Lauren Casper
Alon Matas founded a controversial therapy company, BetterHelp, in 2013 and was under a legal storm for exploiting both clients and therapists. The online therapy platform allegedly uses fake reviews to hide serious problems, including unqualified counselors and rock-bottom pay.
BetterHelp Controversy, Scandal, and Criticism
BetterHelp has also been criticized for allegedly sharing its customers’ personal data with third parties to profit from the customers’ sensitive data.
BetterHelp can record your conversations with your therapist and sell the data it collects on you. There is an option to opt out, but you have to opt out. Otherwise, they’ll take the info. You can opt out, but you must do so. Otherwise, they’ll take the information.
The FTC said online counseling service BetterHelp pushed people into handing over health information – and broke its privacy promises.
The FTC’s proposed settlement with BetterHelp demands $7.8 million for partial customer refunds, signaling the agency’s strict stance on trust violations in mental health services.
BetterHelp partnered with top YouTubers Shane Dawson and Philip DeFranco, who shared mental health struggles in videos before promoting the platform’s services.
They used affiliate links, earning money from fans’ subscriptions. This tactic raised concerns about exploiting vulnerable audiences and monetizing mental health issues.
My friend’s sister reportedly attempted suicide after harmful interactions with a BetterHelp therapist, and that is what we are going to look into. Matas has largely ignored these issues while profiting from vulnerable people seeking help.
Unskilled, Unlicensed “Therapists” Preying On The Mentally Ill
I won’t cover the well-known facts about BetterHelp and Alon Matas in this post. After all the YouTube drama in 2018, most people already know it is an elaborate scam.
Unfortunately, my friend was unaware of all that when she found out about this company. She wanted a therapist for her sister, but due to personal finance issues, she couldn’t afford to get one. I hope someone would’ve exposed the reality of BetterHelp before my friend’s sister almost killed herself.
So that’s how I ended up writing this detailed BetterHelp review. If I can help one person avoid falling into their scheme, all my efforts would be worth it.
My Friend’s Little Sister Almost Killed Herself Because Of Alon Mata’s BetterHelp
Some important information before we start: I’m not going to reveal the name of the therapist or my friend’s little sister’s real name. I have seen companies like BetterHelp hunt down ordinary people like us.
They would not want people to know this information, so they would do anything to track us down. The main reason I chose this website over the others is the anonymity it provides for me and my friend. I hope you understand.
Alon Matas’ Scam is Ruining Lives
My friend sent me this in an email a few days ago and here is the full email. I have edited it for readability and grammar, I hope that is not a major issue.
My sister Katey (name changed for security reasons) has been suffering with severe depression for 2 years. She was seeing a therapist but he passed away due to the Coronavirus a couple of months ago.
Ever since that, she had been in a downward spiral. She did not eat much, she was always slumped down on her chair, or would lay all day on her bed. I knew this was not okay for anyone, especially her age. Mum can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars every week after she lost her job, so I went online to find if there are any affordable options available. And that is when I found out about BetterHelp.
After reading the dozens of overwhelmingly amazing reviews online, I didn’t think twice before getting a membership for Kate. I’m not going to lie, a small spark of hope lit up in me when I found out about them.
I thought maybe BetterHelp would really be the answer to my prayers. The fees they were charging were considerably less than what a usual therapist charged. Now that I think about it, I think its affordability and many positive reviews were the main reasons I decided to go for them. But this company showed me why you cannot trust online therapists! My sister started seeing the therapist on a weekly basis.
I am not revealing the name of the therapist but he was not a stable human being. He harassed my sister in the chats. She would tell him how she was feeling and what made her feel bad and other things which she knew therapists asked. But he often lashed out at her in a passive aggressive manner. The therapist was very unprofessional and extremely sarcastic. It got to a point where my sister ended up with a knife in her hand.
She was yelling about how she was done with her life and she cannot do anything to make the world any better. My mother and I successfully calmed her down and took the knife away from her before anyone would’ve gotten hurt. By then I did not know that it was the therapist’s fault because of which my sister was acting this way. It was only a week later, when Kate showed me the texts she received from the therapist.
He was blatantly giving her mental torture. This person was not qualified to be a stable human being let alone a f***ing therapist. He was saying things like,”Your life is not going to get better if you keep crying about it, lose some weight, stop eating all the goddamn time”. These were the exact text messages he sent to my little sister.
She has a physical ailment and had a very difficult life. But you don’t talk to a person like that, especially if they have diagnosed depression. My sister was never violent and never showed any tendencies of being violent. Otherwise I wouldn’t have even considered getting online therapy from BetterHelp. I won’t recommend anyone to get therapists from BetterHelp. I don’t know how they have so many five star reviews all over the internet if they have such twisted therapists. This happened 5 weeks into the therapy and the company charged me for 3 extra weeks.
When I asked for a refund, they told me that they don’t give refunds as it is not in their policy. I did not bother them too much because I was in shock from the incident. But if they don’t give out refunds, then how come they have so many “resolved” customer complaints on BBB where they claim to have given refunds??? I don’t really know, and I don’t think I want to know now. I just want to move on from my horrible experience with these people. Just please stay safe and away from BetterHelp, they are not worth it!
Why You Won’t Find Any BetterHelp Negative Reviews
“I don’t know about you guys, but I find it pretty suspicious that the BetterHelp website doesn’t have one f***ing negative review despite the massive backlash” – Diesel Patches in his video exposing Philip Defranco
This is probably the most “scammy” thing BetterHelp & Alon Matas have done. When we Google the search term “BetterHelp reviews”, we get these results:
How Alon Matas Operated The BetterHelp Fake Reviews Scam
Honestly, anyone in the whole wide world can be fooled by the astonishing BetterHelp reviews online. But here’s the catch, they are fake! Does it sound too outrageous? Well, it won’t after I break it down step-by-step.
Trustpilot is notorious for getting fake reviews posted on its website. Although it claims to make a lot of effort to prevent this, it still happens. If you check out BetterHelp’s listing on Trustpilot, you will notice that most “reviewers” have only posted one review. Google and Trustpilot are NOT websites where real users post one review of a company/ service and then leave the website.
BetterHelp got fake reviews on their online listings to make people think they are not a scam.
Out of all the search results, BetterHelp’s lowest rating is on Glassdoor. Unlike other review websites where companies review their services/products, Glassdoor is where employees leave a rating for the company.
I’ve covered BetterHelp’s employee treatment in detail in the heading below. But essentially, BetterHelp is massively underpaying its therapists and treating them badly to get the “most bang for their buck.”
It should be obvious that we cannot trust the 83k+ reviews on BetterHelp.com’s official website. Their authenticity is in question, too. They have no negative reviews on the website. Comparing them to an authentic website like Freelancer.com shows how fake their positive reviews are.
BetterHelp is Mistreating & Abusing Their Therapists
While BetterHelp has no negative customer reviews, it has many from its therapists. It seems that BetterHelp treats its therapists like its customers. When I investigated BetterHelp, I found several complaints from therapists about this company. The primary complaint was low pay.
I’m sharing some of those complaints here so you can understand the problems its therapists face:
“Atrocious pay”
The review says that BetterHelp’s average pay for therapists is $30 per hour, which is 4 to 5 times lower than the hourly rate of $120-150 a therapist earns with a private practice. The reviewer also alleges that BetterHelp has no customer support for therapists.
This means if you’re a therapist on this platform and you face an issue due to some reason, you’d have to sort it out yourself.
“High Demand and Low Pay”
According to this review, BetterHelp puts arbitrary caps on what a therapist can earn from it.
Due to this, the therapist either has to work for free or limit the service it provides to its customers. Both of the situations are harmful for the professional.
“Technical Issues”
This complaint also focuses on the lack of proper support for therapists. The person also claims that BetterHelp’s clientele is usually quite severe and requires more than online support.
The technical problems on BH’s platform cost therapists valuable time and money.
The platform doesn’t clarify that they are responsible for these problems, so the clients think it’s the therapist’s fault. This therapist also complained of low pay,
“No Support”
The person here complains that no customer support exists for clients. They have also complained that the platform has many bugs that cause payment errors. The lack of proper customer support causes difficulties to the existing users of BetterHelp.
Like the other complaints I discussed here, this person also complained of low pay.
Therapists only get $5 extra for providing 30-minutes of additional service. This is an extremely low incentive considering many clients require longer sessions than others.
BetterHelp isn’t Good for Therapists (Thanks to Alon Matas)
After going through multiple therapist reviews of BetterHelp, I realized that it isn’t a good platform for professionals too. The platform uses poor technology and lacks technical support.
Because BetterHelp doesn’t have customer support, therapists cannot convey their issues to the platform. This can be a huge concern for anyone. I can only imagine the frustration those therapists must’ve felt.
Although several therapists have voiced their negative opinions on the BH platform, I don’t think anyone from the company listens to them. All of these complaints are about the same issues. But they are from times.
BetterHelp horror stories include the therapists ghosting mid-treatment, offering unprofessional advice, and mismatched counselor assignments. These issues often leave vulnerable clients without support, forcing service cancellations.
Alon Matas – The CEO and Founder of BetterHelp
Alon Matas is the CEO and founder of BetterHelp. He founded the company in 2013 and has been on its board of directors ever since. There isn’t much information available about Alon Matas.
All I could find was his statement on the controversy of fake reviews and unlicensed professionals. Alon didn’t address the fake reviews part, but he claimed that his company does its best to ensure it has licensed professionals.
He has also become a mentor for online entrepreneurs. I wouldn’t want to take mentorship from a guy who has built a shady organization. In other words, people shouldn’t trust Alon Matas.
Conclusion
Alon Matas’s departure from BetterHelp eight months ago has finally opened the door for this story. As CEO, Matas reportedly suppressed negative press, including reviews, scams, and complaints, and silenced critics.
Now, free from potential retaliation, we can expose the issues that plagued BetterHelp under his leadership. This report reveals problems long hidden from public view, shedding light on the company’s practices during Matas’s tenure.
Please share this post with your loved ones. We cannot let more people suffer because of BetterHelp’s greed.
Should BetterHelp be allowed to play with the lives of the mentally ill? Why is there no lawsuit against Alon Matas for fraud, malpractice, and misconduct? Is it because he’s rich?
References
- Memeology 101 (the video in the post): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRJtv-zO8Ds
- Kiwifarms: https://kiwifarms.net/threads/the-betterhelp-creatorhealth-influencelogic-rabbit-hole.48362/
- Pewdiepie’s Video on BetterHelp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PLgOaVXmGU
- Diesel Patches Video on BetterHelp & Philip DeFranco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXuyY8NakvM
- BetterHelp Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/9pd16o/is_the_mental_health_app_betterhelp_a_scam/
- BetterHelp Founder Alon Matas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alonmatas
Where You Can Get REAL Help:
If you cannot afford to see a therapist, please do not worry. Thankfully, helplines, websites, and forums can help you get the required counseling. However, I’m not a medical expert, so I cannot give you professional advice about mental health.
Here are some key facts, figures, and controversies related to online therapy:
- Market size: The global online therapy market was valued at $6.5 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $28.4 billion by 2030.
- Usage: In 2021, about 36% of Americans used telehealth services, including online therapy.
- BetterHelp controversy: In 2018, BetterHelp faced criticism for unclear terms of service and questionable data-sharing practices.
- Talkspace scandal: In 2020, former employees alleged that Talkspace shared user data with marketing partners.
- Cerebral investigation: In 2022, Cerebral came under federal investigation for possible violations of the Controlled Substances Act.
- FTC action: In 2023, the FTC proposed a $7.8 million settlement with BetterHelp over data-sharing practices.
- Effectiveness: Meta-analyses suggest online therapy can be as effective as face-to-face therapy for certain conditions.
- Accessibility: Online therapy has improved access to mental health services in rural areas by up to 53%.
- Insurance coverage: As of 2021, 43 states have enacted telehealth parity laws requiring insurers to cover online therapy.
- Privacy concerns: A 2020 study found that 28% of popular mental health apps had no privacy policy.
These facts highlight the online therapy industry’s rapid growth and ongoing challenges.
I have tabled the information of some sources with which you can connect to get help. Please take care of yourself and talk to someone if you are suffering from any psychological and/or mental issues.
| Service | Contact Information |
|---|---|
| Emergency | 911 |
| National Suicide Prevention Lifeline | 1-800-273-TALK (8255) |
| National Domestic Violence Hotline | 1-800-799-7233 |
| Lifeline Crisis Chat (Online live messaging) | https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/ |
| Veterans Crisis Line | https://www.veteranscrisisline.net |
| TransLifeline | https://www.translifeline.org – 877-565-8860 |
| Suicide Prevention Wiki | http://suicideprevention.wikia.com |
| National Hopeline Network | 1-800-SUICIDE (800-784-2433) |
| Self-Harm Hotline | 1-800-DONT CUT (1-800-366-8288) |
| Crisis Text Line | Text “DESERVE” TO 741-741 |
| Planned Parenthood Hotline | 1-800-230-PLAN (7526) |
| National Crisis Line – Anorexia and Bulimia | 1-800-233-4357 |
| American Association of Poison Control Centers | 1-800-222-1222 |
| National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependency Hope Line | 1-800-622-2255 |
| TREVOR Crisis Hotline | 1-866-488-7386 |
| GLBT Hotline | 1-888-843-4564 |
| AIDS Crisis Line | 1-800-221-7044 |
BetterHelp
BetterHelp is the worst platform you can go to for treatment. They are running a review scam so finding negative reviews about them is nearly impossible.
1
Pros
- Cheap Cost
- Lots of Therapists
- Immediate Connect
- Free Chat
Cons
- Fake Reviews
- Mistreats Therapists
- Poor Service Quality
- No Customer Support
- No Refunds
- Fake BBB Resolutions
How do they have 5 stars everywhere!!! I used to think that I was the only one unfortunate enough to be scammed by BetterHelp. But I guess I’m not alone. I was charged a sum of $180.00/ mo for four months straight! I didn’t use the service even ONCE! Their customer service department does not exist. There is no one in the company who you can call for support.
I emailed them because that is the only way for someone to contact anyone in this company. I expected them to revert back to me in 24 hours, but it took them a full week! I did not want them taking more money from my credit card. I was charged for the counseling sessions I never even had.
The year 2023 has not been great for anyone but these scammers who are taking advantage of hard working people like us. I support the hashtag #BoycottBetterHelp too! They need to be sentenced to prison, especially Matas for letting his company scam people.