Introduction
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Talkspace offers convenient, accessible, and responsive mental healthcare through messaging and live therapy sessions. They have published over 16 efficacy studies in peer-reviewed journals and have partnered with 25+ research partners, including NYU and Columbia University experts, to validate their results.
Ratings
Ease of Use
Best For
Key Differentiator
Price
Free Trial
PROS
- The platform provides access to licensed therapists and psychiatrists with years of experience across a range of specialties.
- Talkspace allows you to share your thoughts and feelings with your therapist 24 hours a day, irrespective of where you’re located. Your therapist will then respond to your messages at their earliest convenience.
- Talkspace offers different subscription options based on your budget and needs, so you’re bound to find something that works for you.
- Talkspace’s results have been validated by research partners like NYU and Columbia University. Out of a study of 10,000 participants, 50% fully recovered from their anxiety and depression symptoms after 12 weeks, while 70% saw significant improvement.
CONS
- Because live sessions are only 30 minutes long, addressing and working through complex issues through these sessions alone is tough.
- Text-based therapy may not necessarily work for everyone. While some believe that it helps them be more vulnerable, others prefer live sessions as it helps them connect better with their therapist.
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Talkspace is an online mental health platform that offers convenient, cost-effective messaging and live-therapy sessions from the comfort of your own home. Their network of licensed providers covers a range of specialties from depression to stress, trauma, anxiety, anger management, substance abuse, LGBTQIA+, and more.
Talkspace also offers psychiatry evaluations, medication management, couples therapy, and specialized therapy for teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17.
What's nice about Talkspace is the flexibility that they offer through their multiple payment plans. Even if you're not part of an EAP, you can still choose a service based on your budget, availability, and mental health needs. And given that Talkspace accepts many forms of insurance, the service becomes fairly cost-effective.
Overall, the platform is user-friendly. After you've signed up, filled out the questionnaire, and chosen your therapist, you will get access to a secure virtual therapy room with your therapist. Users can access this room from any device, web browser, or Talkspace's mobile app. In this room, you can interact with your therapist 24/7 via chat or audio messages. You can expect at least one response a day. However, bear in mind that your therapist might not reply immediately throughout the day.
If your subscription includes live sessions, you can schedule them on your client portal page. If you don't like your therapist, you can easily switch to a new one by asking the system to match you with other therapists based on your mental needs.
What we like about Talkspace is that their staff is made up of licensed and credentialed therapists and psychiatrists who are required to have over 3,000 hours of clinical experience in their field of expertise.
As a Human Resources Manager, employees often share their personal struggles with me. When this happens, I can refer them to Talkspace and encourage them to seek professional help. When employees are struggling in their personal lives, it impacts their morale and productivity at work.
Taking steps to help them, such as providing access to Talkspace, allows them to bring their best to the workplace. It also builds trust between management and staff when they feel valued as people.
We also promote Talkspace as part of our benefits package when attracting new employees. We are finding that younger generations of workers highly value companies that provide mental health resources.
The best thing about Talkspace is the flexibility it grants its users. I also like that it is completely confidential, so the organization does not see the names of any employees who sign up for it. Our employees appreciate that they can use their insurance or HSA to continue their memberships once the period covered by the company has ended.
My organization implemented Talkspace as an investment in employee wellness. Mental wellness is a topic that comes up frequently when we discuss employee engagement, and employees have shared that this is an area in which they would like more support.
We have had a contract with Talkspace for three years now, and we find that it is an effective addition to our engagement and retention toolbox. When we promote Talkspace as a benefit to our employees, it reinforces the idea that we care about them as people.
In a competitive job market, anything we can do to show our staff that this is not "just another job" makes a difference.
While Talkspace has been effective in engaging our younger workers, it doesn't always resonate with our older workforce. As a manufacturing company, a significant number of our employees are not comfortable with technology or computers, so we can't use this as a one-size-fits-all solution. I believe employees without easy access to computers would appreciate the option to have their sessions over a telephone call.
Other virtual mental health solutions do not allow you to pay with insurance like Talkspace does. Talkspace also has pricing tiers to match user needs, so users do not have to pay for features they do not intend to use. One feature other platforms offer that Talkspace does not is providing therapist bios to help users choose the best match.
What are the demographics of your workforce? Consider their access to and comfort with technology before deciding whether this would be helpful to your staff. How does this fit into your organization's larger benefits or EAP packages?
If you do not provide insurance, or your insurance package is limited, you may need to budget more money to help pay for your employees' sessions.
Within the last few years, Talkspace added a new portal for users to access a variety of mental health resources. This helps the company get better utilization of our own EAP material and better serves employees who are in need of assistance.
Organizations with a high percentage of employees who are adept with technology would benefit from adding Talkspace as an option. Organizations with a largely remote population would likely see positive results from implementing Talkspace.
Talkspace would not be a good fit for organizations with a high percentage of employees who do not have internet access or are not comfortable using a computer or smartphone.
Talkspace is a mental health support platform that connects patients with therapists via online therapy channels. It allows the patient and therapist to have two-way communication when it's convenient for them to start or continue a text conversation. Talkspace was provided as a benefit to all employees at my last company, whether FT or PT. While Talkspace is not the right solution for everyone, it seemed to be well-received within our workforce. We had a larger population of Gen Z and Millenials.
Talkspace was definitely there at the right time and when people needed it most. The flexibility of allowing a patient to choose when to communicate is a key benefit to obtaining mental health services. People are not required to connect at a specific time on a specific day. It happens as they need it and receive timely responses from their mental health providers.
Talkspace was introduced to our employee population as a company-sponsored benefit to address the mental health crises triggered by the pandemic. Talkspace was launched in 2020 and remains in effect in 2024. It was launched at a time when there was a lot of fear, anxiety, stress, and uncertainty about the future. I personally used the platform for 2 years.
Talkspace is definitely not a tool for everyone since it is limited to only communicating with a therapist via text. People who prefer to be in-person or speak to a therapist live may not be interested in this app.
Talkspace was a pioneer in the mental health space providing access to and flexible support and resources. Other similar competitors do not have a large network like Talkspace or the tech capabilities they do.
Think about the type of mental health services you would benefit from and the most effective way to obtain them that makes the most sense for YOU. Not all tools and resources work the same for everyone so be sure to test different options before making a final decision. Mental health therapy is a very personal matter that can't be addressed in a cookie-cutter fashion.
Talkspace has evolved by adding different types of services for their patients, like medication management.
Talkspace would be a good option for any type and size organization.
I can't think of any.
Even if your company can't afford to offer Talkspace, your employees can seek help on their own. Talkspace accepts many forms of insurance so employees don't have to pay the full cost.
Blackstone, Citi, Expedia Group, and Lionsgate
- Online messaging and live therapy sessions
- Online couples therapy
- Online psychiatry sessions
- Medicine management from licensed prescribers
- Online counselling for teenagers
- Online counselling for members of the LGBTQIA+ community
- Online counselling and therapy for veterans
- Free mental health tests to evaluate if you need help from a licensed mental health practitioner
Talkspace does not integrate with any other application.
Talkspace offers different subscription models based on an individual's needs and budget. If you’re an employer looking to set up an EAP, contact your benefits administrator for more details. For employees that have access to the platform, it costs nothing. However, if your employer isn't paying for it, you can choose one of the following plans:
- Messaging Therapy: This plan is priced at $69 per week, and you get unlimited text, video, and audio messaging with your therapist 5 days a week.
- Live Therapy: At $99 per week, you get 4 live 45-minute sessions per month.
- Live + Messaging Therapy: Priced at $129/week, this plan gives you 4 live 45-minute sessions per month and unlimited text, video, and audio messaging with your therapist 5 days a week.
Talkspace also offers psychiatry services at $249 for a 60-minute initial evaluation session, $365 for the initial evaluation and a follow-up session, and around $125 for every follow-up session.
Keep in mind that even if your employer cannot pay for it, Talkspace accepts many forms of insurance. To know if you're eligible, you can take their online assessment.
Talkspace is suitable for any organization that is looking for a mental health platform that delivers clinically-proven results.
To start using Talkspace's service, you can click on the "get started" prompt on their website or mobile app. You'll be redirected to an intake form which is a basic questionnaire about you, your habits, and your lifestyle. After completing the form, you will have to fill out your payment details, insurance details, or employer details if your organization is paying for it. Based on your answers and your mental health needs, you will be matched with a therapist.
While Talkspace does not offer a free trial, they provide a free consultation with one of their agents to discuss how the platform works and their matching process. They also have a self-serve help center where you can understand more about their subscription model, billing, insurance, and offerings. If you have any other queries, you can reach out to their customer support team by submitting a request on their website or mobile app. You can also contact their support team via email.
Founded in 2012, Talkspace was one of the first online therapy companies that made it a priority to ensure mental health services were accessible to everyone. Their goal is to break the taboo surrounding mental health and facilitate conversations about depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders.
Today, Talkspace is pretty well known, with celebrities like Micheal Phelps and Demi Lovato advertising their online mental health platform.
Company HQ
New York, United States
Number of Employees
750+
Year Founded
2011
Amount Raised
Talkspace has raised $413.7 million in funding over 13 rounds. Their latest was a Post-IPO Equity round in June 2021.
