Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Talkspace Anonymous Therapy App
Talkspace is a popular text-based therapy app which provides anonymity to patients seeking help.
Last spring’s $15 million Series B funding round brought the company’s total funding up to $28 million. The future looks bright for the startup. The only admission that Talkspace might not achieve #worlddomination, as co-founder Roni Frank tagged her Facebook post about Talkspace’s billboard in Times Square, is in its terms of use, which isn’t linked to from the homepage of the website. There is, however, a link to the terms in tiny, hard-to-see print when you first sign into the app. The policy reads, in part:
"...In some cases, Talkspace's offered services may not be completely substitute (sic) for a face-to-face session by a licensed Therapist. You should never rely on or make health or well-being decisions purely on use of Talkspace. Never disregard, avoid, or delay in obtaining medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare Therapist, or by traditional face-to-face appointment; (sic) because of information or advice you received through Talkspace."
The informed consent statement provided by therapists directly to users as of late August 2016 reads, "Although risks are rare, I am aware that there are possible risks which include that the information I am able to give may not be sufficient for a diagnosis...If my therapist believes I need additional or other services, they may refer me to another specialist or type of care." It never mentions that patients shouldn’t rely, or make decisions purely based on, Talkspace therapy.
This service is similar to another idea floated by John Brunner in his 1975 classic The Shockwave Rider. In the novel, desperate people could call a number that guaranteed anonymity and connected them to a person who would listen to their story without judgement.
And talks to a blank though lighted screen. It's a service. Imposing no penances, it's kinder than the confessional. Demanding no fees, it's affordable where psychotherapy is not. Offering no advice, it's better than arguing with that son (or daughter) of a bitch who thinks he/she knows all the answers and goes on and on and on until you want to scream.
Via The Verge.
Demand for this kind of therapy has been significant. Talkspace claims to have 1,000 therapists and 300,000 active users (although several therapists The Verge spoke to indicated that many of their paying clients at any given time were "radio silent," that is, paying without using services). Talkspace competitor BetterHelp claims to have 1,000,000 sign-ups in total.
Stonkered or clutched or quite simply going insane, someone reaches for the phone and punches the most famous number on the continent: the ten nines that key you into Hearing Aid.
(Read more about John Brunner's Hearing Aid)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 12/23/2016)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Medical ")
MIT Computerized Bionic Leg Is Part Of The User
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain, through the mediation of the electronic brain in the leg.' - Charles Recour, 1949.
Bone-Building Drug Evenity Approved
'Compounds devised by the biochemists for the rapid building of bone...' - Edmond Hamilton, 1932.
BrainBridge Concept Transplant Of Human Head Proposed
'Briquet’s head seemed to think that to find and attach a new body to her head was as easy as to fit and sew a new dress.' - Alexander Belaev (1925)
Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...' - Charles Recour, 1949.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Moscow Attacked By Hundreds Of Drones
'It hurtled on down with inconceivable speed until it was visible as thousands of tiny robot planes...'
Nifty Folding Electric Bicycles!
'Separate paths were provided for them...'
FTC: Says Ring Employees Illegally Surveilled Customers
'Then she looked up with a smile and moved closer to the camera.'
Switzerland May Cap Population At Ten Million
'The population of Castle Hagedorn was fixed...'
Project Silica Offers 'Long-Term' Digital Storage
'... folios and tapes and playable discs of platinum alloy.'
Can 'Tactical Umbrellas' Shield One From Drones
'... another corner of his mind began to think about the shields.'
Crystalline Structures In Space, You Say?
A massive space borne lifeform from ST:TNG.
Garçon! A Menu For Artemis II, S'il Vous Plaît
'Michel Ardan, as a Frenchman, was declared chief cook, an important function, which raised no rival.'
Amazing Photonic Crystal Light Sail
'That sail will be twenty thousand miles at the wide part.'
Blue Collar AI Goes To Work To Mine Its Own Crypto
Blue collar bot.
Rogue AI Replicated Itself
'Sapiro’s computer just kept dialing at random, hanging up on humans, until it got a fellow computer of the same type as itself.'
HandelBot Helps Two-Handed Robots Learn Piano
'I request that you feed the correlation between those dots and the levers of the panel into my memory banks.'
Woven Fiber Electronic Skin For Robots
'... all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
When AI Takes Its First Breath
Any suggestions?
Chinese Aircar Light And Airy, Not For Blade Runners
Daytime version.
The Morphing Wheel And The Smartwheel
'If you surf over a bump, the spokes contract to roll over it.'
