CerebralReviews of cerebral.com

So this is a hard review to write- simply because I have never been so torn. Let’s start with cons: Cerebral itself is a good wonderful idea on paper. However, they scaled very fast and have a lot of trouble keeping up with demand. Customer service is usually pretty bad- slow, sometimes rude, wrong answers. The price of service is also pretty high for very little service actually provided. For ex, I used to do the therapy and medicine package which is very pricey and ofc they don’t take my (very well known and highly accepted) insurance. I was lucky that I got a choice of therapist from 4 suggestions BUT there was little diversity to choose from. My options were all white women with similar interests and bios to each other. I honestly picked the one who made a dog joke bc they were all very similar. She was wonderful and I enjoyed chatting with her. When I went to schedule my next weekly session, she had no appointments available at all for the next month. Cerebral says to reach out if this happens, so I did. It took awhile to hear back and unfortunately the answer was simply “we’re sorry but they don’t have any appointments” which is super frustrating when you’re paying so much for weekly therapy and can’t even get an appointment. They will charge you the full price regardless fyi. I ended up switching to just medication bc it was too expensive for no services. Now for the pros- my therapist (when I was able to see her twice), my provider (A NP- basically acts as my psychiatrist), and my care counselor are all amazing. I genuinely enjoy working with them all. They make sure my scripts are filled and check in with me to make sure I’m doing well. My provider also very accurately diagnosed me and has been able to help me succeed with my treatment. She listens to me and makes adjustments as needed. She gives realistic and sound advice and is willing to include my input in the conversations. Taking the right meds at the right dosage has changed my life. I have made nearly a 180 in who I am, my habits, and my motivation/happiness. When I actually get to connect with these people, the service is great (still pricey) and genuinely helps. Cerebral is a great idea overall. As someone who is not comfortable seeking mental health care in person at this point, it makes a lot of sense for me. I wish it was cheaper and I hope they continue to grow and learn from their mistakes/problems.

My wonderful experience with my therapist is marred by the cost. Even though I find a benefit in the therapy itself cerebral brands itself as the affordable alternative to traditional therapy but doesn’t provide coverage though all insurances and costs nearly 300 dollars when people who need therapy are already struggling to meet their basic needs let alone another 300 dollar bill. The stress that another 300 dollar a month bill causes for me does not outweigh the benefits of the therapy I receive. Also you do not pay your therapists enough or provide adequate support for them, so how do you expect to brand yourself as the great new alternative when you work your employees to the bone with “gig work”? How do you think they can provide enough for themselves to even show up genuinely for their patients? I have to use cerebral because I live in a rural area of the United States that doesn’t have much access to health care providers let alone mental health providers. It’s upsetting that cerebral is a multimillion dollar company but can’t even provide affordable care to their patients let alone pay their staff therapist a livable wage.

The counselor I have worked with is absolutely wonderful. The logistics of getting my meds however has been very frustrating. The details are too long complicated and dull to go into but between cerebral's policies and my insurance I am left with the option of paying out of pocket for my meds or going elsewhere. Which sucks as the whole point of an app like cerebral is to make this kind of process easier and more accessible.

It’s very expensive due to me having to pay out of pocket. Also when you switch programs you still get charged for previous programs. It’s also had to get ahold of the support team. The staff and providers are amazing and it because of that I still use Cerebral.

This system works ok for someone who doesn't mind waiting large periods of time between meetings. Also response time takes days. Not good for people with mental health issues.

The process is quick and easy but reaching my counselor was very difficult

I like the concept. Unfortunately, my insurance is not accepted here, so I pay $80 out of pocket every month to see a prescriber every 3 months. You can see them more often, but I only need once every 3 months. I'd be more satisfied if I only had to pay $80 every 3 months, as I am not using Cerebral for 2 of those months. My first prescriber didn't seem to trust me and I was not able to get on my correct medication dosages until 3 months in. She quit unexpectedly. My new prescriber I have met with once and she is wonderful. I really like her. Very nice and understanding. It can be very hard to book appointments as well.

The care counselor and prescribers I did eventually meet with were great, but it's taken six months to get here after many canceled appointments and scheduling issues.