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Founder Alessandro De Sario | Image credit: TherapyChat

In the wake of the recent pandemic, the global health crisis has had a major impact on the mental health of Europeans. According to Madrid-based startup TherapyChat, around 190 million Europeans suffer from mental illness, with 25 per cent of them already having one major anxiety or depression episode in the past year.

There are a variety of mental disorders and illnesses and getting the right professional for each of them is key to their treatment. This is where TherapyChat is making the difference. The company has experts in the majority of mental health specialties that can offer solutions according to your needs. The company provides a video-based online therapy focused on professional support, personal development, and wellness services.

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Recently, the winners of the 2021 Future Hamburg Award were announced.

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TherapyChat raises Series A fund

In a recent development, the Madrid-based therapy platform announced that it has raised €5M in its Series A round of funding. The round was led by Next Chance Group, as a follow-on offering to their original Seed investment.

“Qualified therapist through video calls”

Founded in 2016 by Alessandro De Sario, TherapyChat is an online and mobile therapy platform. It allows users to access licensed therapists specialised in a variety of areas (personal development, coaching, anxiety, depression, etc.) through weekly video calls via the website or mobile app.

It is backed by the Spanish Official College of Psychologists, together with whom they have signed a code of best practices for online therapy. Now with the help of the internet, the company aims to help people become their best selves by accessing a licensed therapist in a more convenient and affordable way. 

TherapyChat’s video therapy is provided through a network of more than 350 licensed therapists across Spain and the UK serving patients in more than 30 countries. In the last five years, the company has managed to improve the well-being of more than 300,000 people. Currently, the platform offers services in both Spanish and English language.

In a statement, the company reported that it is one of the few players that heavily invested in AI, which has enabled it to improve interactions between therapists and their patients as well as automate more than 95 per cent of its operations, reaching early-stage profitability.

Use of the funds

With the raised capital, TherapyChat will expand its services in new markets in Europe, including Italy and France. Additionally, the funds will also help the company to further develop its product and grow its corporate customer base. 

Currently, the company already capitalises on partnerships with more than 150 companies, including insurance company Sanitas (part of Bupa) and Gympass.

Growth during the pandemic

TherapyChat’s founder Alessandro De Sario says, “We had to turn to technology to be able to manage the hyper-growth that came during the pandemic and its aftermath. In fact, since the start of lockdown, TherapyChat users increased ninefold. 92 per cent percent of these users return for a second session and 89 per cent admit that they have seen an improvement in their anxiety and depression symptoms in the mid-term.” 

He adds, “Technology is our ally. It enabled us to channel all this hyper growth besides proving to be a key driver in reaching profitability.”

Alessandro De Sario also reports that during the pandemic, a lot of companies connected TherapyChat in order to offer its services to their employees. And this is why the company decided to expand its product offering to add B2B services, “a channel that today has more than 250,000 covered lives and will be a major source of growth going forward.”

Notably, TherapyChat claims it is the first Spanish platform to adhere to the code of best-practices established by the Official College of Psychologists of Madrid.