LifeStance HealthReviews of lifestance.com

The service they provided was great. No complaints there, but I will complain about is the fact they held an estimated amount of the service on my credit card until my insurance company paid them. The expected refund amount was over $200. It took them over 2 1/2 months to give it back to me after many conversations with them in which each time I receive a different story. This is absolutely unacceptable. There’s no reason they should hold somebody’s money hostage while they figured it out on their end. It’s just gross.

No direct communication. Don’t know who or what to call. Was told I wasn’t a patient/client and I am one. My appointments are not heard, they are dictated and uncomfortable.

The therapists are average but the company is TERRIBLE. Between billing issues and a patient portal that rarely works they are more than just difficult to work with. They have a “no exceptions” 48 cancellation policy for patients but have no problem with therapists canceling appointments at the last minute. They are the therapeutic equivalent of a McDonalds drive thru.

I was charged $100 for not cancelling an appointment that I didn't make. I have tried to get this corrected, and if it does, I will come back and amend this review. Edit 6.11.26: Took this long, but they finally removed the charge. Still won't be going back....

I have had great success with two different providers. Be prepared to work with a billing department that is completely incompetent. For all of my visits this year I was charged a copay despite having a copay of $0. They continue to bill me for each visit despite knowing I am not responsible so now I have a balance that is erroneous. I had a visit in January where I paid a copay but LifeStance never submitted this visit to my insurance company so I am unable to get my money back until the insurance claim is processed. I have called many, many, many times to ask them to submit a claim from over 3 months and they still haven’t done it.

I had been seeing an ok psychiatrist and a phenomenal therapist for a few years. My beef is with Lifestance as a whole, and their predatory business strategy to turn something as delicate as mental health into a one-size-fits-all corporate money grab. Issue #1 - They will email, text and call you several times to confirm each appointment. If you opt out of their automated harassment, it permanently blocks any further text or email so you cannot sign forms or correspond about your care at all, except for in the patient portal. Of course they stopped using the portal in favor of a likely cheaper, useless, and impractical software called Phreesia that emails you a link prior to your appointment. Unless it doesn’t. The link expires after the visit and there is no way to get back in to your profile. This segues perfectly into Issue #2 - Since they have changed their systems for billing and telehealth several times there was never a clear picture of what my payment was and when I was supposed to pay it until a large balance built up. I take full responsibility for not making my payments, but they have taken NO responsibility for being evasive about what was due and how/when to pay it. At one in-person appointment that they required I attend, the receptionist asked if I wanted to make a payment for the visit. I said yes and she handed me an iPad to go into their maze and figure it out myself! At one point in my treatment, unbeknownst to me my insurance benefits changed my out of pocket expense to be triple what it was previously. If that was made clear to me I would have reduced the number of sessions I scheduled instead of amassing $400 per month in charges. They just kept charging and when the balance became too large, they told me to contact their billing department to set up a payment arrangement. I reached out to their call center, I told them an amount I could pay monthly and I was told I would get a call back from a supervisor, as they would have to give approval. I never received a call back. I called again, and was told there was no payment arrangement that could be made, I had to pay them $X monthly, there were no other options. I told them it was more than I could afford and asked if they could work with me on a slightly lower monthly payment with a longer term. I was told a supervisor would call me back. Again, no one called. I called yet again. They made it clear that there were no other options. I could pay them the amount they chose or they would not allow me to see my wonderful therapist anymore. It was also apparent that no one ever intended to call me back any of these times. It was their way or the highway. I told them that sounded like a lose-lose situation. I would lose my services and then why would I be in a hurry to pay them? Proceed with caution, they are aware that they have the upper hand and a vulnerable client base.

Money grabbers. Constantly overbilling, no one in billing seems to know what is going on or communicates. Have poured hundreds of dollars into them. Consistently need to make a full payment on account to see providers, even when claims are in process. Frequent, unnecessary visits to bill up. Thumbs down. Very bad experience overall.

There are so many issues. Billing is a nightmare. The counselor I was assigned told me I couldn't have any stresses or a hard life because I didn't have children. She focused every appointment on a checklist instead of asking me what I wanted the counseling for. I felt very much like I was not a patient but just a task on her to-do list. My partner has abusive tendencies and we wanted to find ways to work through them, but she said the problem was that I was not kind enough to my abuser and I needed to use more gentle parenting with my partner so he wouldn't feel triggered to abuse me. It was a very invalidating experience.