As I’ve stated a bunch of times since my most recent restart, I’m putting a much larger focus on mental health and overall wellness this time around. One of the things I’ve done is to start going to therapy. When I started, the COVID-19 pandemic was slowing down but still around. So I decided to find some non in-person options, which led me to Talkspace.
How Talkspace Works
Talkspace is primarily an online service that works through a browser and mobile app. You take some quizzes and it matches you up with a bunch of therapists to choose from. Once you pick one, you’re connected!
From there, the vast majority of interactions are done via text through their service. On both browser and app, there’s essentially a text chain where you can correspond with the therapist. Then, depending on what subscription you have, you may have none, monthly, or weekly 30 minute video call with them.
What I like About Talkspace
Here’s a list of things that I really enjoy about TalkSpace:
- They take many insurances – I wasn’t expecting this but it was a pleasant surprise. My insurance is crappy, so it only got me a discount off the first month. But better insurances would likely get you more.
- Unlimited texting – I did the middle plan, which was unlimited texting with a monthly call. My first therapist had me writing a daily log of self reflection. NOTE: They didn’t respond every day, but one can text as much as they want
- Talkspace encourages switching therapists – Just like any health care provider or any service, sometimes the key to treatment working is finding the therapist that matches you. Switching therapists is super easy and they highly encourage it. I’m on my 2nd one, in fact.
- Don’t need to leave the house – I can write down thoughts and send it to them immediately and don’t need to try and remember for a weekly session.
- Cost effective – Depending on which plan you get, it’s likely cheaper than going to a therapist in-person
- Periodical evaluations – Every couple of weeks they have you take a test to measure anxiety, depression, and other stuff. I very might enjoy taking quizzes like this so that’s always fun to measure where I’m at mentally.
What I Don’t Like About Talkspace
As with everything, there are some drawbacks to using Talkspace instead of being in person:
- Can feel impersonal – As one of my favorite Key & Peele skits demonstrates, a lot can be misinterpreted over text. Communicating solely through text can lose the subtleties one expresses.
- Short video sessions – even on the highest plan, the video sessions are only 30 minutes. If you haven’t noticed from my writing style, I’m a talker when I get going. So the shorter time frame doesn’t work well for me
- Therapists have many clients – This can be with any therapist, but I felt like I had to keep reminding them of my situation and what I’ve told them. It seems like sometimes they have difficulty keeping track of everyone
- Slower response time – Unless you have the higher plan that guarantees a daily response, they won’t respond to everything you write, which is understandable. However, with the aforementioned therapist that had me do daily check-ins, it sometimes felt like I’m just talking into the void. When they respond, we’d touch on many things that happened in the passing time, but rarely do I feel we touched on everything
My Talkspace Experience
Taking everything into consideration, I’m torn on my Talkspace experience. Things feel like they move at such a slow pace, but since I’m new to therapy I don’t know what a “normal” pace is. Breaking decades of habits won’t happen overnight, but after many months I feel there should be more chipped away.
Some of the exercises they had me do seemed generic. One had me to daily affirmations, but they were stock. So it felt cheesy to do, and honestly kind of patronizing. “There is nobody better to be than me.” If you take 100 random people off the street and asked if they’d rather be Chris Pratt or me, nobody is going to pick me.
Another thing that sort of irked me was one of the therapists made a claim. I found it interesting (might even write about it in here!) and asked if there was a study that discovered that fact. He told me to Google it. I know that it’s unreasonable to expect them to know these case studies off the top of their head, but come on now! It’s text based, so they had plenty of time to find a link to send me!
It wasn’t all bad though, the periodical tests and check-ins really are helpful in allowing me to recognize when a rut is coming on. Or how my body feels when I’m in a certain state. That part of diligent daily self reflection is extremely helpful to me.
Their expertise is really helpful in putting feelings and habits into phrases. For instance, I know that I sometimes busy myself when faced with a large task. To learn the phrase “cognitive avoidance” gives me a whole new avenue of what to research.
Overall: a mixed bag.
My Overall Therapy Experience (so far)
I didn’t write the following criticisms under Talkspace because I don’t think it’s a Talkspace problem. This may be a criticism of therapy in general. I understand therapists are trained to NOT fix us, but to guide us and give us the tools to help ourselves.
That being said, I’m an introspective person. I do a lot of (probably too much) thinking and examining the past, and I feel that I already understand what I need to work on. At the least, I know a large handful of things I need to work on. Don’t get me wrong, no doubt there’s more that I haven’t realized.
So with that, the standard “find the issue, then stop doing it” doesn’t work for me. Because I know many of my issues, but I don’t know how to stop them. In fact, I often recognize I’m doing it WHILE I’m doing it and I still can’t stop, and that just frustrates me even more.
If I knew how to stop it, then I wouldn’t be going to therapy, simple as that.
So, I think I need to reexamine how I want to move forward.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, my final thoughts on Talkspace is that it can be a cost effective and convenient way for someone to seek therapy. However, it’s not for everyone, and I think I fall into that category. Not to say I’d never go back to it, but at this time I need a more hands on approach.
I see it working for a “maintenance period,” or perhaps if someone simply needs a tune up. Also, for those that have little spare time in their schedule it’s pretty great.
I mentioned switching therapists a month ago, it was sort of a science experiment to me. I was unsure if I just wasn’t gelling with that therapist or if it’s the Talkspace format. After spending a month with the new therapist, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s the latter.
So, I’ve discontinued my subscription to Talkspace and am seeking in-person solutions. Now that vaccinations are more plentiful and covid numbers are dropping, hopefully offices will open again soon. Also, they’re typically full hour sessions, which I feel I will benefit from.
One of my friends recommended a place that’s near me that he has found success, so I’m excited to give them a go. I’ll be sure to check in here plenty as that moves forward. Till next time!