If you’re unsure whether you want to include your partner in sessions, you can click the Not Sure Yet button and decide later. ReGain charges the same price for individual therapy sessions as it does for couples therapy sessions.
Initial Questionnaire
ReGain will ask questions during this assessment to understand your relationship and why you may be looking for relationship therapy or marriage counseling. For example, it will ask you about your relationship status, including options for polyamorous individuals or couples. It will also ask:
Whether you live with your partnerIf domestic violence is an issue in your relationshipWhether you’ve been to therapy before
ReGain will also delve into the reasons you’re considering relationship therapy. You can choose however many options apply to you, from examples that include:
Improving your communicationDeciding whether to separateResolving conflicts and disagreementsOvercoming infidelityUnderstanding yourself moreUnderstanding your partner moreGetting to a fairer workload
According to Brianne Hughes, a licensed marriage and family therapist with expertise in sexual and reproductive wellness, in private practice in Santa Barbara, California, people usually go to relationship therapy when their efforts to come to an agreement with their partner or to resolve an issue have failed. “People also seek couples counseling commonly after affairs or other life events that cause them to reexamine their understanding of each other,” she notes. ReGain will also ask whether you have any expectations from your therapist, with options that include someone who teaches you new communication skills, proactively checks in on you, or challenges your beliefs, among others. You can also request a therapist with specific attributes, such as female, older than 45, LGBTQ+, or nonreligious. If you select couples therapy, a screen asking whether you want to invite your partner will pop up once you’ve signed up for an account but before you’re required to submit payment information. Once your partner accepts your invitation to join ReGain, they will be linked to your account. After signing up, ReGain will ask if you want a therapist who has experience in specific areas, such as depression, coping with addiction, and parenting issues, among others. If you’re choosing to attend sessions with your partner, Eliza Belle, PhD, director of the Office of Psychological and Behavioral Services for the Alabama Department of Mental Health in Birmingham, suggests that you and your partner decide together about what values you want your relationship therapist to have, from specialties in childhood traumas to spiritual, racial, or ethnic considerations. “Having a therapist you feel sees your relationship in its unique identity may help to more quickly establish trust and motivation for the process,” says Dr. Belle. The final process of creating your account involves writing at least one sentence about why you want to receive therapy.
ReGain Therapist Matching
Once you set up your account, the platform will start looking for your therapist match. According to ReGain, it may take a few hours or days, depending on what therapists are available. In our reviews team’s experience, you may receive an email from customer support prompting you to start your subscription before ReGain can guarantee that you’re matched with a therapist. Your subscription starts as soon as you submit your payment information, but if there is a delay before you are matched with a therapist, your subscription won’t start until you are matched.
ReGain Therapy Sessions
With ReGain, you can have live therapy sessions over video or phone. Each session is 30 to 45 minutes long, with you and your therapist determining how long you want the session to last. Every ReGain subscription includes unlimited messaging, where you can send text, audio, or video messages to your therapist in a shared chat room at any time. According to our reviews team’s April 2022 survey of 1,000 online therapy users, 48 percent of ReGain users received responses to their messages within one day. Of the rest, 12 percent received responses within a few days, 28 percent received responses within a week, and 12 percent said it regularly took more than one week to receive a response. Video Therapy Sessions With video therapy, you will log on to the ReGain website or app with your camera enabled for your therapy session. ReGain has built-in functionality for three-way video calls, so you and your partner can join from separate devices and locations. Phone Therapy Sessions With phone or voice therapy, you will log on to the ReGain website or app and access your appointment. The ReGain system will ask for your phone number, and ReGain will then call you to connect you with your therapist. Your phone number will not be shared with your therapist. To add your partner to the session, you may be able to use the conference call feature on your smart device to dial them in. Your ReGain membership starts the day you purchase your subscription, and you will be billed every four weeks after that. If there is a wait time for you to be matched with a therapist, your membership won’t start until that match is complete. You can pay for your subscription using:
VisaAmerican ExpressMastercardDiscoverGoogle PayPayPal
ReGain does not accept insurance and does not accept FSA or HSA dollars.
Financial Aid
ReGain offers financial aid to eligible individuals. Log on to your account, and then access ReGain’s eligibility form to apply. The eligibility form will ask you questions about your financial situation, including things like employment status and whether you’re a veteran, to determine your eligibility. You aren’t guaranteed financial aid, but you could get a discount of up to 40 percent. (Without Insurance or Financial Aid) On the Apple App Store, ReGain is rated 4.8 out of 5 stars based on more than 6,400 reviews. On the Google Play Store, ReGain is rated 4.6 out of 5 stars based on more than 1,900 reviews. Positive ReGain counseling reviews mention the benefits of flexible scheduling, the convenience of couples therapy online, and patients having good experiences with their relationship therapist. Negative ReGain therapy reviews mention feeling misled from advertisements about receiving an appointment within 24 hours, problems finding appointment times with their therapist, and slow counselor response times to messages. According to our reviews team’s April 2022 survey of 1,000 online therapy users, 48 percent of ReGain customers received therapist responses within a day. But 40 percent of Regain customers reported that it took more than a few days to hear back.
Engaged in ongoing independent researchMystery shopped each of the brandsContacted brands’ customer service teams to ask questions and gauge responsivenessConsulted six leading psychologists and psychiatristsBecame customers of online therapy providers ourselvesReviewed academic research about the efficacy of online therapy versus in-person therapy
Read hundreds of verified customer reviews from trusted third parties such as the BBB and Trustpilot ReGain can also be a great option for long-distance couples because of its three-way video sessions. Our reviews team spoke with ReGain representatives who confirmed that if you live in different states, your matched therapist will address any potential licensing considerations. You can also reach out to the SAMHSA National Helpline at 800-662-HELP (4357). The SAMHSA help line is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-days-a-year treatment referral and information service for individuals facing mental health or substance abuse disorders.