Are fewer people seeking out therapy? Good nationwide data is hard to come by, but we have some signals. Online therapy provider BetterHelp reports a dwindling subscriber base, down about 20% from its peak two years ago, even as they continue to spend millions of dollars on advertising. And anecdotally, weāre hearing lots of individual therapists report that theyāre struggling to bring in new clients over the last few months.
If your practice has been struggling with fewer therapy referrals, here are three possible reasons for it ā and solutions for each.
Iāve been reading and enjoying 
It just isnāt the same, I hear over and over, from psychotherapists shrugging away concern over artificial intelligence. An AI therapist canāt really empathize. It canāt truly understand. It canāt build a therapeutic relationship with depth and connectedness the way a human therapist can.
Itās not unusual for private practice therapists to seek to expand their practices through coaching. Some clients will engage in coaching, but not therapy, because of the stigma they associate with therapy. At the same time, some therapists note that the 
Online therapy platform BetterHelp is rapidly losing its paid subscriber base, according to financial filings from its parent company. The company reports a drop in average monthly paid BetterHelp subscribers, from