ABOVE AVERAGE IS OVER:

The future of therapy arrived faster than planned. Over the past decade the appearance of mental health care has radically changed, evolving from soft conversations held in small rooms, to encompass teletherapy (at a distance), text-based therapy (through messaging apps), chatbots that perform cognitive behavioural therapy, online platforms that match you to a therapist and, soon, AI therapy with a "non-human" therapist like Ellie. In 2020 the pandemic brought about a mental health crisis and these online services were pushed blinking into the light. As Covid gnawed its way through communities, record numbers of children and adults sought NHS help for problems such as anxiety and depression, and private online therapy platforms, such as BetterHelp, saw a spike in users. The future was here, for around £60 a week.

It makes sense doesn't it? It makes kind, thoughtful sense to democratise therapy, a service previously only widely available to the wealthy, especially at a time of unprecedented suffering. This was the purpose when in 2008 the NHS launched its Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme - "The most ambitious programme of talking therapies in the world." It was designed to make therapy more accessible and if you call your GP with anxiety today, you are likely to be referred to an IAPT. If you search for therapy apps on your phone, you can download hundreds of services ranging from adult colouring books and feelings diaries to Woebot, an AI chatbot that uses CBT techniques and Minions GIFs to improve users' moods. The therapy industry is thriving.

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