This weekend. I would like to present you with the new SMS- based therapy, which is about to help many.
So long couch, hello cellphone. Instead of undergoing psychotherapy, some people find it easier and more discreet to text-message their therapist. Enter Talkspace, a provider of online and SMS counseling, which this week raised $9.5 million, an impressive amount for a company outside investors’ usual areas of interest.
It seems that financiers like the idea of tech-era therapy: Spark Capital, SoftBank, Metamorphic Ventures and TheTime were all behind the latest funding round. That brings investment in Talkspace, founded in 2012, to a total of $13 million. In comparison to Talkspace therapists, a one-hour session with a licensed clinical psychologist (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) in their clinic costs $20-$30 in copayment for insured patients; the uninsured typically pay $100-$150 per session.
Founded by Israelis Roni and Oren Frank, Talkspace offers affordable plans similar, if you will, to those offered by mobile phone operators: $49 per week for “unlimited messaging therapy” if you pay on a weekly basis, or $12 a week if you commit to one year. Talkspace doesn’t accept traditional medical insurance, and therapy is provided by licensed counselors, who typically hold a master’s degree. It was recently reported that IBM provides Talkspace with a technology that matches therapists to patients.