Talkspace, a startup that provides mental-health treatment online, announced Thursday that it will be providing 1,000 months of free therapy for healthcare workers responding to the COVID-19 crisis in the United States.
According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, there are more than 16,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. as of Friday afternoon, which is about 3,000 more than Thursday afternoon. This rapid spread has already begun to put a major strain on hospitals and other medical facilities across the country.
“The mental health of our doctors, nurses, social workers and other health personnel is paramount now more than ever,” CEO and co-founder Oren Frank said in a statement. “They are on the frontlines of a rapidly growing pandemic, putting their own health and safety at risk to save others affected by the outbreak. At Talkspace, we feel it’s our responsibility to ensure they can access the care they need in order to provide the care America needs from them right now.”
To help those on the frontlines, Talkspace is providing nurses, doctors and social workers with unlimited text, video and audio messaging with a licensed therapist through the platform. Those interested can register on the company’s website or app and must provide their NPI and state of residence to verify their eligibility.
The company also says it has called on its network of therapists to donate their time for additional free services to medical personnel, promising a 100 percent match for every donation by a therapist. The company will do the same for other companies that donate additional therapy months.
The New York-based startup was founded in 2012 and claims to have connected 1.5 million people to licensed therapists on its HIPAA-compliant web and mobile platform. To date, Talkspace has raised a total of $110 million, closing on a $50 million Series D round last May.
