Interview with TherapyChat: making online therapy accessible

We interviewed Alessandro De Sario, CEO of TherapyChat, to learn more about this tool.

Today there is still a great lack of knowledge about what psychotherapy and psychological assistance services in general consist of.

Sometimes, this lack of knowledge takes the form of not knowing how to make use of this valuable support for well-being, and at other times, it takes the form of a stigma, the fear of "going to the psychologist". Fortunately, with the passage of time this is happening less and less, due among other things to technological advances that bring psychology closer to people.

In this case we will talk to one of those responsible for this change in the landscape of psychotherapy and mental health services. He is Alessandro De Sario, Managing Director of TherapyChata digital platform that puts users and psychologists in contact with each other so that they can easily conduct sessions by video call.

Alessandro De Sario: TherapyChat as a tool to democratize psychology

Digital entrepreneur Alessandro De Sario is co-founder and CEO of TherapyChat, a psychological assistance tool by video call developed with the help of the investment fund NextChance. In this interview he talks to us about the ideas that have shaped TherapyChat and the potential that this digital platform has when it comes to making psychology services accessible.

How did the idea of developing a platform like TherapyChat come about?

Since I graduated from university I have always been living abroad. From my Master's degree in Economics, which I completed between Turin, Paris and London, to my last job in Berlin, I have lived more than 10 years away from my country. The idea of launching TherapyChat has accompanied me during all these years.

At many times, while traveling in Latin America, Asia or the Middle East for work, it was impossible for me to go to my usual psychologist's office and on several occasions I tried to find alternatives in my native language that could also be adapted to my work schedule. I found it impossible.

That's how in 2016 the opportunity arose to start a business in this sector with the Spanish fund NextChance, to solve a problem that, like me, many other people have felt: the lack of accessibility of psychology for ordinary citizens.

Studying the market, I realized that the lack of accessibility is not the only problem facing the psychology sector, but that there is also a great social stigma that clouds the concept of mental health in general.

This is how TherapyChat was born, with the aim of democratizing and normalizing psychology, removing the traditional social stigma surrounding therapy and making it possible for anyone to access qualified professionals in a more comfortable, flexible, safe and affordable way.

How does TherapyChat work in its current version?

TherapyChat connects the best mental health professionals with people seeking psychological support from the comfort of their own home, in a completely private and secure way.

The first step is a conversation with our virtual assistant, Cloe. Cloe is a chatbot that we have developed internally and that asks the user a series of questions to evaluate each situation as objectively as possible.

Once Cloe detects the type of specialty that the user requires based on their answers, the user is asked to select one of the plans offered by the platform.

From there, the most appropriate professional is assigned based on each case.

Once the user is assigned a professional, Cloe disappears and the exclusive and personal relationship with the psychologist begins. The psychologist is the only one who will treat and interact with the user in video call format during the therapy process, which may vary in duration depending on each case.

From your point of view, what distinguishes TherapyChat from other online counseling services?

As the leading online psychology platform in Spain, TherapyChat's service guarantees the highest quality by digitizing the face-to-face process, so that it can be carried out comfortably and safely.

Several decisions derive from this principle of maximum quality that governs our way of working. On the one hand, while many platforms make use of chat, in TherapyChat we work exclusively by video call, as it is the method that has proved most effective in creating a good therapeutic alliance.

On the other hand, and unlike other competitors, we have decided to focus only on those areas in which online therapy is proven to be effective, leaving aside those disorders for which face-to-face sessions are necessary.

Finally, and in comparison with other platforms, TherapyChat gives special priority to the selection process and management of psychologists who work with us in order to offer the utmost professionalism to our users.

To do this we screen and check the resumes that come to us, we organize several interviews both by telephone and in person and / or by video call, and we monitor the performance of each psychologist based on the satisfaction of their patients.

In the time you have been in operation, what are the main successes and the main challenges that the development team has gone through?

In the first 4 years of activity, TherayChat has reached several milestones, the most important of which is its consolidation as the leader in online psychology in the Spanish market, having reached more than 200,000 users since its launch.

It is also interesting to mention the acceleration of its growth especially in the month of May, in which more than 25,000 people have registered in the App that have made more than 6,000 weekly video calls thanks to our more than 200 active psychologists.

Among all these users who have gone through TherapyChat, we remember with joy the successes of those who thanks to our platform have been able to recover their well-being despite their circumstances, such as living in a country like China or Ethiopia where it is practically impossible to receive therapy in Spanish.

Among our main challenges, and related to this last point, is to expand our base of psychologists to cover a greater number of languages and thus be able to provide service in other countries where psychological therapy is equally in demand.

On the other hand, and also related to our mission, there is the challenge of reducing the stigma that psychology has in general, because it is not only about growing in geographical availability, but also about reducing the psychological barriers that exist in society so that more people who today do not go to therapy for fear of what people will say, can approach it without fear and away from any prejudice.

Until not so long ago online therapy was considered a rarity from the point of view of the general public. How have you adapted to make the service accessible to everyone?

At TherapyChat we believe that the psychologist's role is essential in people's lives. Just as a doctor can treat an injury or illness, a psychologist can fix problems in the mind to make us feel better.

However, while historically healing physical wounds has been considered a primary need, mental health has been heavily stigmatized. Our goal is for anyone who wants to feel better to have the tools at their disposal to do so.

Although in recent years, and especially since the confinement imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Spanish society has begun to normalize the taboo of psychology, there is still a long way to go in the field of its destigmatization.

In this sense, from platforms such as TherapyChat we work to accelerate change. On the one hand, we believe that the best way to eliminate stigma is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the service, so we invest heavily in improving both our product (our App) and in managing and selecting psychologists who collaborate with us.

On the other hand, we are also investing heavily in both digital and traditional media and encouraging word-of-mouth with referral programs, gift cards, etc.

Finally, following the interest shown by many HR managers during the pandemic, we are developing a B2B program, through a portal for companies that will allow any organization to customize its own offer and choose the number of sessions it wants to offer to its employees, helping them to more easily take the necessary steps to feel good.

What are your main goals?

At TherapyChat we are continuously working to improve the experience of our users. In line with our goals to normalize and destigmatize psychology, we currently have three areas of growth planned.

On the one hand, as mentioned above, we are developing our portal for companies, so that more organizations can, along with other benefits, offer mental health plans to their employees.

On the other hand, we are studying the opportunity to launch TherapyChat in other countries, which will allow us to add psychologists from different languages to our platform and thus be able to serve a broader customer base.

Finally, we remain committed to a strong expansion in Spain, as we believe that there are still many people who are unaware of our service but could benefit greatly from it.