'It's starting to hit home': Coronavirus outbreak sends Talkspace usage soaring
More people are flocking to virtual therapists to cope with the stresses and anxieties brought on by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Talkspace, the mobile and online therapy subscription service, has seen more users of its services during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. According to Talkspace's Chief Medical Officer Neil Leibowitz, they've seen "about a 25% uptick" in demand since mid-February.
With lockdowns, job losses and closures sweeping across the U.S. in the last two days, "it's gone even higher” he told Yahoo Finance.
"We've definitely seen a huge spike, and it's coming from everywhere — People seeking information, people seeking treatment. It's starting to hit home," Leibowitz said on "On The Move" this week.
Leibowitz, who is based in New York, noted that they're starting to see that rise in traffic "pick up significantly across the country. People are feeling lonely, anxious, worried about their job," he added.
Leibowitz went on to outline three main worries that Americans are expressing during the pandemic, saying a combination of isolation, “financial anxiety” and “information overload” is stressing out the public.
Talkspace is also working to help those individuals on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis, will donate 1,000 months of messaging therapy for medical and healthcare workers to help them cope with the pressures they're facing.
"Our hope is to give more," Leibowitz said, "They're under a lot of stress, a lot of anxiety, and we really want to be there to support them in their time of need."
Talkspace has called on its network of therapists, letting them know that for every hour of therapy donated, they'll match it.
Julia La Roche is a Correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter. Brooke DiPalma is a production associate. Follow her on Twitter.