mental health therapist

licensed clinical social worker

family therapist

psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner

licensed professional counselor

Brightside Health

Brightside Health offers behavioral health and medical providers the opportunity to provide remotely delivered services via a HIPAA-compliant platform. Supportive clinical and administrative staff help facilitate new therapist's entry into Brightside. 

Working for a national telehealth company means not having to recruit or market to potential patients or deal with insurance companies. It's nice to know that I can have a steady influx of patients knowing that I only have to manage my clinical interactions directly with those patients as well as subsequent documentation. There are administrative support staff who help manage marketing, recruitment, technology, insurance, billing, and all the non-clinical aspects of mental health work which makes it easy to focus on the part that my educational and previous work backgrounds prepared me to do. The tradeoff does mean less direct salary than what you might get in a low-overhead private practice (or you, as the clinician, spending time on those other pieces). Given that all the clinical and administrative staff are scattered around the US/world due to the remote nature inherent in this type of company, it's a little harder to speak to culture or relationships with fellow service-providing colleagues. Interactions that take place over Slack messaging board/email are generally positive and administrative/clinical leadership on the therapy side seem responsive and helpful. 

There are few interactions with the medical prescription-providing staff, which is not much different than other integrated behavioral healthcare settings I've been at. Therapy sessions are shorter in duration than at my previous employment settings and that was part of my learning curve in joining Brightside. 

Overall, I love the technology integration in mental health service delivery that Brightside Health offers, including making use of the Unified Protocol so that I don't have to provide as much psychoeducation to patients as they have access to video-guided lessons. Messaging and interacting with patients outside of video sessions is not as onerous as I worried it could have been as video sessions are the primary conduit for interactions with patients. I would recommend Brightside Health for any mental health provider comfortable with technology and interested in remote service delivery.

Brightside is a solid company with a steady stream of consultations, making it relatively easy to build a caseload. There is room for professional growth, and management generally keeps therapist caseloads manageable. A typical day involves conducting back-to-back telehealth sessions, documentation, and responding to client needs. I learned how to work efficiently in a high-volume telehealth environment and gained experience managing a wide variety of clinical presentations.

The workplace culture is generally supportive, but I felt the company could do more to protect therapists financially and administratively. One of the hardest parts of the job is the compensation structure. Initial consultations are only 30 minutes and are compensated significantly less than the full intake sessions offered by many other telehealth companies, even though these appointments often require similar clinical decision-making and documentation. Additionally, cancellation fees are limited (approximately $35), which can substantially reduce expected income over time.

Another challenge was that many clients requested FMLA paperwork, disability documentation, work excuse letters, or financial aid forms despite having limited treatment history or inconsistent attendance. It often felt like these administrative demands were transferred from therapist to therapist without enough screening or support.

The most enjoyable part of the job was working with clients and having a consistent flow of consultations. Brightside can be a good place to gain experience or supplement income, but compared with other telehealth companies, the compensation model ultimately made it difficult for me to justify staying long term.

When I first joined Brightside, it felt like a dream come true. The pay was competitive, and the system was beautifully streamlined, making it easy to focus on providing quality care to clients. However, one week ago, Brightside made sudden, drastic changes that have left therapists feeling blindsided and deeply concerned.

Without clear explanation, the company announced significant pay cuts—far from minor—along with major scheduling changes that will inevitably lead to unused appointment time/slots. Despite repeatedly raising these concerns, leadership’s responses have been inadequate. While they hold Q&A sessions and acknowledge feedback, critical questions remain unanswered, and no adjustments have been made. The lack of transparency and consideration for how these changes impact clinicians is disheartening.

Most alarming is the reduction of intake sessions to just 30 minutes—a decision that disregards clinical best practices and ethical standards. The attempt to frame this as an exciting improvement is, frankly, unbelievable.

Brightside was once a place I proudly recommended. Now, it feels like an entirely different company—one that no longer prioritizes its therapists or, by extension, client care. Proceed with caution.

I am leaving some sections blank because I haven't worked here long enough to provide an opinion... however, so far I have been having a very positive experience. Compared to many other companies who hire for online therapy, this is the only one I found that uses an evidence-based protocol, and has a structured part with lessons and exercises + a flexible part with therapy/messages. I continue to have administrative and clinical assistance almost 24/7, as even if they are not supposed to be working, if they are around they are going to answer your questions. Also, the technical part is great, as they have set up a system in which you have everything at disposal (all the info about the client, their progress, their lessons, their responses, their appointments, access to documents/policies/templates/guides/note templates, therapist chat, administrative chat/clinical chat with management, etc.). You literally have everything you may need ready and available to you.. Also, with other companies I think it's a little harder to understand the pay, as they count the words you and your client use in the texts! At Brightside this doesn't happen, as there are flat fees for every service, and it's very easy to keep track of how much you are earning. I just started, as I said, so I do not have any additional details, but so far I am very very happy with this company!

I have a great deal of experience with working with companies to open up treatment centers from ground zero or that when I came they were severely dismantled. That experience has led me to gain a lot of knowledge in terms of what it takes to run a successful practice/program/business. I will tell you that Brightside has done an amazing job and if you are not happy at Brightside, you likely will not be happy anywhere. They offer amazing support, tools, resources, and did I say support?? lol They are there not only for the members but also for the mental health therapist/providers who are all here trying to help make the world a healthier place to live.  I appreciate them and all the do behind the scenes. There is very little that I would change and the small things that I would change.....I can see why they do because of being on the business end for so long. Anyway, KUDOS to Brightside....I am thankful for many things and this year, Brightside is on my list. :)

I have mainly worked in private practice, but when the opportunity came up to work telehealth I was interested, albeit skeptical. You've likely heard horror stories about telehealth companies. I know I had. 

Brightside is not one such company. 

Brightside has a fantastic intake process that let's me start off knowing everything I'd need or want to know about a client's status. They have comprehensive assessments, tracking of symptoms, and easy to use charting templates. 

They have outstanding support. There is a team solely there to provide technical support to client's, therapists, and psychiatrists. They also have an outstanding leadership team able to offer guidance, support, and answer questions in a timely and personable manner. Case consultations are offered regularly and you have complete autonomy in creating your schedule. 

The best part is, as great at the company is...they are not stopping. In the little over 6 months I've been with the company, they have continued to roll out improvements and take feedback, and do so with a level of grace and humility not common in the corporate world. 



You will not regret making the transition from private/group practice to Brightside. As a therapist providing services for the past decade to people from all walks of life (children, families, adults, couples, DHHS/foster-care, county/state inmates, and more) and CEU teacher, no other program has been more effective than this. You’ll feel like you did as a brand new therapist— hitting the ground running, I promise you that! Empathy fatigue will not exist. You’ll feel supported by Brightside’s readily accessible team and accommodated wonderfully no matter what stage of your career you’re in, YOU matter and you are never alone, there. The atmosphere is supportive, inclusive, and innovative. I’ve all but left private practice without having intending to, I’m so enjoyed being a provider. The reimbursement is fair, and scheduling is flexible. Also, you will see your therapeutic efforts unfold before your eyes; and quickly, which has been such a surprising and energizing experience. That, in itself, is the ultimate reward because after all, isn’t that why we are all here? We are here to help. Brightside gets it! Their program is phenomenal. I’m so glad they found me! 

Brightside may seem like a flexible telehealth option at first, but the workload expectations quickly became unsustainable. Full-time psychiatric providers are expected to manage large patient panels, which can impact care quality. The platform promotes a 90-day follow-up model that may not suit all patients’ clinical needs, and I found limited flexibility to adjust visit frequency based on clinical judgment. Messaging patients or initiating earlier follow-ups was discouraged, which affected continuity of care.

Additionally, providers are not given transparent access to monthly billing reports linked to their NPI, which made it difficult to track services rendered or reimbursement. There was also pressure to select specific CPT codes based on session length, even if the content of the session did not always align with that code.

While I enjoyed working with patients and appreciated the remote format, I found the lack of provider support and clinical autonomy challenging.

Typical day at Brightside is login to their platform, read messages, check out my calendar for any changes. Familiarize myself with the clients I will see that day and prepare for sessions.  This job could be stressful but its not. Its amazing. The company uses SLACK to communicate with therapists in real time. The staff at Brightside are nothing but friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. I feel they truly care abut their team of therapist because they are always asking us for feedback. They have made a lot of changes to their platform  and work processes that have only improved my experience working with this company. The most enjoyable part of the job is the staff and feeling supported, the hardest part of the job is not having as many clients as I would like on occasion. However, this is typical for most counseling jobs. Client census can go up and down.  I would not want to work anywhere else. Great job!

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Brightside Health as a clinician, and I couldn't be more impressed with their team and the onboarding process. From the moment I joined, it was clear that Brightside values its staff and prioritizes creating a positive, supportive environment. The onboarding experience was seamless and thorough, with clear communication, helpful resources, and ongoing support to ensure a smooth transition into the role.

The clinical team is incredibly knowledgeable, collaborative, and always open to feedback, which fosters a dynamic environment for personal and professional growth. I’ve truly enjoyed being part of a team that is passionate about providing excellent care and continuously improving the services we offer. Brightside Health is an exceptional organization, and I feel fortunate to be a part of it!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Mental health therapist 21 salaries reported	$89.57 per hour
Licensed clinical social worker 19 salaries reported	$89.63 per hour
Family therapist 19 salaries reported	$89.63 per hour
Psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner 18 salaries reported	$99.50 per hour
Licensed professional counselor 15 salaries reported	$89.53 per hour

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