Up-and-coming mental health therapy provider, Calmerry, has one steadfast mission: to supply affordable counseling and make it accessible to everyone.
Although Calmerry, established late 2020, is comparatively new to other online mental health providers, at least as of this review, it recognizes and seeks to meet the top three needs that bring people to remote therapy.
- Affordability
- Tailored to your schedule
- Portability (smart phone, tablet, PC, etc.)
After a secure sign up, and a very short questionnaire, you get to choose one of essentially two (I'll explain this later) therapy plans to best fit your needs.
The Calmerry team then analyzes your wellness score derived from the questionnaire, your desired needs you wish to work on, and pairs you with a licensed therapist in your state that best fits your situation.
It's a system without frills, but enjoys a very high success rate: 8/10 people feeling significantly better within a mere month. In fact, Calmerry is so confident they can help, they offer partial and full refunds–case by case–if you're not satisfied with their service.
With that guarantee, what have you got to lose?
Secure and Easy Sign-up
Two Step Sign-up
Before you can complete any assessment about your mental health, Calmerry asks for your email, and to create a password, which will also be used as your login. A three digit code sent by Calmerry will be somewhere in your inbox for you to verify your email account is real. Now, you're ready to begin.
Rounded Assessment
Once you have verified your email, you'll get a fairly quick–and varied–questionnaire regarding your emotional well-being and data which they class as background information.
The full set of questions is roughly around 15-20, and differ in many ways, such as having yes/no answers, to fill in the blank.
Some basic questions:
- First, last names
- Age
- Employment status
- Phone number
- State of residence (with a checkmark box where you can note if you live outside the US)
- Gender identity (with the ability to opt out of labeling yourself, or choosing non-binary, as options)
Whilst a few of the above questions, such as name and state, are to be expected, this isn't the case for others. For example, employment status. Not all online therapy providers ask for employment status, though such a thing may sometimes be pertinent to the individual's mental health status, the purpose of the question isn't particularly clear.
On a fully positive note, however, Calmerry makes an effort to be inclusive of users who may be non-binary, something which although some readers may be unfamiliar with, others will surely appreciate.
Sample emotional well-being questions:
- Are you currently experiencing extreme sadness?
- Do you have issues with your eating habits?
- Have you been feeling depressed/unmotivated?
- Do you have worries about intimacy?
- When was the last time you were feeling suicidal?
Questions leaning more toward emotional health differ greatly; users are certain to find it more evident how these well-rounded set of questions provide Calmerry a better sense of your qualms, in order to find your best match possible.
For some, unhealthy eating habits may reflect other mental health issues. For others, problems with intimacy may be causing undue stress and anxiety. Because the array of emotional questions differs greatly, I am confident in Calmerry's vast number of offered therapy types and their counselors.
Note: other services we have reviewed explicitly warn potential users who are suicidal or have recently had suicidal ideations, they will need to seek mental healthcare from a different provider; Calmerry doesn't state this as far as I can see, so I am uncertain of their official stance.
Tailoring Questions:
- I prefer a counselor with experience in: (can choose multiple answers from depression, anxiety, self-esteem, eating disorders, sexuality, LGTBQ, relationships, trauma, grief, other)
- Any other preferences for a therapist? (text box to fill in)
- Please describe your current situation in a few sentences (another text box)
Calmerry's move to grant users the ability to tailor their potential therapist's experience in several subjects, ensures the best of both, remote and in-person, worlds during one of the more painstaking processes in the journey to better mental health.
Therapy in-person allows us to seek out counselors who have experience in one or many specific fields, but it's also very hit-or-miss for a lot of people, because it isn't always apparent whether a therapist will mesh well with our particular needs, based on a name or reviews.
Remote therapy through online platforms, on the other hand, utilizes tech and other methods to pair users with therapists who are likely to fit a lot better than a random therapist from with a four star Yelp review score.
Combining these two factors seems a much more effective and time-saving method of finding a therapist to get you on the road to better mental health.
Survey Summary
After you complete the 15-20-something questions, Calmerry provides you with an emotional well-being score, determined by the answers to the assessment.
Finishing Your Sign-up
When you select the desired therapy package after you view your calculated emotional well-being score, you're also selecting the increments in which you'll pay Calmerry.
Two of the three plan options are paid monthly, one is paid weekly. Once you choose a plan, it's time to pay.
Safe Payment Options & Guarantee
Calmerry provides users plenty of payment options. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and even PayPal. It was a pleasant surprise to see the latter as an option, as many remote therapy platforms do not often grant users the choice to pay via PayPal, which is already a well-trusted service.
How Calmerry Works
Although largely ambiguous in some of their processes, Calmerry keeps their working formula simple.
Once you have paid and selected the plan that's right for you, you'll be paired with a therapist, licensed in your state, within 24 hours by the Calmerry team.
To get started on your personalized treatment designed by your therapist, you are encouraged to send a welcome message to your counselor when one has been assigned to you, but your therapist might just beat you to it and send you one first.
However many messages and video calls you exchange with your match, it will be done through Calmerry's safe, and HIPAA-compliant system.
Anyone interested in getting therapy, in-person, and online, should bear in mind the importance of finding the right therapist for your journey. By the very nature of therapy, most professionals in the field are inherently empathetic and supportive.
That said, not all matches are made in heaven; Calmerry makes it easy to get a different therapist if your match simply doesn't fit your specific journey, personality, and needs.
Types of Therapies Offered
While many remote mental health services offer different treatment options, Calmerry boasts an impressive abundance of therapies their professionals are qualified to treat you with, so users are certain to find a therapy that works for them.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT allows patients to react with less stress and anxiety from factors outside of their control. This therapy uses a combination of acceptance of hardships and stressors alongside the feelings that go with them, and commitment and behavioral changes. Clients foster mindfulness and build reliable coping skills to reframe their thoughts away from negativity and manage stress easier.
Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT)
This form of therapy is one of the most prevalent in the field, as it is widely successful across many different issues and clients. CBT essentially works to rewire, or train, your brain away from automatic negative thoughts and responses. This therapy works on several dimensions: nurturing self-awareness and emotional intelligence to help clients differentiate healthy versus distorted or toxic thoughts and feelings. The therapist will also work with the client to develop personal self-control techniques, with the result hopefully being the client develops into a more emotionally healthy individual.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT is a cognitive behavioral therapy, focusing on moving the client away from negative and potentially harmful thoughts and feelings. To combat the factors causing detrimental mental health to clients, DBT focuses on a four-faceted overhaul on each client's way of thinking. Mindfulness, fosters living in the moment; distress tolerance helps the client be able to handle a higher level of uncomfortable or unpleasant feelings instead of avoiding or escaping them; emotional regulation gives clients a plan of action or strategies to manage intense negative emotions; interpersonal effectiveness teaches clients how to have healthier and stronger relationships and communication skills.
Emotionally-focused Therapy (EFT)
EFT a focused therapy most often used for couples or family members looking to improve their relationships or personal emotional situation within a family dynamic.
Through three main steps (though, many models work on nine steps and stages, we are explaining only a few key steps), EFT aids clients with things like, rebuilding trust, helping heal grief, strengthen bonds, and handle trauma. First, EFT works by identifying and then de-escalating the negative cycles affecting the clients. Second, EFT restructures the clients' interactions with one another so they will seek to turn to each other, rather than push the other away. Third, which is consolidation, teaches clients to identify how they arrived at the negative cycles they did, how they broke away from said patterns, and how the clients are able to keep a healthy line of communication in the future.
Gestalt Therapy
Individuals who may get the most out of Gestalt therapy, may have recurring anxiety or stress, and have trouble living in the present as they are too focused on the past. In Gestalt therapy, clients gradually learn to embrace the here and now. They do so whilst simultaneously letting go of past experiences and hardships (which may be causing the client stress and anxiety), by acknowledging feelings the client likely avoided before.
Gestalt therapy places importance on living in the moment by giving your emotions the due respect and acknowledgement. This results in a healthier outlook in life, and a healthier relationship with yourself.
Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
IPT is used most to treat mood disorders, and helps clients improve their interpersonal issues and relationships which in turn aid in proper maintenance of distress. The goals IPT seeks to meet to be considered successful are: symptom resolution, improved interpersonal functioning, and increased the quality of their social interactions and relationships.
Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
This approach has wide uses, such as reducing stress, depression, anxiety, and even chronic pain. Mindfulness aims to increase personal awareness of our reactive thoughts and actions, and through that, deter unhealthy reactions that stimulate our stress, and instead, nurture healthier and more positive reactions.
Narrative Therapy
During Narrative Therapy treatment, counselors help clients divorce themselves mentally, to a certain extent, from problems they're afflicted with. With the change in perspective, clients gain the ability to mentally recreate the situation with a new narrative, giving them power to change thoughts and actions that better reflect them at their best.
The use of continued therapy will then present clients with opportunities to reflect the narrative they have worked alongside their therapist to build. With this, they build a healthier, more positive identity and relationship with stressful stimuli.
Psychodynamic Therapy
A sibling of psychoanalytic therapy, this form of therapy is stereotypically known as a lying-on-the-doctor's-couch, talk-based, therapy. It explores the relationships between the client, the external stimuli around them, and how it all affects them.
Response-based Practice
This approach challenges, and encourages clients to take an active role in resisting the various ways in which they may be victimized.
Schema-focused Therapy (SFT)
With SFT, the therapist finds schemas playing a detrimental part in the emotional and mental well-being in their client's life. The client, with the guidance of the therapist, then works on methods of reframing thoughts, and changing the reactions and coping mechanisms. Doing so breaks from unhealthy patterns, paving the way for healthy ones.
Solution-focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
SFBT moves away from uprooting and healing issues from a distant past, and focuses on the present and future circumstances and goals of the client. With the guidance of a counselor, clients hone in on their goals, know what their problems are, and commit to making behavioral and lifestyle changes to achieve said goals.
Calmerry Plan Options
Whichever therapy you and your counselor believe would be the right fit for you, you'll be able to discuss your options, and more, once you've selected a plan.
Though Calmerry states there is a payment plan to pay quarterly, we only found two payment options: weekly (limited to the messaging plan) and monthly.
There are also only two plans Calmerry offers:
Both plans offer unlimited secure messaging with your therapist, who will respond daily. You'll also have a personalized plan of action from your therapist to best serve your mental health needs. Lastly, both plans allow users to cancel any time.
The only difference apart from the price, is that you receive four separate 30 minute long video sessions with your therapist a month. If you or your therapist have issues with the connection, you'll be moved to a different “room” together, within the platform.
Pricing is competitive to other online mental health providers, and Calmerry seems to have offers every so often to invite new customers to try their service.
Customer Service
I contacted a customer service rep through the Live Chat to gauge the friendliness of the staff. I was happily surprised when the agent who tended to me was very helpful and respectful.
True to Calmerry's word, customer support was available at all hours of the day and night–something unexpected in any online service, no matter the business sector.
My Favorite Calmerry Factors
Calmerry's inclusivity at the beginning of the survey tells me the staff likely also seeks to work with mental health professionals who will mirror this.
My second favorite thing about Calmerry is their customer service availability. Their 24/7 live availability is practically unheard of, at the very least certainly difficult to match.
Calmerry Therapists
Every single therapist in the platform has been personally vetted by the Calmerry team. Each therapist in Calmerry has experience as mental health professionals, has a valid license to practice in their state, and is more than capable of providing family and individual therapy.
The Calmerry therapists team consist of clinical psychologists, marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, and licensed professional counselors.
All therapists in Calmerry have a Master's or a Doctorate in their field, so users can rest well knowing how well-qualified their match is. My own assigned therapist was friendly, approachable, empathetic, and supportive even after disclosing I was writing a review.
It should be noted that, unlike other online therapy services, Calmerry does not display or list their therapists on the website. At the time of this review, it is not known how many therapists are available on the platform as it is not possible to browse through therapist profiles to learn more about them.
Bottom Line
In some ways, Calmerry is ahead of its competitors, many of which were established long before Calmerry launched: a fully live, 24/7 customer service is rare, for example.
The many different therapy types give a calming sense, because you know you're likely to find a therapy best for your needs.
These therapies have been tried and true by mental health professionals in-office, and in peer-reviewed trials, to show progress in people's journey to a healthier, happier life.