Talkspace conducted a small study to show the world its text messaging approach works for patients. Titled “A Preliminary Study of Talkspace’s Text-based Psychotherapy, “the study investigated improvements in psychological well-being and the strength of the “client-therapist working alliance,” and has found preliminary evidence supporting the effectiveness of using Talkspace’s method of text-based therapy.

The study involved just 58 participants who assessed services during the range of 12-16 weeks into therapy. It [study] measured the impact that texting therapy had on symptom reduction, the quality of the relationship that individuals built with their therapists, the cost-effectiveness of Talkspace services in comparison to traditional therapy, the ease of accessibility to get therapy, and the satisfaction with Talkspace’s services as a whole.

Talkspace text therapy was estimated to be one third the cost of traditional therapy to achieve effective treatment results.Results from this study include findings such as:

• Participants reported experiencing significantly greater well-being after 3.86 months of text therapy, than before they started.
• Talkspace text therapy was estimated to be one third the cost of traditional therapy to achieve effective treatment results.
• Scores measuring the therapeutic alliance (patient-provider relationship) were comparable to those found in traditional treatment settings.
• Users reported higher satisfaction with Talkspace compared to traditional therapy in areas concerning convenience, affordability, and getting help when needed.

“Talkspace is democratizing mental health care and offers the opportunity to deliver treatment directly to millions of people,” said Oren Frank, CEO of Talkspace. “The results from our first study reaffirms our method of delivering therapy, and we are committed to working alongside world-renowned universities and partners to develop further research around this model.”

The full summary of the study is available from here (PDF), and the full report can be downloaded from here. (PDF)