Cost $ 95 per month for drug management; $ 349 per month for therapy plus medication; $ 15 or pharmacy supplement by prescription
Accepts insurance Yes
Session types Live video; unlimited sending of messages for medications and treatment plan
Qualifications Board-certified psychiatrists and psychiatric NP
Advantages:
- Optional medications plus a treatment plan for comprehensive treatment
- Proprietary technology helps suppliers personalize recipes
Against:
- It can be expensive if you want medication plus therapy
- It does not offer an application
Brightside offers personalized treatment for anxiety and depression with psychotherapy and medication. Evidence suggests that combining psychotherapy and medication for depression may be more effective than any treatment alone, according to the APA.
The platform’s proprietary technology, PrecisionRk, analyzes patients’ medical histories and symptoms to help providers recommend medications. Brightside coordinated an external analysis published in January 2022 in the journal Cureuswhich showed that his response rate to the first drug recommendation was 50 percent higher than the response rate of the leading American health care system.
Brightside has providers to treat a range of anxiety and depression-related conditions, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), seasonal affective disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder. premenstrual dysphoric disorder, insomnia, bipolar II and postpartum depression.
Brightside offers three treatment plans: therapy, medication or drugs plus therapy. If you want to work with a psychiatrist, you will need to apply for a medication-only plan or a plus-medication therapy plan.
If you decide on a drug-only plan, you will be paired with a psychiatrist licensed in your state. The service provider may be a psychiatrist or psychiatric NP who can prescribe medication, assess and diagnose mental illness, and manage treatment plans. Psychiatric NPs have either a master’s degree or a doctorate and experience working as a licensed nurse, according to Nurse.org. If you are associated with a psychiatric NP, but want to see a psychiatrist who specializes in a particular concentration, you can contact the Brightside support team and request a change.
If you opt for the Brightside Drug and Therapy Plan, you will benefit from the drug-only plan, as well as unlimited messaging and a weekly video session with a licensed therapist. The main advantage of this plan is that you get access to in-depth psychotherapy and meetings with a psychiatric doctor for medication.
Brightside accepts insurance, including Aetna and Cigna. You must create an account and enter your insurance information to confirm coverage. Without insurance, the costs of the plan are broken down as follows:
- Medication plan $ 95 per month ($ 45 for the first month), plus $ 15 per drug or your pharmacy if you have prescription insurance benefits; the medicine is sent by mail to your house
- Therapy plan $ 299 per month ($ 249 for the first month); includes unlimited messaging and four monthly video sessions with a licensed therapist
- Drugs plus therapy $ 349 per month, which is $ 45 less than buying the plan itself ($ 249 for the first month), plus $ 15 per drug or pharmacy if you have prescription insurance benefits
Unlike other online psychiatric platforms on our list, Brightside does not offer an app. You can access the platform using a browser on your mobile devices. Video calls are made via Zoom.
Brightside providers cannot prescribe drugs that the US Drug Enforcement Administration classifies as controlled substances. These include amphetamine (Adderall), alprazolam (Xanax) and clonazepam (Clonopin), among others. Brightside providers can prescribe drugs such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors at their discretion.