Telehealth provider Hims & Hers is launching teletherapy sessions in 31 states, with plans to reach all 50 by year end. The company got its start providing heavily branded prescription drugs for common ailments like hair loss, erectile dysfunction, and acne. But in the last year it has expanded into primary care, launched tele-psychiatry and group therapy, and taken the company public.
The mental health side of our business is one of if not the fastest growing category that we have and that’s the traditional psychiatric services,” says CEO Andrew Dudum.
Both the Hims- and Hers-branded sites will now offer one-on-one 50-minute therapy sessions for $99 apiece. The offering is not subscription based. Rather, individuals can set up therapy sessions at their own pace, whether that means two sessions a week or two sessions per month. Hims & Hers does not currently take insurance for its behavioral health offering. In addition to traditional therapy, it also offers group therapy, tele-psychiatry, and a 24/7 crisis hotline for members of the platform.
Demand for therapy has grown immensely since the pandemic began in early 2020.
Therapy will not be limited to cognitive behavioral therapy or skills-based therapy, the latter being perhaps the most popular format featured in the fountain of startups now hosting mental health services. The platform will include evidence-based care, which may include psychodynamic therapy as well as internal family systems. “We’re trying to offer folks the kind of services that are going to be appropriate and insightful,” says Cohen.
Even prior the pandemic, a significant amount of Americans were not able to get mental healthcare. Online therapy and psychiatry goes a long way to make these services available to people in remote locations, so long as they have internet access. However, there is also a shortage of practitioners, according to data from Kaiser Family Foundation. The sudden explosion of teletherapy and tele-psychiatry offerings has allowed more practitioners to practice in more places, but it does not make up for the lack of providers. As such, there’s currently fierce competition for the therapists who provide care via these platforms. Cohen says that Hims pays a flat competitive rate to such providers.
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