BlahTherapy: A Comprehensive Review

Find online therapists near you on Zencare:
NYC | Boston | Chicago | Providence

Published: March 1, 2019 by Zencare Team

BlahTherapy is a free website where you can connect with, open up, and vent to strangers in a chat room-like environment.

Read more about the pros and cons of BlahTherapy in our comprehensive review, below.

Note: "Free therapy" often means you're speaking with individuals who aren't licensed or trained. To ensure you're receiving quality care – with the option of remote sessions, too – visit Zencare to browse our community of clinically excellent, professionally outstanding, and deeply compassionate clinicians.

What is BlahTherapy?

BlahTherapy is a website where you can chat anonymously with strangers, taking on the role of a "listener" or a "venter." BlahTherapy has options for individual anonymous chats, as well as forums where you can post a topic or question and anyone on the site can respond.

While BlahTherapy is free to use, they do advertise seeking talk therapy from BetterHelp (which costs about $40-$70 per week).

How does BlahTherapy work?

There are three options for using BlahTherapy. Here's how each one works:

Free chat: To chat with a stranger, you can choose to make an account or just proceed as a guest user. All that’s required is agreeing to the terms of the site, and then choosing whether you want to “vent” or “listen."

Free forums: In order to post on forums you need to make an account, which just requires an email address. You can read forum posts without an account.

Paid therapy: BlahTherapy partners with BetterHelp, which is a paid online therapy service. Therapy from BetterHelp, which is conducted virtually, costs between $40-$70 per week.

All you need to sign up for BlahTherapy is a valid email address. You can create a username, add a description of yourself, and indicate what types of topics you are interested in talking about on BlahTherapy.

Is BlahTherapy free?

Yes, using BlahTherapy is completely free. (Unless you go through their partner, BetterHelp, for paid online therapy).

What are some benefits of BlahTherapy?

You can be completely anonymous
There are no barriers to entry, since it’s free and you don’t have to make an account to chat with someone

What are some drawbacks to BlahTherapy?

Users who are “listeners” are not required to have professional training in mental health
Messaging with untrained peers is not a substitute for actual therapy
Trolling and other uncomfortable behavior is common on anonymous chats and forums on the internet

Is BlahTherapy private and confidential?

You can choose to be anonymous, but BlahTherapy doesn’t seem to have a robust security mechanism to protect your information.

According to their FAQ page: “You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any login information associated with any account you use to access our Resources. Accordingly, you are responsible for all activities that occur under your account/s.” [1]

What types of issues do people talk about in BlahTherapy?

You are invited to vent about whatever is on your mind. That said, here are popular topics discussed on BlahTherapy:

Abuse
Addiction
Bullying
Careers
Depression
Eating Disorders
Education
Grieving
Health & Fitness
Marriage
Mental Disorders
Parenting
Phobias
Relationships
Self Harm
Sexuality
Social Anxiety

Takeaway and conclusion for BlahTherapy:

BlahTherapy seems to be genuinely committed to fostering connection between strangers. It is not a substitute for therapy from a licensed professional, but if you have something to vent about – and you’re comfortable chatting online with a compassionate stranger – you can try BlahTherapy.

Note, however, that as the site itself warns, venting to a stranger can be incredibly dangerous if you are at a very mentally sensitive state.

If you're considering starting therapy, and want to test the waters with online sessions, visit Zencare to get total, well-rounded support from a licensed therapist.

You can filter by locations – including online therapy – and availability, cost and insurance, and also book free introductory calls to assess fit.

Find online therapists near you:

Find in-person therapists near you: