The Talkspace difference

It depends on how you pay, but most Talkspace members only pay a copay, and many pay $0. Major health insurance plans cover Talkspace therapy in-network, and TRICARE and Medicare do as well. If your plan covers Talkspace you’ll likely only pay a copay ($15 on average, but often $0). In addition, many employers cover Talkspace for free, either directly with an employer code or through an Employee Assistance Plan (EAP). If you pay out-of-pocket Talkspace therapy plans begin at $69/week.

When you sign up for Talkspace you’ll answer a series of questions about yourself, your mental health needs, and your goals for therapy. Talkspace will match you with a therapist or psychiatric provider who is licensed in your state and who we think will be a good fit based on your answers. If you don’t “click” with the first provider you are assigned, Talkspace makes it very easy to switch to a new one within the Talkspace app—with no “break up” conversation required and at no additional cost. Then you’ll be able to select a new provider. However, we encourage you to give your first provider a chance because developing a therapeutic relationship takes some time and consistency.

Talkspace hires only highly experienced, deeply committed therapists and psychiatric providers, and provides them with ongoing training and evaluation to ensure the highest quality of care. Our providers are all licensed and credentialed, with an average of ten years post-licensure experience. Before practicing with Talkspace they are submitted to background checks, credential verification, and extensive onboarding instruction and training. They receive ongoing professional education and instruction on best practices in virtual care.

Talkspace continually monitors provider quality through performance data, therapist ratings, attention to member feedback, and record audits. The Talkspace technology team is continually developing tools to reduce administrative burden on our therapists so they can focus entirely on providing care.

Online therapy is proven to be as effective, if not more effective, than traditional face-to-face therapy. A study conducted by Talkspace and Columbia University researchers, published in the Journal of Telemedicine and e-Health, showed that text-based therapy through Talkspace was highly effective and comparable to traditional therapy.Talkspace also generated greater satisfaction in terms of its delivery, accessibility, and affordability. Talkspace has partnered on 30+ research studies designed to understand the impact and improve delivery of virtual mental health care. Learn more about Talkspace Research.

Many people do receive Talkspace therapy for free. Employers, universities, municipalities and schools may offer Talkspace therapy at no cost to their employees or members of their communities. Employers might offer free therapy either directly with an employer code or through an Employee Assistance Plan (EAP). Municipalities and school districts offering free Talkspace therapy to youth include New York City, Baltimore County Public Schools, and Seattle.

At Talkspace, privacy and safety are our #1 priority. We deploy a variety of techniques to ensure that your data and personal information are always kept safe and confidential. Our technology is fully compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and we conduct annual assessments to ensure we are compliant with current HIPAA and related health care protections. All data on our servers, as well as all communication that happens between our software and the servers, is encrypted.

Talkspace will not share or disclose your personal information to anyone, including your organization and other 3rd parties if you sign up through them. However, we do require every member to submit emergency contact information, which is only utilized according to safety and reporting mandates. We do not sell protected health information (PHI), which includes medical history, diagnoses, transcripts, and any other documentation held in medical records, to anyone.

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.