If you told me last year that web-base psychotherapy would gain traction I wouldn’t have believed you. That was before I met Mark Goldenson, CEO of Breakthrough, a silicon valley based web startup that matches patient and therapist through a secure online portal. Breakthrough clients can review a therapist’s qualifications and fees, view sample video, and initiate therapy by video or phone.
In a 2.0 world marked by clouds, hives and democratized healthcare, Breakthrough is cultivating one-on-one relationships through improved access to mental health services. Everyone should be talking about this.
Goldenson made the TechCrunch 50 this past fall and maintained his continence before the likes of Tim O’Reilly, Kevin Rose and other tech luminaries. You can check out the coverage in Wired and Forbes.
The road to viable online teletherapy is littered with skeletons of those who were either ahead of the parade or didn’t have the technical support of Breakthrough. But telehealth has reached a tipping point. And Breakthrough may be there to seize the moment and tap the 2/3 of America’s 58 million with mental illness too stigmatized to seek help in person.
I’d like to say I discovered Mark Goldenson but it was he who discovered me after I delivered a lunchtime keynote on social media at this year’s American Telemedicine Association meeting in Palm Springs. He’s a pretty sharp guy. And if the fervency of his questions is any measure of his capacity to lead, Breakthrough may be worth keeping and eye on.
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What a great idea. And an apt name too.
You are so right – most people who would benefit from some sort of therapy are too afraid of being stigmatized, a fear that is especially prevalent in some cultures. This one-to-one connection is really needed, in particular because some who seek help end up posting in Yahoo Answers, Ask Metafilter, other sites where there is rarely an expert to help out.
Yes indeed-
Mark is on it!
Wishing Breakthrough much success!
DeeAnna Nagel
http://www.onlinetherapyinstitute.com
very interesting indeed, both in terms of accessibility and hopefully affordability. i wonder how issues of liability are being handled, since the scope of practice for counselors may become very wide across the country.