e-counseling industry. Since their launch in 2013, they have signed over 30,000 registered experts that help in over 600 categories. However, this is a bit misleading since most of their help categories are outside the scope of online therapy. The real numbers are over 500 licensed professionals in the counseling and health categories.
Signing Up
Presto Experts intuitive website makes signing up for an account a breeze. Once you get to the home page, you are greeted by a large and cantered sign up box. Simply enter your email address, describe your need(s), and choose your category and sub-category (‘counseling,’ ‘relationship issues’ for example). You are then taken to another page where you narrow it down (give them a bit more information) in order to find the expert who best meets your needs. Once you have done so, a message will arrive in your email that you have successfully signed up, whereby you can choose the right expert from a list of certified professionals in the area you need help with. After you are paired with your counselor, you can choose multiple ways to communicate – via chat, phone, or email. One thing to keep in mind: Presto Experts default communication method is email, but you can request the other options.
Pricing
In the interest of fairness and straightforwardness, Presto Experts is expensive compared to other tier-one online therapy services. Sometimes, though, a high price is justified. The issue here is that justification is subjective. So, I went off my own experience with them along with a few thousand other real Presto Experts reviews. As Presto Experts offers counselors in different fields and various levels of experience, pricing fluctuates from counselor to counselor.
You can expect to pay anywhere between $1 to $3 per minute, per session. If the average person communicates twice per week for a total of 60 minutes, the average cost is about $120 per week – roughly two to three times the price of other leading online therapy services such as BetterHelp and TalkSpace. However, more than 90% of Presto Experts users are extremely satisfied with their service, even given their price, and are happy to pay a premium given the level of support they receive. Additionally, it is worth noting that Presto Experts is the only online therapy service that bills you after the session has been completed (rather than upfront billing), and only after you have approved that you were satisfied with the service.
Counselor Support & Effectiveness
The one major benefit that customers like about Presto Experts is that they literally scroll through a list and choose the therapist they want, rather than being paired automatically by the company’s algorithm. Since I needed help with my anxiety and stress, I looked in the ‘Health’ category and came across Ken Fields – a certified mental health counselor with over 25 years of experience. Moreover, I was able to see the different pricing each counselor was asking. Given Ken Fields background and positive reviews by over 1,800 other people, in addition to his reasonable pricing ($2.75/minute), I decided to go with him. First and foremost, he was very attentive and listened to me, approaching the session as a personal matter instead of a business-like call. Furthermore, I sometimes find that it’s hard expressing myself at the moment. While other therapists simply gave me exercises and potential solutions to my issues, Ken not only did that but he actually assisted me in helping to express myself in the proper way, which ultimately helped me pull away from the smoke screen and see the core issues. Overall, I was beyond pleased with Ken’s professionalism and ability to help me that much after just one session.
Presto Experts Counsellor Qualifications
Presto Experts uses a long and drawn out application process for experts looking to join the platform. They specifically do not want any or all experts to join. They are looking to separate themselves from the rest of the online therapy services, and the first step in doing so is by providing the highest quality experts in the industry. All experts must be certified in their country of residence. The therapists have a background primarily in the counseling and psychology fields, but also have experience in others. Additionally, most (but not all) hold either a Ph.D. or Master’s degree.
Specialties & Areas of Expertise
While Presto Experts have experts in 600 categories, this isn’t applicable to anyone here. The two categories in focus are ‘Health’ and ‘Counselling’ – where Presto Experts have over 500 licensed professionals. While they cover many help categories, they don’t yet cover all.
Below is a list of the key areas Presto Experts covers very well
- Family
- Anger
- Anxiety
- Bipolar
- Career
- Conflict
- Depression
- Educational Assessments
- All Addictions
- Health
- Intimacy
- Relationships
- Self-Esteem
- Social Behaviours
- Stress
Read More: Relationship Counselor Online in Nigeria – How You Can Talk to Deedee
2. Regain
Regain is another wonderful platform which offers great counseling service to couples.
Regain starts by giving a brief interview or questioners about some issues pertaining to what you are experiencing or currently going through, this questions takes about 4 to 5 minutes depending on your response rate (speed). Also, an added advantage on regain.com is the choice of selecting a male or female counselor or a therapist to interact with.
How does Regain work?
Regain’s service is based on a subscription basis with lots of flexible plans for you to select from, ranging from the weekly fee to monthly payment. Their pricing goes thus; $65 per week for the first month, bill up front (that is $260 up front). Then later, you can select a fee between $35 and $80 per week depending on how long you are willing to subscribe.
For a payment of $65 you can text as often as you so desire, to your counsellor, from research your counsellor will definitely reply at least once or twice a day; you can also hold a live video chat session as scheduled with your counselor and your live video session has no known limits till your subscription expires.
NOTE: Regain charges different rates, based on your location and their price changes over time.
3. BetterHelp.com
Betterhelp.com is the world’s largest counseling service and the E-counselling service provider for every problem you could or can ever think of, be it depression, relationship, career, self-esteem and lots of other mental health problem. The amazing part is the fact that it’s 100% percent online platform and you get the best professional counseling at a very affordable price and it is also accessible to anyone who desires to use it anywhere, any day, anytime.
The company website states that “Betterhelp members pay a flat weekly fee and gain unlimited messaging access to licensed psychologists, therapist, social workers and counselors” living you with a large variety of choice of professionals to work with at a very convenient and flexible plan.
Signing up to Betterhelp.com
Like Regain, when you signup to Betterhelp.com you will answer a series of question so as to ascertain the kind of therapy you will require also like Teenscounselling.com they offer teenage counseling, so Betterhelp will ask if you desire individual, marriage, or teenage counseling, which also you will also need to choose your gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, and relationship status.
A few other questions like your physical health, financial status and emotional state among many others will also be asked. Once you are done answering the questionnaire, then you will have to create an account on the web which after an email verification will be done to verify your account.
4. Talkspace
If there exists a competitor to Talkspace, then it can only be one which is betterhelp.com.
Talk space is almost the most talked about online counseling service with numerous mentions from Fox News, BBC, CNN, Yahoo! and a lot of other big media houses. Like Betterhelp, Talkspace also offers a wide variety of counseling service ranging from mental health to relationship down to physical health issues. Talkspace boasts of over 3000 licensed therapists.
How therapy on Talkspace works:
First, you will have to create an account then you will get an assessment by chatting with a matching therapist to identify your therapy needs after which you will choose a plan that best suits your budget, these plans start from $49 per week
You will be linked up with the best therapist for your pressing issues and boom!! Therapy begins.
Read more: How to Become a Marriage Counselor
5. Breakthrough
Breakthrough is another major online marriage counseling platform which also offers some of the best counselors to iron out marital related issues. Established and launched in 2009, also said to be one of the leading platforms which pioneered the online counseling industry. New fast-growing therapy brands such as BetterHelp and Faithful Counselling have begun to lead the pack.
Like other online therapy giants, Breakthrough was also bought out by a major telehealth company called MDLIVE. Why is this important? Take a look at the board of directors: a former CEO of Apple and Pepsi-Cola, a former President of HJ Heinz, a managing director of Heritage Group, etc. Generally speaking, when such talented people are involved in the creation of a product or service, you can expect the best of the best. As such, it is no surprise that Breakthrough offers a variety of top-level video platforms for its customers (VSEE, Adobe, and Frozen Mountain). This is just one of several benefits users receive when using the Breakthrough platform. Moreover, it also isn’t surprising that Breakthrough is already providing online therapy to 30,000 customers each month, with over 1,000 therapists active within the platform.
Signing Up
Signing up for a Breakthrough account is very straightforward and simple. Provide your name, email, address, and phone number, and then you are taken to a welcome page with a message from a Breakthrough rep. You can reply to the Breakthrough representative or you can start browsing through the therapists. And, here is where you see yet another benefit by using Breakthrough. You can sift through the therapists by location, what insurance they take, or their specialties (stress, anxiety, depression, etc.).
Once you have chosen the therapist, you can interact with the therapist via the message/chat box in order to set an appointment time. Here, again, is a Breakthrough stand out feature. Whereas with other online therapy services you find a time that works best via chat, Breakthrough instead has implemented a calendar system.
Within the on-screen calendar, simply choose a date and time that’s good for you and the therapist will approve it. If it doesn’t work for them, they will “counteroffer” with a new date and time on the on-screen calendar. When a time has been confirmed, log into your account and you are ready to use the Breakthrough platform – via chat, video, or the Breakthrough mobile app (iOS or Android). It’s one of the easiest to use platforms I have come across.
Pricing
I won’t beat around the bush. On the surface, the Breakthrough pricing options seem exorbitant. Due to the fact that it’s a bidding-type system, therapists set their own price. These sessions cost roughly $50 to $400 per hour depending on which therapist you choose. Expensive? Yes, and no. Yes, especially compared to other services like BetterHelp and TalkSpace as can be seen in our online therapy reviews. No because in-office therapists cost the same. But, that’s not all. Breakthrough is the only online therapy service that works with most major insurance plans. Should you rely on your insurance instead of paying directly out of pocket, make sure to find out if and how much your plan covers you for, and to speak to an insurance professional to help you manage the cost of treatment over time.
5. Marriage Fitness
Marriage Fitness with Mort Fertel is an alternative to counseling. It’s the most successful marriage crisis program in the world.
About Mort Fertel
Mort Fertel is a world authority on the psychology of relationships and has an international reputation for saving marriages. Mort Fertel is the creator of Marriage Fitness, a relationship renewal system that’s been used by millions of people in a marital crisis. In addition to his success with couples, he pioneered the “Lone Ranger Track,” which offers people with an obstinate spouse a path to reconciliation.
People from all over the world schedule private tele-sessions with Mort Fertel and seek his counsel by joining the Marriage Fitness Tele-Boot Camp, the most comprehensive relationship home learning program in the world. Mort Fertel is the author of Marriage Fitness Audio Learning System and the host of the “Fix Your Marriage” podcast. Over 3 million people have subscribed to his free report “7 Secrets to Fixing Your Marriage.”
Mort Fertel is the subject of Back from the Brink, a documentary written and directed by Toroes Thomas, which chronicles people in marriage crisis.
Mort Fertel graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1987, was the CEO of an international non-profit organization, and a former marathon runner. He lives with his wife and 5 children (including triplets!) in Baltimore, Maryland.
Read more: Roles of a Marriage Counselor in 2019
About Marriage Fitness
Marriage Fitness is an alternative to counseling and a revolutionary system for saving marriages. Marriage Fitness is a step-by-step relationship-changing system that restores broken marriages.
Traditional marriage counseling and most relationship books offer problem-solving strategies and communication skills. But tackling marriage problems stress-out a relationship and make a bad marriage worse. And communication absent connection fails. With Marriage Fitness, you’ll learn to neutralize your problems and put into practice a system of relationship habits that will shift the momentum of your marriage. And the best news is you don’t have to dig into your past, dredge up your problems, or practice communication techniques. This is not marriage counseling; it’s Marriage Fitness!
Some Marriage Fitness programs offer a Lone Ranger Track, which is designed for people dealing with an uncooperative spouse and who are doing the program alone. Using Marriage Fitness, a marriage can be transformed by one spouse. In the Lone Ranger Track, you’ll learn how to single-handedly improve your marital situation and inspire your spouse to join you in the process of renewing your marriage.
Setting an appointment is all you have to do next. But before then, have you talked to your partner about this decision of yours? If not, please do. Go on and get your marriage working as you work with the marriage counselors online.
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