Photo by Finn
All therapy is not created equally…
What is Talkspace?
Talkspace is an alternative to traditional in-person therapy. There’s both an app, and an online platform where you can securely access your therapist 24 hours a day.
There are 3 tiers:
All texting
Texting with monthly live video sessions
Texting with weekly video sessions
I opted for the second option, and caught a “New Year” sale for 50%. I paid about 800 US dollars for 6 months.
Why 6 months?
I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it, honestly, and didn’t want to commit to an entire year!
How to get started with Talkspace?
It’s as simple as downloading the app, or going to the Talkspace website! There’s an onboarding expert who you can chat with and get started. You pay via the app by credit card and your access is immediate.
You’ll take a fairly detailed survey and highlight the areas that matter most to you for example, childhood trauma, addiction, depression, etc. Then you play therapist roulette…
Photo by Surface
How to choose a therapist on Talkspace:
Spoiler: it’s anxiety-inducing.
Talkspace informs you that every therapist they offer you to choose from meets all your requirements even if they’re not listed. You get to see a photo of your potential therapist, a brief summary of their experience, the number of people they’ve helped, and also how many years in practice they possess. Some go so far as to leave a video introduction, which is greatly appreciated.
*You also get a free 10-minute intro call no matter what plan you choose*
Why did I feel anxious choosing a therapist? Because they show you 4-5 options, and if you don’t select any of those, you move on. That said, there’s no way to go back, or revisit people you’ve already seen. I knew I wanted to work with a Black woman, and the more I hit refresh, the more I worried I wouldn’t find anyone who met those requirements. Some options had less than a year’s experience, or looked younger than me!
When I finally I matched with someone, things got interesting.
My first therapist dumped me.
I matched with someone, and within the first week, she was taking a holiday.
In her defense, it was the beginning of the year, so I get that. But when she came back “online” I was expecting trans-for-ma-tion, henny! What did I get instead? A gif which claimed to be a “shower meditation,” her auto-response welcome message, and a few “yeah, I get why that makes you anxious. It’d make me anxious too! I have a similar story!”
*record scratch*
Squeeze me, ma’am?
Immediately after I addressed my concerns— and I mean immediately— and a whole 3 hours before our scheduled call, I get a message saying she’s leaving the platform.
Poof! Gone!
I don’t know if that’s the truth or not, all I know is that baby girl bounced, and the timing was horrendous.
The search begins again.
I matched with a white woman. I went to her calendar, and she had no available sessions for the next two months!
No ma’am. NEXT!
I matched with someone else, sent a message, and then didn’t receive a response within the promised 24 hours.
Move on, I did! But it still stung…
At this point, I felt hopeless, self-conscious, and like giving up.
On my 4th try in a week and a half, I finally landed on a good one.
That part of the process, the matching, is not fun. Although you get the option to change as many times as necessary, it’s not fun feeling like you’ve just shared your innermost secrets with a stranger via chat, and they either left you on read, or straight ghosted.
My Favorite Talkspace Features:
Although you’re texting, you can also send voice and video messages.
There’s an option to “ping” your therapist so they know you’re ready for a response.
Texting feels comfortable. It almost felt like journaling.
There’s a free 10 minute video chat whenever you start with a new person.
There are check-ins and PTSD surveys you take at least once a month to get an idea of your progress. We love a metric!
You can change therapists as often as you want. No questions asked.
The app itself is intuitive and easy to navigate.
They accept insurance! Not all, and certainly not mine in Spain, but it’s nice if they accept yours!
What I didn’t enjoy about Talkspace:
When you’re going through something rough, and you’re in a different timezone, 24 hours feels endless. They always give you an estimated response time, but it didn’t always make me feel heard.
The matching process was ROUGH! I wish there were a better way besides tapping, holding my breath and hoping for the best.
I’m okay with texting because that’s my generation. We still suffer from anxiety of being pranked on a 3-way call, or having to leave awkward voice messages on our friend’s family’s answering machine. I can see, however, that it feels impersonal in the beginning since you don’t know the other person very well.
All in all, it serves its purpose. I’m fully aware that asking for an English-speaking Black American woman therapist who takes my insurance in Spain is damn near impossible, so this is my compromise.
Since it’s all online, I immediately had my bluff called. With less than 25 clicks, I was signed up and ready to be therapized…. (that’s not a word, I’m aware).
For those getting started, I suggest trying a month or two first to see if it’s a good fit. I simply had to weigh the pros and cons for my personal situation, and Talkspace ticked the right boxes at the right time.
