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About Ginger Mental Health
Ginger is an on-demand healthcare system that provides virtual care by way of an app. The convenient service delivers 24/7 text-based behavioral coaching, scheduled therapy and psychiatry sessions, and 200+ resources and tools all through your smartphone.
Covered by a range of insurance programs, Ginger is used in offices across America including Sephora, BuzzFeed, and TaskRabbit. Its unique approach has drawn attention from Fast Company, Insider, NBC News, and many other notable media outlets.
Coming up in this Ginger mental health review, you’ll find all the critical details about the brand and how its service works, feedback, and answers to important FAQs to help you decide if it’s something you’d like to try.
Overview of Ginger Mental Health
According to Hopkins Medicine, 26% of Americans aged 18+ struggle with a mental disorder every year, while 13% of the world struggles with a mental health disorder or substance issue.
And of course, the last two years of isolation and stress have only made things worse, leading 59% of Americans to report feelings of decreased mental health. Ginger was founded back in 2011, but more recently, it’s gained immense popularity for the way its services are provided—when they’re needed.
Instead of waiting around for your next therapy session, Ginger’s behavioral coaching fills the gaps, providing members with as much, or as little, support as they need. Sometimes, a simple conversation with an understanding coach makes all the difference.
The brand was brought to life by Karan Singh and Dr. Pentland. While the platform’s website tells us that Dr. Pentland has been called one of the “7 most powerful data scientists in the world,” Singh was the one who came up with its name.
Inspired by the ginger tea his mother used to brew for him as a child in Southeast Asia, the spicy root is used by many to treat the beginning signs of illness before they escalate. Like ginger root is preventative medicine, Ginger offers preventive therapy that helps members talk and deal with issues before they take over.
Using the devices we all have attached to our hips, Ginger makes mental health care accessible, quick, convenient, and available around the clock. The brand is based in San Francisco and soon, will be teaming up with Headspace and merging into one universal platform called Headspace Health that will provide care to people in over 200 countries.
Now that you know a little bit more about the brand, where it came from, and where it’s going, this Ginger mental health review will shine some light on its highlights.
Highlights
- Offers coaching, therapy, and psychiatry
- On-demand service—takes 60 seconds to connect to a coach
- 24/7 coaching, 365 days a year
- 200+ activities and resources
- Covered completely by insurance
- Available in 50 states and 50+ countries
Round-the-clock care is really important when it comes to mental health. In fact, Ginger says that 76% of its members use the service outside of regular business hours.
Low moods and anxiety can strike at any time, but with traditional counseling, you’d have to wait until your next session to talk about them. Unfortunately, you can pretty much forget moving up your appointment thanks to how busy offices are across the United States.
This brand’s accessible and quick program gets you the help you need when you need it. In the next section of this Ginger mental health review, we’ll walk you through what’s involved with the service, how it works, and how you can sign up. Let’s get started.
Ginger Mental Health Review
Ginger is a dynamic platform that combines coaching with tools and resources to help you cope and work through roadblocks—all delivered through text-based chat. Only if a coach determines you require further care will they refer you to one of their certified therapists or psychiatrists.
If you are referred to one of the service’s therapists or psychiatrists, your plan with a Ginger coach will pause and you will start up your new scheduled video sessions. These sessions will be as frequent as you need, but they are pre-scheduled and take your experience from text-based to face-to-face video calls.
Though getting an appointment isn’t a matter of seconds like its coaching services are, seeing someone takes just a few days. This timeline is amazing considering that some therapists have year-long waiting lists. Also, should you ever need medication, your Ginger psychiatrist will write you a prescription that will be delivered to your door.
Next up, we’ll show you exactly what’s involved in the Ginger App and what kind of care you can expect to receive.
Ginger App Review
The care you receive on Ginger is delivered through its easy-to-use app. Helping with all kinds of challenges (relationship issues, stress, etc.), anytime you need to chat, its certified coaches will be there for you—whether it’s after Christmas dinner or right before your workday starts.
And because Ginger is app-based, it’s available for those in all 50 states as well as in over 50 countries around the world. Once you download the app and sign up, it takes just 60 seconds to speak to a coach.
By the way, those helpful coaches have received an average rating of 4.7/5 stars from those who use the app.
In addition to coaching, the Ginger App gives you access to over 200 activities and resources with more added weekly. These will be chosen uniquely for you by your coach and include stress-reducing activities and ways to help negate anxiety that coincide with the support you receive from your coach.
These activities are quick but effective, and take about 5 minutes on average to complete. It’s important for us to note here that Ginger’s services are only available through its app. To sign up, follow these steps:
- Download the app on Google Play Store or the App Store
- Click ‘Let’s Begin’ on the home screen
- Enter your health plan information including:
- Name
- Date of Birth
- Member ID
- Enter your payment information
- Get the help you need
Once you’ve signed up, you have access to Ginger’s services for 30 days. Even though you have to enter your payment information, the only time the platform will ever charge your card is if there is a co-pay fee, if you failed to cancel an appointment and didn’t show up, or if your employer doesn’t cover clinical visits.
Who Is Ginger Mental Health For?
During this Ginger mental health review, we found out that 47% of the platform’s users came to the service after not finding the care they needed during the pandemic. But people turn to counseling or mental health resources for a number of reasons, not just during times when they’re feeling isolated.
For the most part, people love Ginger for its on-demand model that provides virtual care and text coaching. It’s convenient, fast, and available 24/7, so it’s a great idea for anyone who’s looking for help around the clock and wants to get it on their own agenda.
It takes just seconds (no, really) to connect with a virtual health coach (real people, not compassionate robots). Plus, if needed, you can have a video appointment with a therapist in a matter of days. Compare that to being placed on a year-long waitlist.
Is Ginger Mental Health Sustainable?
Since Ginger Health is covered by insurance, the service is quite sustainable, as depending on who you get insurance through, you’ll never have to pay a penny to get help. And since it’s all delivered by way of an app, it’s super convenient, meaning it’s easy to access care whenever you need it.
Do affordable + convenient = sustainable? We think so because 70% of members report feeling a lift in depression symptoms in 10-14 weeks of use. Want to take a break from coaching? You can, anytime. But having Ginger in your back pocket is a resource you can feel confident in for times when you need some extra help.
Ginger Mental Health Reviews: What Do Customers Think?
When signing up for anything new, it’s kind of important to get the full scoop. Though we can provide all of Ginger’s stats, we need to hear from those who have used it to get an accurate idea of what it’s really like.
For this section of our Ginger mental health review, we combed the web for helpful feedback. We’ve pooled together comments that mention what the platform’s coaches are like and if the service has proven beneficial for those who use it.
Our first stop was in the Ginger mental health reviews section of the App Store which showed an overall score of 4.5/5 stars from 59 users. Here, we learned that once many users start using the app, they don’t stop. Take this example:
“It has almost been 2 years since I started my journey with Ginger. I am very happy and proud of the progress I have been making; thanks to my coach. She is super relatable and has been helping me much to understand myself…she has given me simple but effective tools to control my emotions.”
The wonderful coaches are the number one things users write about, which is understandable as having the right one can make all the difference. We love that Ginger has a range of professionals with experience in different backgrounds and that they make it easy to connect with one that suits your needs.
For our next source of feedback, we checked out a Ginger mental health review page on G2.com. The page only has 2 reviews, but both awarded the service 5/5 stars.
Speaking of its benefits, one comment read, “This service that my company provides has been unbelievably helpful and has boosted productivity because when my outside of work is going smoothly, my at work self benefits. Easy to maneuver and you’re assigned three experts.”
This Ginger mental health review brings up an important point and is one of the reasons so many big-name workplaces like BuzzFeed and Optum choose it as an option for their employees. When you feel better, you concentrate better and are more productive. That’s not the end goal, but it is a positive side effect.
Finally, we checked out a website called App Grooves, a place where 1.8k people came to review Ginger. The overall 4/5 star rating broke down like this:
- 5 stars: 68%
- 4 stars: 8%
- 3 stars: 1%
- 2 stars: 4%
- 1 star: 18%
The majority of positive reviews are about how much the service has helped users’ mental health. We’ll also point out here that the only negative reviews are about the app itself—not the service. From that, we learn that the majority of people who use Ginger receive quality service.
We came across one Ginger mental health review that spoke of the difference the convenience of the app made with their mental wellness. It read, “Whenever I have had a more pressing concern, I have the ability to contact services and they have worked with my care team to get me information or care sooner if I was in between appointments.”
The rest of the review read, “Ginger’s convenience and structure has helped pick me up from probably one of the most difficult places I’ve ever been in my life.” Making our hearts explode with knowing how much of a difference Ginger can make, services like this are some of the ones we feel most proud to review, as they truly are invaluable.
Overall, it appears that Ginger is highly appreciated as was around before one of the most critical times in existence for mental health, proving beneficial for thousands of users. Learning about the high-caliber quality of service provided by its coaches, we were really swept away by this platform.
Is Ginger Mental Health Worth It?
We love wellness services that approach health from all angles. Coaching and therapy are great, but a lot of the time, improving one’s mental state requires a combination of tools which is why we appreciate the 200 resources and activities that Ginger provides alongside its one-on-one sessions.
The platform is revolutionizing mental health care and filling the spaces where traditional therapy gaps—such as after-hours, holidays, or fully-booked therapist schedules.
Completely covered by various types of insurance, you don’t need to pay anything to access the platform’s coaching services or activities. That, blended with how convenient the app is, how fast it is to chat with a coach, and the quality of service received reported by members, we 100% believe that Ginger is worth trying out.
Ginger Mental Health Promotions & Discounts
Though we didn’t find any promotions offered during our research for this Ginger mental health review, we did notice that the service accepts insurance. This isn’t a discount per se but it is a big benefit that will save you money in the long run.
Where to Buy Ginger Mental Health
Signing up for Ginger requires that you download the app. To do that, you can either head to the Google Play store or the App Store depending on which device you own, Android or iPhone.
FAQ
Who owns Ginger Mental Health?
Upon digging around for the answer to this question, we found that Dr. Pentland owns Ginger Mental Health, although it may be a joint ownership between him and Karan Singh, the service’s COO.
What is Ginger Mental Health’s Privacy Policy?
When browsing its Privacy Policy, the first thing Ginger stated was that it respects your privacy. Though it does collect certain information like personal details (name, email, etc.), track your website visits to analyze and improve website design, and uses cookies to track its visitors, the brand never shares any of it.
If you would like your personal information deleted from the service’s database, send an email to [email protected]. When you do this, your entire profile will be deleted and you will no longer be able to use the service.
What is Ginger Mental Health’s Refund Policy?
After signing up for Ginger coaching and content, while you won’t be able to get a refund, you can swap to a different coach that may be a better fit for your needs.
Ginger is a month-by-month service. That means that after 30 days have passed, if you do not want to continue using the app, just simply stop using it. Your membership won’t auto-renew.
Just keep in mind that if you have an appointment booked but do not wish to use the service anymore, or need to cancel an appointment, you’ll need to do that at least 24 hours before the time of that appointment.
If you do not give enough time or fail to cancel altogether, you will be charged a $125 fee. Exemptions are granted on a case-by-case basis.
How to Contact Ginger Mental Health
If you need any other information that wasn’t included in this Ginger mental health review, you can get in touch with the brain in two ways:
- Send a letter to 116 New Montgomery St, 5th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA
- Write an email to [email protected] with all your questions
Need some more help with your everyday health? Here are a few more options you can consider:
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