7 Cups: Online Therapy & Chat Reviews

by Aadhduddudhd

A couple years ago you may could occasionally have found a decent person to talk to that’s considered a “listener “, that’s the only free service they offer. Now, not the story. In the past hour I have tried 5 times to talk to one, you either get the person who replies with 1 word, or doesn’t seem to know what to say, although in real life I’ve seen an actual therapist fall asleep at a desk, so ying/yang. Any one of the so called listeners wether one word replies or not, cannot get more than 2 minutes into a conversation without saying “gotta go”, or just stop responding all together. And altho I have a degree in psychology, sometimes it’s just nice to be able to spill it all to a stranger late a nite when U can’t sleep. The course they have to become a listener is a joke. If U take the course and select the wrong answer to a question all U have to do to pass it is keep clicking buttons until U have the correct answer and it doesn’t give a score if U click the wrong button. So basically anyone could pass the “listener “ test just by clicking buttons til they all show green. Not a good system.

by Ktperulima

7 Cups has been misleading and dishonest with me about whether their online therapy had video calls. If you look at the therapy page, it doesn’t clearly state that meeting with a therapist is messaging only, so I subscribed, immediately saw there were not video calls, and immediately cancelled my subscription. When I emailed them, I got very cryptic replies, at first only refunding $50 of the $125 I paid with no reason why it was that amount. I requested again to receive the rest of my money refunded, and their email reply took much longer this time, 4 days later finally saying that they granted a “full refund” of $70 more. There were still $5 remaining they never refunded. I requested again that they refund my remaining money, and they have refused to respond to my request, it has been 1 month with no response. They have also never provided their reasoning as to why they only paid $50 then $70. This makes me feel like this company is purposefully being misleading and dishonest through lack of transparency. I asked them to delete my account as I don’t want to be involved in any more of these dishonest and non transparent transaction, and I hope 7 Cups amends their business practices to be more transparent in the future, especially because the other features of their website like meditation techniques and listeners are a good idea.

by Prefer Real Therapy

At first I was genuinely in love with 7Cups after I had heard it was free therapy in which real therapists or volunteers would willingly and professionals help people with serious problems. But no, when I used 7Cups, I was given 7 random users to choose from (who were teenagers) who simply chose the “listen” feature of 7Cups . 7Cups says that it respects your privacy, but the random users hardly agree to such. When I finally was assigned a user after waiting a week, I explained all of my problems to him in 1 short paragraph about my issues with focusing and maintaining motivation and a good mindset. He told me “clear your head and just study,” which is completely useless because I obviously can’t. And when I told him that didn’t help, “it’s just not that simple,” he replied with a sad-faced emoji. His 3 word responses showed little interest and professionalism.

7Cups also made me take a quiz about ADHD and the help hotlines kept popping up on my phone, that was it. No professional was linked to these quizzes to help prevent any suffering, but linked to a randomly chosen teenager.

As my final statement, no one should ever rely on 7Cups for help because the user may respond with 🙁 and leave you on read. If anyone were in a state of such emergency in need to call the suicide hotline, 7Cups would worsen the conditions in which the struggling user would already be sick of; being ignored and feeling helpless.

by Savagepanda2

I wrote a lot to my therapist about what I wanted to get out of my therapy and all I got back was “those sound like good goals” and I got sent a bunch of links to meditation audio and a book. $150 a month is a good amount of money for me to spend and this was a waste. I was expecting for someone to actually read what I wrote. I feel worse now because I feel like I’ve wasted $150 (charge already went through).

I’ve been speaking with their customer service via email since February 7th and was offered a discount on my next month service (which I declined). I said I’d be fine with switching to their $50 per month 1 message per week plan. This was on February 24th and I haven’t heard back from their customer service since. DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE. They won’t refund your $150 if you’re not happy.

I disputed the credit card charge at the end of February and now (March 23rd) my bank is asking me to mail or fax signed agreements and cancellation confirmation that they have to receive by March 30th. I feel like this is going to stress me out more than it already has so I’m not going to bother. So even if you dispute the charge once they refuse your refund, you won’t get one.

by SniperGetter

Many listeners are very critical in forcing their views and opinions onto your personal situation instead of just listening. I had one go off on me while I was venting expressing their opinion how “stupid” I was to them making my situation and my experience seem insignificant. Many want you to get to the point quickly so they no longer have to listen to you as well instead of talking you through it. Even the “5 star” listeners. At the end of the day these are just people with their own problems and their trying to distract themselves by helping others which is unhelpful in the end. Many only reply once to say Hello and never reply again. And they put a limit to how many listeners you’re able to connect with daily with, in situation where listeners don’t reply after the first reply how does that limit make any sense? Not to mention many male listeners acted in appropriately trying get me to add them on social media websites, clearly trying to prey on somebody in a vulnerable situation which is DISGUSTING. I’m able to see right through but, I feel sorry for others who can’t. This platform shouldn’t exist, and shouldn’t be used.

by Mmmb0

Signed up to test it out after several weeks of a lot of stress. At the time, their app stated that refunds could be made if I wasn’t happy w their service.

I only messaged the counselor for 1 day, but she didn’t seem to have experience with my types of issues, and then I cancelled a couple weeks later. Only at that time was I told that there was a much shorter timeframe to receive a refund: 3 days. Their rebuttal was that their website states this, and it’s shown clearly if you check out using their actual website rather than 7Cups .

However, I did not use the website to check out, 7Cups check out page did not state this (this is the part I find extremely misleading and unfair), and their FAQ pages at that time did not state 3 days anywhere (also extremely misleading).

Really don’t trust them after this experience, and would not recommend them based off this. I even sent screenshots of their FAQ to show they were missing this critical information.

To me it shows they are okay with less than ethical business practices, they don’t have empathetic customer service, and perhaps they are in need of the money so they’re willing to keep funds from a customer who definitely did not use $150 worth of therapy.

All signs which point to the potential for more poor experiences with this service and the potential to take advantage of customers, which is very bad for a service which purports to help folks - like a payday loan.

by YikesGal

Great concept, but could absolutely be done better. You can vent, yes, but more often then not it can take forever to find a listener. And with that, when you do have a listener, all of my experience with them have been extremely poor. They clearly had no idea what they were doing (despite there being a “mini course” you must take and pass to become a listener) and have even left the conversation completely, or had me leaving feeling worse. To make all of this even worse, being a listener is a complete gamble. I decided to try being a listener out to maybe help people that had a bad experience, but even being one of this was difficult! Once my account was fully set up, I right away had requests from charters which I accepted. All of those times, they were just trolls that made explicit sexual comments and remarks which made me feel sick to my stomach. I had high hopes in potentially helping people through 7Cups, but all I got was just a mess of ridiculously easy “training,” sexual harassment, and disappointment. You’re better off just seeing a counselor or finding a friend to talk to.

by @lexisitz

I’m a listener and a member I go back a forth with these accounts. They’re allways some sort of nasty or mean people that are either a listener or a member. I got told many rude things. That obviously bothered me so much. Tho I love being a listener it makes me feel great in myself. Till I tried getting into my account and it said something about application denied. So I’m very confused. And I checked my emails on it and I have no emails. I even tried joining on my phone and it started glitch like crazy. People around me where looking at me weirdly because of that. It’s so hard to get fast reply from support. Tho I just want my account back and im just so confused why this has happen. It’s a bit wrong that they didn’t even send me a reason why they did this. Overall im just upset about what has happen and how it glitched my phone so bad that I had to deleted 7Cups and that they didn’t send a message why they did this. And the people on 7Cups doesn’t help at all. They said nasty just nasty rude things.

by No One Important ✌️️

I downloaded 7Cups because I have a lot wrong as far as mental illness, but being someone who struggled with self harm for years and having it took me years to stop when I entered a group chat to talk and maybe feel better just to see “just cut a little” “don’t let anyone see” as if self harming is healthy definitely made me feel much worse. I understand why people do it, I did it, but it’s still not healthy and if you’re trying to help people get better you either need to monitor the group discussions for things like this or do away with them and only have listeners, but as is it takes forever to get a listener, if you get a listener, and most disappear on you in the first few messages. 7Cups has a lot of work to be done if you really intend on helping, because if i had stayed in that group and said how I’ve felt recently, I wouldn’t only feel worse but likely have intentions to do something harmful to my self because I would have been told “do it, its okay, it’ll make you feel better” by the others in the group. The only really useful aspects is that you can pay to have a therapist (which not everyone can afford making 7Cups near useless to them if they really need help), the small but beneficial activities to fill your cup, and the bots which only listen but are very useful when all you need is to vent because it literally does practically nothing besides listen.

by Jellybeans11

I used 7Cups for about a month, talking to a listener when I wanted to just talk and it was really nice. I recommend it for people that wanna get stuff off their chest, but don’t have anyone to tell it to. The concept and purpose of 7Cups are pretty good.

My only problem is that I can’t seem to get back in. I wanted to check up on a chat with one of my listeners, but when I opened 7Cups , the little loading circle would appear instantly and nothing would ever load. I could change the page I was on, but it wouldn’t load anything (for example, I could go to the chat page, but the chat itself would load/update). I tried deleting 7Cups and reinstalling, and I got was the same problem as soon as I pressed the log in button. I checked my WiFi and restarted my phone, but nothing has worked. And for some reason I can’t reach it online either. Idk if 7Cups is just down, but I’d love to be able to get back in.

by Mayoversun

Ok. I feel like when going into 7Cups for new comers you need to know these are not real therapist. Theirs some things in 7Cups that needs help. Like some of their community chat platforms whatever seems to encourage some bad behavior. Also some of their listener’s can not be the best. I feel like the training of listeners should be longer than just 40 minutes. But their is some good in 7Cups and great potential. Like maybe 7Cups should be like a sorting system. Like a listener can choose 1-4 things they surely can talk about and relate to. And a member can pick what is their main problem is. And can either be given a choice of listeners. Or that certain category can be given to people who can help. Rather than to anyone who is available. But I can say there are some good people on 7Cups . Most of the listeners I had we’re really helpful. And others were not the best. Just a word of caution know what your getting in to. Theirs not really a lot of professionals on here. Some listeners are going to be helpful and some will not. The people on their are mostly there to hear you rant.

by CoyoteCrunch

I was excited to see an app that helped offer a free version of help for people who need someone to talk too. However after NUMEROUS attempts at talking to listeners all of them either don’t respond from the beginning or as soon as I bring up what I want to talk about, they stop responding at all and I’m at square one again. I tried both picking my own listener and letting the apps robot pick one for me. This kind of treatment really made it feel like the listeners don’t even care about what I need to talk about. Which for anyone who is probably a more sensitive person than me with their issues might take a bad way of “great even people who are suppose to listen to me don’t even want too, I’m worthless to even people who don’t know me”

Again great idea but there needs to be a way to actually get responsive listeners 7Cups could really be something.

Other than the issues with the listeners I do appreciate the guided steps to fill your cup that have a lot of small and simple activities to help you along your way. Loved those!

by Subject A5 The Fangirl

i'm both a listener and member here and the idea is great. a place where you can volunteer to help people or reach out for help. i love the community and the general idea of 7 cups. however, it has several flaws. both 7Cups and site are slow and crash constantly, which is frustrating if you're a member seeking immediate support and if you're a listener trying to respond to your members promptly. the site as a whole is very outdated, from the issues of slowness and disorganization, the confusing forums, and several help guides, instructions, etc. that are no longer useable and need to be updated. the other issue i have is with the system. it's very easy to become a listener which is not good because often people will join specifically to bully people seeking help or just don't really put in the necessary effort when listening and leave members feeling worse off than when they came. i was very surprised how much slower things are on the member side. as a listener, things are somewhat slow, but i waited for 20+ minutes to connect with a listener when i logged in as a member. this doesn't add up because they claimed the wait time to be about 2 minutes. i don't think it was an issue of listeners not picking up my request but of my request not being visible to them. overall i like and support what they're trying to do i just think they could use some major improvements and updates

by Squid0

I am both a listener and a member of 7 Cups. I have experienced mostly good things here. There are actual therapists that you can get in touch with, as well as trained listeners who can be there to support you while you vent, or help you to find new ways to calm down and feel better. I’ve enjoyed it so much as a member. As a listener, it can be hard sometimes because there are 20 people waiting for a listener usually, and at least 5 of those people are usually trolls and will just send nasty and explicit messages. If you’re reading this, and are thinking about making a troll account, YOU ARE TAKING TIME AWAY FROM THOSE WHO ACTUALLY NEED OUR HELP and it’s NOT COOL. I gave 7Cups 4 stars, because not every listener is going to the the right listener for you. Sometimes you have to talk to one or two people before finding someone you feel comfortable with, but that’s the same with finding your own therapist too, sometimes. 7Cups can be super helpful, the good far outweighs the bad!

by Dissatisfied IFD

So I was a teen and going through a pretty stressful move, and I was stuck inside all day and had not a lot of contact with the outside world. I got really depressed and had suicidal thoughts daily. I wanted to get help but I wanted it to be anonymous and I didn’t want to trouble anybody. I found 7 cups and it helped me immensely. All there was was encouraging stuff and, after about 5 months of using it, I was depression free. I gladly deleted 7Cups and I have been amazing ever since.

This is a wonderful app for those who need an out and somebody to talk to and get advice from. I think the group chats should be monitored because there’s a lot of stuff on there that hinders some people instead of helping. But overall, I think 7 cups helped me get rid of my depression and I am a better person today because of it.:)

by BrightVibes

I found 7Cups when I was at a low point in life, but I didn’t actually want to speak out loud. I am pretty introverted, but this particular space of life I was in, I didn’t really know how to articulate how I was feeling. Typing it out really helped. I was fortunate to find Listeners that really cared, and was able to vent in a safe space.

Soon after, I came back as a Listener. I have been able to speak to over 100 people, and have had people return back to update me on their lives, and vice versa. I love being able to check back up on people who had reached out to me, and watch them progress. There’s no way to make sure every single interaction is perfect, but don’t give up hope. There really are a lot of quality Listeners who are more than happy to spend time with you, making sure you can keep your hope alive. ♡

Thank you 7 Cups, for giving me a space to be heard, and for giving me a space to give back.

by Livelyday

i had been struggeling with being stuck and unhappy for a long time, month and months on this issue, i got really upset one night and no one was awake to talk to me, so i found 7Cups. after useing it for one night i realized the issue was different than i thought it was, and after useing it for a second night i found a solution that had almost no downside, i didnt need to do anything drastic like i thought, it was so simple. i had 7Cups for two days and it solved a problem thats been stuck with me for months. i cant get over that, thats so amazing!! while 7Cups itself might be a little finicky, the community is lovley the activities are actually helpful, and Noni the bot is my favorite thing ever! thank you for making me feel better tonight than i have in months

by Aubriellerogers

If you can’t afford actual therapy, they offer different plans for you to talk to certified counselors. If you still can’t afford that or you just need someone to talk to, they have your back there too. Their whole support system is fantastic for whatever may be plaguing you. Anything from anxiety/depression to dealing with medical issues within your life. I highly recommend getting 7Cups.
But with all apps, give them the benefit of the doubt. Don’t let one iffy conversation sway you against them. They have so many people who offer to help and each of them help in many different ways.
Not to mention their customer service, while not the most timely, will help you out as much as they can if not beyond.
I am not being paid of primped to write this review. This is from me, a very satisfied and happy user of 7Cups.

by Cmsxx

Wow! this app is truly amazing. There really isn’t any other way to describe it. It’s an environment of mostly intelligent and caring individuals who are real people, helping real people. The bots at this app helps teach amazing lessons about overcoming anxiety, depression, social disorders, LGBT+ issues, relationship issues, domestic issues and abuses, as well as keep a journal of your day to day struggles by asking questions such as what have you accomplished today, are you proud of this, and what you wish you could’ve done better or accomplished. Listeners are well trained, and many go above and beyond what is asked of them.

If you’re going through something, or need support for anything, give this app a try. You won’t regret it. It’s a great alternative to traditional therapies, as you find your path and grow with the support of other amazing individuals, from the comfort of your own home, or anywhere really!

by Saleem's Honesty

It’s hard to talk about 7 Cups without sounding like some paid advertisement, but honestly, this site (and with the conscience of 7Cups making it accessible) has truly changed my life in a positive manner.

I highly recommend anyone who deeply feels that what 7 Cups is reaching out to do sounds like it’ll be something that interests them to definitely check out the site and download 7Cups . Since I have, I’ve truly felt a sense of positive progression and fulfillment in my life which has been seriously lacking for quite a long time.

My only downside for 7Cups would be in the technical department where sometimes navigating to find a specific conversation that I had with someone isn’t as smooth sailing as it should be. 7Cups doesn’t do the greatest job at directing you to the particular reply or upvote that your post got in the Notifications section.

If it does, then perhaps I thought it’d be shown to me how to get there with a simple click of a button like another other Notifications section on a social interaction/communication-based app.

However, the intentions are great and the grand scope results and life-wise reward is beyond satisfying. I cannot emphasize enough that anyone looking to find some form of therapy or just someone to talk to or perhaps listen to may at least want to give 7 Cups a shot.

by CH904

I used to use this app a few years ago and it was all fine and dandy. It helped me feel better and it was great. I downloaded it again and found out that on both the site and 7Cups that you have to pay. This makes me extremely mad! Not only do people need free counseling, but who is actually going to pay for this?! This is so annoying and inconveniencing and I am very angry at this! Real counseling that you have to go to is 1 expensive, 2 can take up a lot of time, 3 can be hard to get to, 4 can take up time in busy schedules. This is very hard for me to understand why they would do this. this app was convenient and free and helped me a lot, but now you have to pay for everything!! Plus, people who need help aren’t very inclined to pay for it when they really need it are they? By having it free and easy it was a lot easier then having to pay and put in personal info and all of that stuff. The new this app is very bad. I really hope that the this app creators read this review and realize that they need to change this.

by Lukey39

I am genuinely seeking to enter the mental health field (I wont use the term ‘industry’ for my own sanity)…Tonight was my last attempt to act on my ‘naivety’ about people…Anyway, I signed up as a ‘listener’ months ago…I followed all the bot’s suggestions, guidance, training, rebuttals, etc…
So I had a university girl from Germany claiming to be having a severe panic attack…After trying breathing exercises, calming phrases/techniques, I suggested that she call either a hospital or emergency service (it was 4 am there, supposedly)…
She claimed to have ‘fainted’…I shouldve disconnected right there, but the ‘naive goodness’ in me had to finish it the correct way…She was practically begging me to help her…Why would someone pretend to be on the verge (10 out 10 on a scale as per her words) for an hour?
Regardless of her or anyone’s motives, I sought help through the ‘support forum’…Juggling between the two chatrooms…Someone designated as a ‘supporter’ reached out to me… I explained the situation…Almost like dark irony, the ‘peer supporter’ blew me of in a very strange fashion…
After that, I sent her cyber vibes and the link for more ‘online therapy services’ (LOL)…Plenty of popups to donate to what I want to believe is a very noble cause…When I actually tested the fire, I am here in revolt…I wish I had a different tale to tell…

by BADDOO ACCOUNT EVALUATION

They have you speak to an automotive bot that does not comprehend anything and is only authorized to get answers and what they want. Which is only money. For all I know it’s a cruel way to scam people & cause more emotional damage no matter what you downloaded 7Cups for in hopes for support and help. I never got the chance to speak to a therapist.I had to give out my credit card, address, full name and email address before any of my questions were answered. It clearly states before I downloaded 7Cups for a licensed therapist, I would be given a 24/7 therapist specialized in helping out my depress, anxiety and support. I am very disappointed and if I could give 7Cups 0 stars I would. 7Cups is not in the business of helping others. They are trying to make profit off of vulnerable people in need of guidance mentoring. I am truest disappointed for the cruelty and unwillingness to answer simple questions that would have left me be aware before giving out my personal & bank information this isn’t the right place to look for a mentoring, care and support from whatever licensed therapist they claim they have.

by Tenanteer

7Cups is fine, and you can occasionally find listeners who are truly great. However, the majority of the time, you are constantly battling the policies, listeners and management of the company. It's hard enough to come here and spill your soul over your issues but when listeners simply abandon you suddenly, it really gets frustrating.

I understand that listeners (and members too) may have to leave suddenly or something comes up. It happens to me too. But when it becomes a chronic problem, it has to be dealt with and it never is. The only think I have suggested is to have this app train listeners on using common courtesy when things do come up. Simple things like a quick note to say they have to leave or whatever they need to communicate. In the event that a listener cannot leave a message, that person can come back later to acknowledge the sudden departure. Something, anything! And if they say they will check on you or follow up, especially if they give a time frame, they should actually do it!

This is a serious problem, especially when dealing with the sensitive issues that members bring up. Management just refuses to deal with it and implement tools to help minimize these occurrences. And much can be said about the quality of listeners as well but that's for another time.

Use this app if you need to but be prepared for the challenge of dealing with the bureaucracy.

by Madslc432403

the 7 cups app is pretty great in general. it has helped me quite a bit. i’ve yet to move on from just talking to the bot, noni, because of certain anxieties, but seeing as that’s generally where i spend my time on 7Cups , i’ve noticed something recently.

on multiple occasions over the past few weeks, noni has been glitching rather severely. large portions of the conversation will disappear in the middle of typing, or talking, and will reappear on top of what i’m doing days later. or 7Cups will completely freeze, not letting me do anything but leave the conversation with the bot. it doesn’t seem to be my phone, because the problem persists after i close and reopen 7Cups , or completely restart my phone. i even logged in on a friends phone, to see if it was in fact on my end, but it happened then too.

don’t get me wrong, i love 7Cups! it’s been very helpful to me when i’ve been going through hard times, or stressful times. but it’s just this one little issue that holds it back a little.