{"id":14076,"date":"2021-03-01T18:08:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T23:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/betterhelp-democratizing-access-to-mental-health-services\/"},"modified":"2021-03-01T18:56:22","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T23:56:22","slug":"betterhelp-democratizing-access-to-mental-health-services","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/betterhelp-democratizing-access-to-mental-health-services\/","title":{"rendered":"BetterHelp: Democratizing Access to Mental Health Services"},"content":{"rendered":"

Accessing psychologists is not an easy task, especially for first-time patients. Many people who need therapy end up not getting adequate treatment because of barriers such as cost, stigma, inconvenience, or poor match with the counselor. Seeking to reduce these barriers, BetterHelp was created to connect patients and psychologists in virtual therapy sessions. The model leverages technology to make treatment less costly and more convenient for patients and therapists. BetterHelp\u2019s value proposition is endorsed by recent research that suggests that online therapy can be an alternative as efficient as face-to-face counseling.<\/p>\n

Value for patients<\/span><\/p>\n

Patients in need of counseling subscribe to the platform for $260 a month, getting unlimited access to counseling services via text, video, or phone. Perhaps the most obvious benefit users will get from the platform is the ability to get treatment virtually. For instance, people from rural areas or geographic regions with low supply of therapists can now have access to mental health services. Additionally, besides scheduling virtual face-to-face sessions, patients can communicate with therapists asynchronously. This feature not only provides flexibility for patients and psychologists, but also allows a timelier treatment. Users can reach out to therapists on real time, describing the thoughts that are currently in their minds. Therapists, in turn, have the option to help out right away if they find it necessary. Moreover, text messages can make it easier for some patients to share feelings and thoughts that they wouldn’t be comfortable speaking about in a face-to-face conversation. Subscribers have 24\/7 access to messaging room to share private messages with their counselor.<\/p>\n

Another way BetterHelp creates value for users is by enabling first-time patients to get early access to treatment. In fact, with fewer barriers to access a counselor, patients might not wait for seeking treatment until their condition is already unbearable and therefore more difficult to treat.<\/p>\n

Value for psychologists<\/span><\/p>\n

Therapists who decide to join the platform go under a rigorous selection process and are required to provide documentation on their license to operate in a given jurisdiction. Therapists are not employed by BeterHelp and typically have their own counseling jobs and practices. In terms of compensation, part-time psychologists (working 20 hours per week) usually make around $ 40,000 a year in the platform. Full time therapists (working 40 hours\/week) make around $100,000. Noteworthy, besides providing additional earnings to therapists, BetterHelp give them access to a new patient base – something very important especially for newly graduated psychologists who still don\u2019t have many patients.<\/p>\n

To better match patients and psychologists, BetterHelp collects data from users and counselors. When a user joins the platform, he or she will answer a questionnaire providing different types of data, such as general demographic information, mental issues history and personal challenges. They also inform preferences for therapists. Patients are then matched with therapists based on users\u2019 preferences and therapists\u2019 specialties. If a user is not happy with a counselor, he or she can easily switch as many times as needed until they find a good match.<\/p>\n

Challenges on scalability<\/span><\/p>\n

BetterHelp\u2019s current model is heavily dependent on the availability of therapists. Because of the rigorous process for acquiring therapists and because of therapists\u2019 limitations to work within certain jurisdictions, availability of psychologists is the main bottleneck in the platform growth process.<\/p>\n

A possible solution to address the scalability issue is to make use of technological resources to increase the platform\u2019s efficiency.\u00a0 Chatbots or self-help tools could replace the most procedural parts of a psychologist work. Also, using data collected from existing users and therapists, BetterHelp is well positioned to design solutions for helping the therapist to work more efficiently so that they can manage more patients and treat them with higher quality and standardization.<\/p>\n

As BetterHelp looks for growth opportunities, a natural move would be to serve enterprises in a B2B model. Selling to companies interested in providing employees with mental health services benefits could bring BetterHealth a new set of highly profitable and sticky customers. However, in order to that, the platform has to increase its scalability by leveraging more efficiently its therapist base.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Endnotes<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1] https:\/\/vator.tv\/news\/2019-03-27-how-betterhelp-is-trying-to-expand-access-to-mental-health-services<\/a><\/p>\n

[2] https:\/\/blog.zencare.co\/betterhelp-vs-talkspace\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[3] https:\/\/www.prweb.com\/releases\/2017\/04\/prweb14267856.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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