One of the most discussed aspects since the start of the pandemic is the mental health. And one would say: “Finally“. Yes, because unfortunately in our country this topic is often wrapped up in prejudices difficult to break down. Also for this reason it was born then TherapyChat, which offers new access to sessions with a trained psychologist, all in complete safety. Let’s find out what it is!
TherapyChat was born from a personal experience
The idea behind this startup comes from Italian Alessandro DeSario. Expatriated first for study and then for work reasons, he found himself in a situation in which he felt the need to find psychological support abroad. Not an easy goal, which led him to design an innovative solution that would overcome the problem, as he explained to us:
“TherapyChat is the result of my personal need to pay more attention to my psychological well-being. I had been living and working abroad for several years and I felt I wanted to start a therapy path in my mother tongue. So, to break down physical distances and overcome the difficulties in finding a professional who could follow me remotely, I created the platform. The goal was and is to allow anyone to access a professional care service for their mental well-being in a faster, more fluid way and from any place, even the most remote “.
TherapyChat is therefore a tool that can come in handy to a great many people. According to some estimates, in fact, about one in four people will find themselves in need of support for their mental health in the course of their life. However, especially in Italy, some still have a lot of strength harmful prejudiceswhich make access to this type of help more difficult.
In fact, the idea that therapy is one is still quite alive in our country extreme solution. Something that only those in particularly serious situations should have access to. Or, even worse, a sign of weakness or a path that can be easily replaced by the support of family and friends. And although the latter may be important, it should not be confused with the contribution of a specialist.
How are the Italians really doing?
How many times to the classic question “How are you?” Did we hear the answer (or did we answer first) “Well, thank you”? Yet often behind this evasive phrase hidden difficulties are hidden.
Precisely for this reason TherapyChat commissioned a Ipsos realize one mental health study Italians. And the result is that, thanks to the difficulties of recent years, the situation is worsened. This is what 35% of respondents maintain, with peaks at 40% for the 30-44 range.
More than half of the Italians are worried: the older population mainly for economic reasons, while the younger one for emotional reasons. It is interesting to note how these negative feelings are mainly perceived by women, also due to the greater presence in work sectors particularly affected by the pandemic, such as schools or health care.
The result is that 40% of respondents (65% in the 18-29 range) said they do having felt the need to consult a psychologist in the past year. However, only 12% have actually started therapy. This is also due precisely to the prejudices we mentioned above. In fact, about 60% chose to turn to family members and 27% on average to friends. Especially young people then pointed to the economic reasons as an obstacle to the decision to go to a psychologist.
But how exactly does TherapyChat help us find a psychologist?
TherapyChat then arrives in Italy to provide a possible solution, after the excellent response obtained in Spain and the United Kingdom. This platform allows you to get professional support in a convenient, accessible and more economical way. But how exactly does it work?
A first phase involves a chat with Chloe, the platform’s chatbot. This allows you to identify the problems to be faced in therapy, and then ‘match’ the patient with the TherapyChat psychologist best suited to her needs through a algorithm. It will then be possible to change during the race, but it is an option that is rarely exploited, proving the goodness of the initial combinations.
Another proof of the quality of the service offered by TherapyChat are the excellent results obtained in the patient assessments. Not only that, but almost all of those who carry out the test session offered in our country then decide to continue the path. In short, once that initial prejudice has been overcome, it is understood the importance of taking care of your mental health.
In call with the psychologist with TherapyChat
What TherapyChat offers is the possibility of having virtual sessions with your psychologist in video call. Each of these lasts 50 minutes, as is customary in Italy. This channel is flanked by one more traditional chatwhich can act as a point of contact between psychologist and patient between one session and another, for needs other than therapy.
The most important thing is that everything is fully encrypted. Chatting with Alessandro De Sario he reiterated how this aspect is absolutely fundamental. The attention placed on the safety of the application is absolute, as it is natural (but not taken for granted) when it comes to sensitive topics such as health.
There are therefore many different benefits to using this service. The most obvious are of course the comfort and the conveniencebut the theme of privacy. Having access to therapy directly at home can be a great help in getting around some of the baseless prejudices we talked about above.
Most importantly then, what TherapyChat offers is a great chance to customization of the service. Thanks to the more than 500 psychologists involved and the over 36 specializations covered, it is possible to have a path tailored to perfection on your needs. Whether it is specific needs (from couple therapy to anxiety therapy) or logistical, you can easily find a solution through this app.
Three exceptional testimonials for TherapyChat
To close the presentation conference there were three exceptional personalities from the world of entertainment: Giorgia Crivello, Awed alias Simone Paciello and Davide Silvestri. This unprecedented trio talked about their experience with mental health and how they faced their path, moderated by the psychologist of TherapyChat Giulia Griselli.
A chat came out full of interesting ideas, in which, however, a fundamental point was reiterated: it is necessary to normalize psychology, definitively overcoming stereotypes. A mission that TherapyChat has decided to undertake with its head down, offering a solid and effective service.
The Co-Founder and CEO Alessandro DeSario commented like this:
“We certainly find ourselves in a historical moment in which there is greater attention on the issue. More and more established professionals, I think of many well-known artists and sportsmen, through their personal stories are trying to break down the stereotypes related to therapy, normalizing it and making it an important and useful tool for one’s well-being, to work on oneself and on the achievement of own goals.
With TherapyChat we want to continue on this path, aware however, as the report data shows, of how much awareness there is still to be done on the issue. This is the next challenge: to overcome the shame and fear of the judgment of others and to make therapy an increasingly widespread and common practice of self-care “.
For more information on TherapyChat and the services it offers, we refer you to the official website of the startup.