Use Talkspace

One of the benefits of my health insurance plan is a one year free membership to Talkspace, the online mental health therapy service endorsed by Michael Phelps.

I think every one should do therapy. It's like the gym for your mind! And I have been feeling down lately, so maybe this is a good way to get started, plus it's free!

On the other hand, I'm a little skeptical of app based therapy and healthcare service startups. The Talkspace website has a banner for a $100 off code and pop-ups telling me to get started with the same discount and it all feels like garbage DTC tactics for mental health. What do you think?

Should I give it a try or just find a more traditional (and probably expensive) provider?

Updates: Shareholders are pointing out that Talkspace is sketchy based on articles in the New York Times and The Verge (from 2016... yikes!)

    Votes

  • 50% Yes, Try It
  • 76% No, Regular Therapy
  • 0% No, Don't Do Therapy

14 users voted with 3108 shares


Comments

  • pat [ 118 ]

    If you've done regular, I'd be curious how you find this different. So I'm saying, yeah, try it.

  • joshb [ 705 ]

    I think you should try it and then use it to transition to regular therapy. What does your "one year free membership" include? Like, actual sessions? That's a cool deal, I wouldn't leave it on the table.

  • ktommyl [ 3 ]

    I voted "no, regular therapy" because I personally believe that the therapeutic approach (i.e. Jungian depth, CBT, etc.) and therapist is super-important to successful therapy and I worry that a platform like Talkspace would flatten out the landscape. Also, this article gave me some reservations: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/technology/talkspace.html. But! If I could rank options I would definitely put "Yes, Try It" and number two and way above "No, Don't Do Therapy"

  • krickeyb [ 385 ]

    Via the recent newsletter:

    > "I realized this week that Iā€™m frustrated and a little depressed. I feel like all I did was work this week and I found myself very frustrated by some aspects of my job. Not just frustrated, but angry at times."

    That sounds exactly like something you can see if Talkspace helps you handle better. I'm assuming there would be a follow up vote if Talkspace doesn't feel helpful?

  • martey [ 8 ]

    Yes to therapy, no to Talkspace.

    The NYTimes article that @ktommyl mentioned was bad, but Talkspace has had problems for a long time. Here is an article from 4 years earlier with similar issues: https://www.theverge.com/2016/12/19/14004442/talkspace-therapy-app-reviews-patient-safety-privacy-liability-online