Text Message Therapy Sessions – The Latest Trend In The US Telemedicine Industry

Smartphones have become a major part of our lives. We use them to shop, entertain, do laundry, catch rides and even buy food.

In recent times, smartphones have been a very important factor in the growth of America’s telemedicine sector by making possible for doctors and patient to interact using live video sessions, phone calls, and email.

Therapy is the latest addition to the family of services our smartphones provide us. Talkspace, a startup promises to make visiting the therapist as easy as sending a text message. The time has finally come for patients to opt for text message therapy sessions instead of face-to-face meetings.

Text Message Therapy

This idea was dreamed up in 2012 by Oren Frank and his wife, Roni, who went through face-to-face therapy 10 years ago. They found it to be incredibly valuable and helpful, saving their marriage. Oren and Roni took it upon themselves to make the process more accessible by letting patients communicate with licensed professionals via text message and thereby skipping the inconveniences of the therapists’ offices.

People have the opinion that they can never replace real therapists. Dr. George Nitzburg, a psychological researcher from Columbia University says patients benefit more from direct interaction with therapists. “Most online or texting therapy forms don’t offer crisis counseling or emergency service”, he told CNN Money. Nitzburg insists people suffering from addictions or more serious issues need more help than they get online. But the fact is they don’t have to.

According to the U.S Department of Health & Human Services, only 38{76ac33845123b25982ffda0eb6f606179ce899e677f3c86d035d7b9fa6b6d307} of adults with mental health problems get treated. The remaining two-thirds of those who are referred to therapy usually don’t go because of the price. The average cost per session for a psychologist is $75, a cost which patients often pay themselves.

Therapy Apps a Cheaper Option

Comparatively, Talkspace (among other therapy apps) is a cheaper option. The service goes for $37 /week billed monthly. Telemedicine services are usually cheaper than office visits, which can cost several hundreds of dollars a session. The better part is, as long as your smartphone is charged and you are connected to the internet, you’ll have unrestricted access to licensed psychologists, mental health counselors and clinical social workers.

Oren and his wife Roni have raised over $3.5 million in investments for this startup and extensively vetted their therapists. Talkspace currently has over 200 qualified therapists serving over 70,000 registered users, of which a few thousand are paying customers.

The service doesn’t accept any junior therapist a recent graduate. Every therapist on this service has at least a Masters degree with most 5-10 years of face to face therapy experience. None of the therapists are employees of Talkspace. They are all independent and the service just serves as a platform for connecting users with providers through a more efficient mean.

Talkspace does not only offer text messaging therapy services, they also offer a live video therapy at only $29 for 30 minutes and a couples therapy. The app is available on Android, iOS and on the web at Talkspace.

Here is another alternative – Text The Romance Back . This is a cheaper program that will guide you through the steps to get your spouse back.