Pros and cons
Pros
- Psychiatry, therapy, or both, starting with a free assessment.
- A Suicide Prevention Program for adults with suicidal thoughts or a recent attempt: weekly 60-minute therapy sessions for 4 to 12 weeks, plus psychiatry.
- Takes most major insurance and some Medicare and Medicaid plans.
- Weekly check-ins track your symptoms so your provider can adjust treatment.
- Switch providers from the Care Team section of your account.
Cons
- Brightside's pages describe no way to ask for a therapist or prescriber by race.
- Self-pay therapy is $299 a month for four video sessions; extra sessions cost $59 each.
- Medicare and Medicaid acceptance is plan by plan, so check before you book.
- Medication costs extra on the psychiatry plan, and missed appointments can carry a no-show fee of up to $200.
Pricing and coverage
- Pricing
- Self-pay: $95/month psychiatry, $299/month therapy, $349/month both. Most major insurance and some Medicare and Medicaid plans accepted.
- Insurance
- Accepts commercial insurance · Accepts Medicaid
- Notes
- Lists Aetna, Ambetter, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare and Medicare, and says it accepts some Medicare and Medicaid plans. Check your coverage at sign-up. HSA and FSA cards accepted.
Who Brightside is right for
Brightside treats anxiety and depression online, from mild to severe. You start with a free assessment and get a plan recommendation: psychiatry (medication), therapy, or both. It also lists care for postpartum depression, PTSD, panic disorder, OCD, bipolar disorder, insomnia and PMDD.
The Suicide Prevention Program
Brightside runs what it calls a "first-of-its-kind" program for people with elevated suicide risk, based on the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) framework. It's for people having suicidal thoughts, people who recently attempted suicide, and people who need follow-up care after either.
Members meet a therapist weekly, or more often if needed, for 60-minute sessions and see a psychiatric provider for medication. The program lasts 4 to 12 weeks, and afterward you can keep seeing the same providers. It is outpatient care, not emergency care.
What it costs
Without insurance, Brightside charges $95 a month for psychiatry, $299 a month for therapy (four video sessions plus messaging), and $349 a month for both.
Extra therapy sessions are $59 each. Medication costs extra: $15 per fill if Brightside's mail-order pharmacy ships it, or your copay if your prescription benefits apply there.
Brightside lists Aetna, Ambetter, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare and Medicare, and says it accepts "some Medicare and Medicaid plans." Enter your insurance at sign-up to see your coverage. If you have Medicaid, also read how to find therapy that takes Medicaid.
Finding a Black clinician
Brightside's pages describe no way to ask for a therapist or prescriber by race. You're paired with a dedicated provider, and you can switch from the Care Team section of your account settings. To choose a Black therapist yourself, start with our directory of Black therapists, where every listing rests on the clinician's own word that they are Black.
In crisis right now? Call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any time. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
Our methodology
We read Brightside's own homepage, insurance page, FAQ, service pages and Suicide Prevention Program page on September 28, 2026, and every fact here comes from them. We did not sign up or attend sessions. The rating is our editorial judgment of those published facts.
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