Online behavioral health care company Talkspace has been awarded a $3 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to study the effectiveness of cognitive processing therapy, a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, in a virtual setting.
The New York-based company said this research seeks to explore the potential of delivering cognitive processing therapy (CPT) through digital channels, with the goal of dramatically expanding access to care for those most in need.
The new study will build on preliminary research undertaken by Talkspace which found that combining CPT with virtual tools could reduce trauma symptoms by twice as much over treatment as usual and in less time. The pilot study of 60 participants used a hybrid model that offered educational experiences in conjunction with therapy.
Talkspace (Nasdaq: TALK) said results showed patients were able to achieve greater outcomes and that specially trained trauma therapists were able to assist more individuals in processing events and challenges than they could before.
In conjunction with Talkspace, the three-year study will be led by principal investigators Shannon Wiltsey-Stirman, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral services at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and Katy Dondanville, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The study will begin recruiting participants in March 2022 and CPT services will be offered in both English and Spanish on the Talkspace platform.
The new grant comes on the heels of two other grants Talkspace received earlier this year from the National Institute of Mental Health, totaling nearly $7 million, to examine the experiences of tele-mental health and tele-therapy services for patients.
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