Have months passed, but the pain of the breakup still hurts like crazy? Do you ever wonder if you can love again after such a bad breakup with your ex? Often it’s hard to move on; we can’t believe the person who was once everything is no longer in our life. And dealing with heartbreak pain is absolutely overwhelming.
In this article, I’m going to share how counseling can make a huge difference in your healing process, I will introduce BetterHelp — the counseling service I recommend — and walk you through the sign-up process.
If you’re ready to look the pain, depression and overwhelm in the face, let’s jump in and get started.
How Counseling Can Help Deal with Heartbreak Pain
One of the number one factors that contributed to my healing after my breakup was getting counseling. It allowed me to:
- Sort through my overwhelming flow of emotions
- Speak to a neutral person who was trained in human behavior and psychology
- Learn to manage my emotions instead of letting them manage me
If you want to dig deeper into my experience with counseling, you can read my story and experience in this post.
BetterHelp: The Counseling Service I Recommend
When I have gone for counseling, I’ve always done so in person because I didn’t know about online counseling. But, what really has convinced me of the value of it is shared in my post, Before Getting Counseling after Your Breakup, Read These 9 Insights.
At the time of my last counseling experience, I was living over 6,000 miles (over 9,700 km) from home in the Middle East.
I searched far and wide for a Christian counselor but it wasn’t easy to find. I had to do extensive research online, e-mail several people and make a few phone calls to find someone.
After receiving a list, I sorted through the names and had to make an educated guess about who might be the best fit.
In the end, the counselor I ended up working with was worth her weight in gold! She helped me grow so much as a person.
However, if I would have had the opportunity at that time, I would have definitely gotten online counseling.
- I didn’t have a car at the time so it would have helped me avoid travel costs
- I would have easily found someone who was matched with me based on some clear criteria
- I would have had anonymity through the platform
So when I found out about online counseling, and BetterHelp in particular, I jumped at the opportunity to recommend it to people who are pushing through the pain and overwhelm of a breakup.
I have had the opportunity to use BetterHelp and it was a life-saver for me. You can read more about it on my post, Do You Have Panic Attacks after a Breakup, This Can Help.
Sign-up Process
I want to be super honest with you here and let you know that signing up for BetterHelp online counseling is a multi-step process, but you shouldn’t let this intimidate you.
They ask a variety of questions on the front end to make sure they match you with the right counselor on the back end, and I think that makes the questions well worth it!
So let’s jump right in to the sign-up process!
How Does BetterHelp’s Sign-up Process Work?
The first screen gives you an overview of what you can expect in the sign-up process.
After getting started, you’ll be asked what type of couseling you’re seeking, whether for you as an individual, a couple or for a teenager.
From there, you’ll be asked your gender.
All of this information is being gathered to understand you and your needs and to match you with one of the 3,000+ professionally educated counselors on the platform.
After this step, you’ll be asked for your age.
From there, you’ll be asked about your sexual orientation.
Spiritual Counseling
The next area you’ll be asked about is your spirituality. You’ll be asked if you’re religious.
There are three religions specifically mentioned on the survey, along with an option of “other”.
If you happen to click on “Christianity”, you’ll be prompted to click over to BetterHelp’s sister platform for Christian Counseling called Faithful Counseling.
By clicking over to FaithfulCounseling, you’ll find a platform specifically designed to address the needs of Christians.
Relationship Status
The next step of the sign-up process is to share your relationships status.
If it’s hard to answer, just choose the status that describes you the best.
Counseling Experience & Health
From here, BetterHelp wants to know what experience you have with getting counseling.
Next you’ll be asked about your physical health,
your sleeping habits,
and your eating habits.
Then, they’ll ask about your financial status.
Anxiety, Sadness and Depression
Next, you’ll be asked about any anxiety, panic attacks or phobias you may be experiencing.
Then, they’ll gauge your level of sadness, grief and depression.
As you’re completing this survey, note that BetterHelp has several mechanisms in place to protect your privacy. I go into more detail about this at the end of the article.
Next, they’ll ask you about your behavior, like being fidgety, restless, moving slowing or moving quickly.
All of this information is being gathered to gauge the severity of your symptoms and to match you with the best counselor for your situation.
You’ll be asked if you’ve experienced little interest or pleasure in doing things.
And if you’re feeling down, depressed or hopeless.
Then, you’ll be asked if you’ve had any trouble falling asleep lately.
Or if you’ve been feeling tired.
From here, you’ll be asked about your appetite.
And any sense of failure you may be experiencing.
They will then want to know if you’ve had trouble concentrating.
From here, the question is more specific asking if you’ve had any recent thoughts about being better of dead or hurting yourself.
Remember, being as honest as possible will give you the opportunity to heal.
From there, you will be asked about any difficulties in doing your work and getting along with people.
The next question is, are you dealing with any chronic pain.
And are you currently employed?
Have you been having any trouble with intimacy lately?
And are you currently taking any medication?
This next question deals with suicide. It asks when was the last time you had a plan to commit suicide.
And how frequently do you drink alcohol.
You’re now nearing the end of the survey, as the questions have turned from gauging your current state of being to asking you about how you heard about BetterHelp.
From there you’ll be asked about where you live,
What language you prefer
and you’re finished.
Now you can create your private account.
Privacy on BetterHelp Platform
There are several safeguards taken on the BetterHelp Platform to ensure your confidentiality, such as
- You are able to operate on the platform anonymously (see more about staying anonymous here).
- Your counselor is bound by federal and state laws to confidentiality
- Your information will not be shared with your insurance company or employer
- You are able to “Shred” your messages so they no longer appear on your account
- Your messages are secured and encrypted by banking-grade 256-bit encryption.
- The servers, encryption system and databases are best in class
- Databases are encrypted and scrambled so they essentially become useless in the very unlikely event that they are being stolen or inappropriately used.
BetterHelp Pricing
After signing up, you’ll be invited to put in your payment information. Either your credit card or PayPal account will be charged regularly.
Counseling on BetterHelp is based on a flat membership fee that covers both the use of the platform and unlimited counseling. Your payment will be the same regardless of the number of messages and sessions you have with your counselor. This way you can communicate with your counselor as often as you like and whenever you need, and you never need to worry before getting help.
While face-to-face counseling can cost $150 to $250 for a single session, the cost of counseling through BetterHelp ranges from only $35 to $80 USD per week for unlimited messaging with your counselor, as well as phone and video sessions.
Your membership payments will be charged to a credit card or PayPal on a recurring basis. If you accomplish your goals or if you find online counseling with BetterHelp to no longer be helpful for any reason, you can simply cancel the subscription.
Sign-up for BetterHelp Counseling
I hope this walkthrough of the sign-up process was helpful. If you’re ready to start dealing with your heartbreak pain, click here to sign-up to Better Help Counseling Services.
If you still have questions about the service, send me a message and let’s chat about it.
(Affiliate Disclosure: If you click on a link in this post and decide to sign-up for counseling from BetterHelp, I will get a commission. It doesn’t cost you one cent more. I will use this money to keep supporting you on this blog. I’ll only recommend things to you that I believe would be an awesome benefit that I’ve benefitted from as well.)