Looking for therapy? Football star Tom Brady knows how you can get it for free

Retired NFL football player and Miami Beach resident Tom Brady wants to be a better man. Part of that journey has involved working on his mental health. And he’s inviting others to join him on the wellness journey.

The former NFL quarterback on Friday announced a new partnership with BetterHelp to give people a free month of online therapy in honor of May being Mental Health Awareness month. Those who have never used the online therapy platform before and are interested in signing up for a free month of therapy can do so at betterhelp.com/tombrady.

“I’ve worked with therapists for the last 25 years,” Brady said Friday in an Instagram video announcing the partnership. “I want to be better for my friends and my family, for my children.”

BetterHelp, an online therapy platform, offers therapy around the clock and has more than 35,000 licensed therapists available, including psychologists, marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers and counselors. A subscription to the platform, which does not accept insurance, typically ranges from $260 to $400 a month and people can cancel at any time.

Danny Bragonier, the co-founder of BetterHelp, said he hopes the partnership with Brady will help destigmatize mental health and make therapy more accessible. These two factors are becoming increasingly important as the country faces a growing mental health crisis, which U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says is largely fueled by loneliness. Children and adults have overwhelmed hospital ERs for care. There’s not enough mental health providers.

And while some therapists offer sessions on a sliding fee scale — how much you pay is based on income— therapy sessions can get pricey, especially for those who are underinsured or uninsured.

“Everyone deserves access to the life-changing benefits of therapy, and we hope this partnership inspires many more people to start their own journeys towards better mental health,” Bragonier said in a statement.

Tom Brady talks mental health

This isn’t the first time that Brady, the former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, has opened up about his mental health journey. The seven-time Super Bowl football champ and father of three has previously spoken about using therapy to help his mental health amid career and other life stressors.

“My emotions are a very human part of me,” Brady said in Friday’s video, noting that therapy has made a huge difference in his life. “And how can I develop an emotional maturity? How can I learn from them so that I can quickly grow and adapt and wake up the next day a little bit better than when the day started?”

Brady, who is considered to be the greatest quarterback of all time, signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 and helped lead the team to win Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021. Brady retired “for good” in 2023 after 23 NFL seasons. The bachelor — he and supermodel Gisele Bündchen divorced in 2022 — has been busy remodeling his $17 million waterfront mansion on Indian Creek Island, known as “Billionaire Bunker.”

Besides BetterHelp’s free month of online therapy, there are some other free mental health resources available to people in South Florida. NAMI Miami-Dade and NAMI Broward, for example, offer free mental health resources, including peer-led support groups.

New Horizons Community Mental Health Center also recently opened a new communal living room in Allapattah. The center, which looks like a living room, is open around the clock and offers a variety of services, including free talk therapy, to people experiencing a mild mental health crisis.

If you want to sign up

What: BetterHelp is offering a free month of online therapy

How: Sign up at betterhelp.com/tombrady. Keep in mind this offer is not eligible for people who have previously used the service.

If you or someone you know is thinking about self-harm, call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988. It’s available 24/7.

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