Frequently Asked Questions

Talkspace makes therapy available and affordable for all. Our mission is to provide more people with convenient access to licensed therapists who can help those in need live a happier and healthier life.

We are not trying to replace in-office therapy. Many people prefer that, which is fine. We created Talkspace so more people could benefit from therapy and overcome their day-to-day challenges in a stigma-free environment.

With Talkspace, you can send a therapist text messages, audio messages, as well as picture and video messages in a private, text-based chat room. Talkspace stands out because of the affordability and convenience it provides.

We have over 1,500 licensed therapists, many of whom are trained in multiple areas of expertise. We have helped people with the following and more.

• Anxiety
• Addiction
• Depression
• Eating Disorders
• PSTD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
• LGBT Issues
• Relationships (Family or Friends)

Yes, but keep in mind that the majority of U.S. states will require your teen to grant consent for their information to be shared with you. In addition, your teen will need to provide their therapist with your name and phone number. Due to HIPAA privacy concerns, we require any exchange of private information to happen via phone.

Of course, your teen can also share their therapy room transcript directly with you, if they are comfortable, which eliminates the need for an explicit records request. If you have any questions about this process or the legal requirements therein, never hesitate to contact Customer Support!

We’re so glad that your teen is interested in starting with Talkspace. If your teen is a minor in a state that requires parental/legal guardian consent for starting therapy, we require you to affirm your consent both via video message (verbally) and text message on the Talkspace app, in the presence of your teen. Our Consultation Therapists and our Customer Support team can provide more detail about the step-by-step requirements for this process.

Yes! As of September 17, 2018, Talkspace has expanded its reach to include therapy for adolescents ages 13-17. We’re excited to extend our current services to this important population.

Talkspace has taken all legal requirements into consideration to support this new offering. Each U.S. state has different requirements regarding what age necessitates parental consent to start therapy, and whether the therapist can disclose information to the parent/guardian without the adolescent’s consent. The vast majority of U.S. states require parental/guardian consent for a teen to enter into therapy, and do not allow therapists to share information with a teen client’s parent/guardian without a signed release. All Talkspace therapists have familiarized themselves with the rules of their respective states.

Note that there are specific exceptions to consent that vary by state, such as being an emancipated minor. If you believe that one of these exceptions might apply to you, please contact Customer Service.

Talkspace now partners with a number of U.S. health plans to provide online therapy to employees through employee assistance programs (EAP) and behavioral health benefits. For more information regarding eligibility please contact your insurance provider. 

 If Talkspace is not covered by your insurance, it may be helpful to know that some Talkspace customers use a normal credit card or PayPal for their subscription and then submit the bill to their Flexible Spending Account (FSA).

Absolutely! At Talkspace we have an extensive, nationwide network of licensed therapists. All Talkspace therapists have been carefully vetted and trained to use Talkspace. We do not use interns or therapists who are not fully licensed and still under supervision. All of our therapists have over 3,000 hours of clinical experience.

Talkspace therapists have additional training in specific approaches to therapy which include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Existential-Humanistic, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Psychodynamic, Mindfulness and more.

Please note that the therapist you work with will be licensed in your US state of residence.

We also have a Board of Advisors who include prominent professionals that are experts in the healthcare space and help ensure that our service is effective.

Absolutely. Over the last decade numerous research studies have shown the effective potential of online therapeutic conversation. You will find below a good start for showing the breadth of the telemedicine and online medicine field:

“Internet-based versus face-to-face cognitive-behavioral intervention for depression: A randomized controlled non-inferiority trial”
http://www.jad-journal.com/article/S0165-0327(13)00512-0/pdf

Linda Godleski, M.D.; Adam Darkins, M.D., M.P.H.; John Peters, M.S. (2014) “Outcomes of 98,609
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Patients Enrolled in Telemental Health Services,
2006–2010”
http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201100206

Andersson, G., & Cuijpers, P. (2009). “Internet-based and other computerized psychological treatments for adult depression: A meta-analysis.” Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 38(4), 196-205.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20183695

Barak, Azy, et al. (2008). “A comprehensive review and a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of internet-based psychotherapeutic interventions.” Journal of Technology in Human Services, 26.2-4: 109-160.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15228830802094429#.VI8vaCvF_hs

Wantland, D. J., Portillo, C. J., Holzemer, W. L., Slaughter, R., & McGhee, E. M. (2004). “The effectiveness of Web-based vs. non-Web-based interventions: a meta-analysis of behavioral change outcomes.” Journal of Medical Internet Research, 6(4).
http://www.jmir.org/2004/4/e40/

“Internet-versus group-administered cognitive behaviour therapy for panic disorder in a psychiatric setting: a randomised trial”
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/10/54

“Home telemental health implementation and outcomes using electronic messaging.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22052966

“Mobile Assessment and Treatment for Schizophrenia (MATS): a pilot trial of an interactive text-messaging intervention for medication adherence, socialization, and auditory hallucinations.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22080492

Antiretroviral Medication Adherence for HIV/Aids:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3718389/
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1745-6215-12-5.pdf

“Distance Therapy Comes of Age.” Scientific American.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/distance-therapy-comes-of-age/

These letters are a person’s credentials. Different letters mean different qualifications for what that therapist can treat.

Those are the specialties and licenses of each therapist.

LPC: Licensed Professional Counselors are mental health service providers with a master’s degree who are trained to work with individuals, families and groups in treating mental, behavioral and emotional problems and disorders.

MS: Masters of Science in counseling psychology, clinical psychology, clinical counseling, or educational psychology. A master’s degree in the specified area may require completion of a master’s thesis, dissertation and/or project.

LMHC: Licensed Mental Health Counselor is board certified to treat children, adolescents, and adults suffering from adjustment issues, relationship conflicts, or mental illness.

LMFT: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist is board-certified to treat a variety of mental health concerns with the emphasis on family therapy, couples therapy and sex therapy.

LICSW: Licensed and Independent Clinical Social Worker is a social worker with a MSW (Master of Social Work) and an additional three years of training. LICSWs tend to specialize in family and marital counseling.

Psy.D: A Doctor of Psychology is a professional doctorate degree. Earning the degree was originally completed through established training models for clinical psychology.

Ph.D.: A Psychologist who has a doctorate in philosophy. Some Psychologists choose to get a Psy.D, which stands for “doctorate in psychology.”

Please click on the link below and fill out the initial application to the best of your ability. You will have the opportunity to ask a member of our clinical team any questions you have when they respond to your application:

http://talkspace.com/online-therapy/join-talkspace-as-a-therapist/

At Talkspace your privacy and safety are always the first consideration. We go to great lengths to ensure that you and your data are always kept safe and confidential. Our technology is fully HIPAA compliant and your safety is our #1 priority.

All of your chat data is encrypted on the servers, and all communication between our software and the servers is encrypted. The Talkspace app requires you to enter your password and allows you to create a unique passcode for extra security. Also, our iOS app uses Touch ID and Face ID on enabled devices.

Our payment system is up to date with leading industry standards. All personal information is maintained and secured by a national payment processor. We never store any personal financial information ourselves.

We understand and appreciate your desire for removal of your personal information. We can always close your account so that it can no longer be logged into by anyone, but please be aware that the chat dialogues themselves cannot be deleted because the therapists are required by Federal Law to keep records on file for a specific period of time. For more information about this and other policies regarding your privacy at Talkspace, please check out our Privacy Policy.

Talkspace’s “Guaranteed Response Time” helps you know when you can expect a reply from your therapist.

When you’re ready to hear from your therapist, just let them know by using the “Reply-By” button in your therapy room. You will see the time period in which your therapist is expected to respond (based on their time zone and working hours). Your therapist is also notified that you’re expecting a response, and will respond to you via text, video, and/or audio message during this set period.

Provider Response Times

All Talkspace therapists have a set schedule of at least 5 days a week to check in with clients during morning or evening response times. Expected reply-by times are based on this schedule and therapist’s timezone. Here’s how it works:

Morning Response Times on Designated Work Days

You make a Reply By request between 7:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - expect a Response from your Provider by 3:00 p.m.

You make a Reply By request between 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - expect a Response from your Provider by 7:00 p.m.

You make a Reply By request after 4:00 p.m. (and until 7:00 a.m.)  - expect a Response from your Provider by 10:00 a.m. the next working day.

Evening Response Times on Designated Work Days

You make a Reply By request between 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - expect a Response from your Provider by 6:00 p.m.

You make a Reply By request between 2:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. - expect a Response from your Provider by 10:00 p.m.

You make a Reply By request after 7:00 p.m. (and until 9:00 a.m.)  - expect a Response from your Provider by 2:00 p.m. the next working day

Your therapist is working hard to help you on your therapeutic journey, but occasionally they may not reply by the expected time. If your provider has exceeded the expected response time, you’ll be able to grant an extension, or continue waiting for their reply. With each additional request, your therapist will be re-notified and the expected reply-by time will be updated. Should your therapist exceed the expected response time again that week, the reply-by button will update to provide you with additional options to best suit your needs.

If a provider has responded thoroughly via text or media message by the expected response time, your Guaranteed Response Time is considered satisfied. You are guaranteed to receive at least one meaningful therapist response for each request period.

Talkspace is a subscription therapy service. All of our subscriptions are automatically charged on a monthly basis. There are no contracts whatsoever and you can cancel your plan anytime.

These are the current plans that are available for one-on-one private chat:

• Unlimited Messaging Therapy Plus: $65/week for text, video & audio messaging. Your therapist responds to messages daily, 5 days/week.  (Billed as $260 monthly)
• Unlimited Messaging Therapy Premium: $79/week for text, video & audio messaging + 1 Live Session/month. Your therapist responds to messages daily, 5 days/week. (Billed as $316 monthly)
• LiveTalk Therapy Ultimate: $99/week for text, video & audio messaging + 4 Live Sessions/month. Your therapist responds to messages daily, 5 days/week. (Billed as $396 monthly)

Couples therapy is available for $99/week (billed as $396 monthly) or $89/week (billed $1068 every 3 months).

For plans without Live Video Sessions or for those who would like to have additional ones with their therapist, Live Video Sessions can be added for $65 per 30-minute session. Ask your therapist to schedule a Live Video Session if interested.

Talkspace partners with a number of health plans to provide online therapy to employees through employee assistance programs (EAP) and behavioral health benefits. Contact your benefits department or call the member services on the back of your insurance card to see if you qualify for this benefit.

Talkspace is committed to offering everyone the best possible experience with our platform and therapists. If you’re ever not satisfied, you can request a new therapist through your account settings.

Talkspace acts as a conduit to arrange professional services, and those services are paid to the therapists through their Therapist Agreement with Talkspace. Generally refunds for unused time are not granted because the therapists charge for time that is scheduled to be used, much like other medical professionals. However, customer service reviews refunds on a case-by-case basis in conjunction with the therapists. We make accommodations if unique or legal circumstances (medical, death, disability, court orders, etc.) dictate the reason for the refund request. If a refund is not granted, usually we are able to make accommodations some other way such as a credit for future service.

If there is something you believe we could do differently to improve your Talkspace experience, please let us know by contacting us at support@talkspace.com.

We accept all major debit/credit cards and PayPal. We unfortunately cannot accept checks or bank transfers.

You are initially charged on the first day you join Talkspace. Your plan will renew exactly one month from your first day or your last renewal.

All plans renew automatically unless you decide to cancel via your “My Account” settings beforehand. This is stated when you selected a plan, before you were matched with a therapist.

Absolutely — if you would like to purchase Talkspace for someone you care about, we’ve made the process easy for you. Just visit our gifting page to learn more.

Absolutely! Your therapist will personally work with you throughout all the days and weeks you are at Talkspace.

To keep prices affordable, we are not able to offer a free trial. We do, however, offer a free initial consultation where you can chat with a Matching Agent who will give you a good idea of how Talkspace works.

During your initial consultation, the Matching Agent will chat with you long enough to understand the reasons why you came here, give you a good idea of what Talkspace can do for you and help match you with a therapist.

Simply go to our homepage or download our mobile app (iOS or Android). You will then enter your email address, create a password and unique username to login. After that, you’ll be taken to your private room where you will begin.

You will first be greeted by one of our agents or therapists who will chat with you and give you a good idea of what Talkspace can do for you. They will discuss our various plans and help match you with a Talkspace therapist who can help you.

A key part to providing you with effective therapy is our matching process. We are careful to find the best match, since the experience is different than simply picking someone out of a directory. We know the client-therapist relationship is very important, so this matching process is a service we are proud to provide at Talkspace.

During your initial consultation, you will be asked a few simple questions so the agent can gather some information about you and — based on their training and experience — use that information to match you with a therapist who they think is best able to help you.

If you no longer want to continue, you can easily cancel at any time through your account settings. Once you cancel, your account will be marked to not renew. If you cancel before your plan expires, you will still have the remaining time you’ve already paid for.

You can cancel your account through your Talkspace settings.

• — Log into our website directly at www.talkspace.com using a web browser
• — Click the menu under your user name and go to “My Account”
• — Once you're on the My Account page please scroll down to the in the "Rooms" section
• — There you will see the option to “Cancel Subscription” which will guide you through a couple of quick steps to submit your request

If you’re using the mobile app, you can cancel your subscription directly from the app. Log in and select the icon in the top-left corner to access your Settings.

Once you complete your cancellation request, our team will promptly handle it.

Your therapist will still be available to you throughout the remaining time that you already have paid.

Unused live video sessions do not roll over month to month, so if your plan includes live sessions you will have to use them within the subscription month. 

At this time we only support live video calls through the mobile/tablet app version of our site. 

Absolutely! You can use the Talkspace app with our iOS app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod.

Take your therapy to-go so you have access to your therapist whenever and wherever you need help.

Of course! Talkspace is available to Android users via the Google Play App Store.

With the Talkspace app, it’s like having a therapist in your pocket!

You can use any computer capable of running a modern web browser, such as Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.

Most of our therapists work with Talkspace to earn supplemental income, and some make up to $4,000 per month. Our pay-scale depends on how many clients you work with, and the plans to which they are subscribed.

While clients can write in their rooms 24/7, therapists are only required to check in with clients once daily, during their business hours, five days a week. Since one week of working with a client on Talkspace is roughly equivalent to one in-person session, you’ll be expected to spend about 10 minutes a day per every client check-in.

Every therapist has a different approach to time management on Talkspace, and you will become more efficient over time as you get more comfortable with the modality. Your workload will also depend on the specific subscriptions of your clients.

The guideline we like to provide is that one week of working with a client on the Talkspace platform is the equivalent of one in-person session (45-50 minutes). Subscriptions that include video sessions require more time, but pay more as well.

All providers interested in joining the Talkspace clinical community must complete the application process, which takes an average of 4-6 weeks. The process involves completing a series of required forms, including a prerequisite form and the submission of a fully completed, signed CAQH application with individual NPI number. Our team verifies the submission of key data through primary and secondary sources. If all information is verified, our credentialing team then reviews the full application and verification information to make a decision.

Talkspace Therapist Orientation is comprised of two phases. Phase 1 is a series of self-directed online lessons and evaluations that can take as little as 10 days and up to four weeks, depending on the speed of the therapist. In Phase 2, a large online group of all new Talkspace therapists have the opportunity for collaborative learning over the course of 60 days. During this period, new therapists build their caseloads and are offered additional support from experienced Talkspace Clinical Leaders.

No! Myriad of studies are demonstrating messaging therapy can be as effective as traditional therapy for the treatment of the most common emotional and behavioral health issues such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, stress, PTSD and more.

Check out some of the research published on the field:

“Internet-based versus face-to-face cognitive-behavioral intervention for depression: A randomized controlled non-inferiority trial”

Linda Godleski, M.D.; Adam Darkins, M.D., M.P.H.; John Peters, M.S. (2014) “Outcomes of 98,609 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Patients Enrolled in Telemental Health Services, 2006–2010”

Andersson, G., & Cuijpers, P. (2009). “Internet-based and other computerized psychological treatments for adult depression: A meta-analysis.” Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 38(4), 196-205.

Barak, Azy, et al. (2008). “A comprehensive review and a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of internet-based psychotherapeutic interventions.” Journal of Technology in Human Services, 26.2-4: 109-160.

Wantland, D. J., Portillo, C. J., Holzemer, W. L., Slaughter, R., & McGhee, E. M. (2004). “The effectiveness of Web-based vs. non-Web-based interventions: a meta-analysis of behavioral change outcomes.” Journal of Medical Internet Research, 6(4).

“Internet-versus group-administered cognitive behaviour therapy for panic disorder in a psychiatric setting: a randomised trial”

“Home telemental health implementation and outcomes using electronic messaging.”

“Mobile Assessment and Treatment for Schizophrenia (MATS): a pilot trial of an interactive text-messaging intervention for medication adherence, socialization, and auditory hallucinations.”

“Distance Therapy Comes of Age.”