🛋️ Two Chairs, a startup offering hybrid behavioral health care, has closed a Series C funding round worth 72 million dollars. The company's focus on measuring outcomes and dedication to quality assurance of care are two key factors that set it apart from other mental health startups, said CEO Alex Katz.

The startup was founded in 2017 to expand access to high-quality mental health care. It offers both virtual and face-to-face psychotherapy for adults with a wide range of mental health problems across the spectrum of severity.

As some of the stigma associated with mental health care dissipates culturally, more people than ever are seeking out these services, he pointed out. But the providers people end up with often don't offer measurement-based mental health care, nor do they "have accountability for quality", Katz explained.

👉 He stated that from day one, Two Chairs has focused on improving the quality of mental health care by prioritizing the experiences of patients and therapists - starting with the right combination.

When a patient begins their care journey at Two Chairs - often after being referred by their doctor - the first step is to schedule a matching appointment, Katz explained. The startup's matching process combines clinical insights with a proprietary algorithm that pairs patients and therapists based on factors that are likely to lead to a strong therapeutic bond, he said.

Two Chairs is usually able to schedule a matching appointment for patients within two days, Katz added. He described the appointment as a 45-minute video session with a licensed therapist who is trained to match patients with the right therapist for them. During this session, the matching specialist learns about the patient's needs and preferences, answers their questions and educates them on how the therapy works.

He highlighted this matching process as something that sets Two Chairs apart from other mental health care providers such as Headspace, BetterHelp and Grow Therapy. He noted that 90% of Two Chairs' patients make it to at least the fourth session with their therapist - compared to an industry average of just 36%.

Every morning that a patient has a therapy session at Two Chairs, they complete a digital check-in that takes no more than five minutes. The check-in includes questions from the PHQ-9 and GAD-7, two clinically validated assessments of anxiety and depression. Once the patient completes this check-in, Two Chairs tabulates the results on a standardized clinical dashboard where therapists can see any changes in the patients' PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores.

Patients then receive a snapshot of their progress in areas such as self-esteem, mood, sleep, restlessness and eating. Patients also receive suggestions for reflection and insights from their clinicians, which help them develop a better understanding of their mental health progress. For example, a suggestion might ask patients why they think their sleep patterns have changed or why they are becoming more irritable recently.

In his view, measurement-based care is crucial because it proves to help patients achieve better therapy outcomes. Research shows a nearly 75% improvement in remission rates among patients whose behavioral health providers use measurement-based care compared to those whose providers don't, he pointed out.

"At Two Chairs, 100% of our therapists use measurement-based care, which helps us gain clear insights into the clinical outcomes our care is achieving. Meanwhile, less than 20% of behavioral health practitioners have integrated measurement-based care into their practices, and few, if any, use a system that can consistently highlight indicators for both therapists and their patients simultaneously," said Katz.

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