Introducing Pear: A new therapy platform created by therapists: we interview the founder!
We interview one the founders about this unique new platform. Find out what makes it different from psychologytoday, counselling directories and more.
We talk to Dr Jo Carlile, Founder of Pear, a new therapy platform founded by therapists, where therapy-seekers can be paired with their ideal therapist through a seamless, thoughtful, and human-led process. No long forms. No filters that miss the point. If you’re a therapist who wants to work with more aligned clients - Pear is for you too (as they are building a therapist community too.)
What inspired you to create Pear? Was there a specific moment or experience that sparked the idea?
The idea of a therapist-client matching platform was actually my co-founder, Tallie's, idea. A few years ago, she struggled to find a therapist herself and has been quietly developing this idea to revolutionise the way we access private therapy ever since. I had a similar idea of how to create easy to access mental health support more widely.
I was busy coming up with a plan to build something that gave individuals more control over their mental health and quicker access to personalised support when we met at a female founder community event (Female Founders Rise) and shared both our ideas. We quickly realised our desires to disrupt the mental health system were similar and we thought we were stronger together.
We agreed to start building with the therapist-client matching platform as our first product..... the seed of Pear was planted! We both feel so passionate about transforming the process of finding a therapist from a 'needle in a haystack' situation to pairing individuals with therapists that we know are best placed to support them.
The UK mental health care landscape, particularly private, has many challenges. Which barriers were you most motivated to address with your platform?
Great question! I think working privately for me has opened so many opportunities. I work when I want, I work how I want and I work with who I want. This not only protects my own mental health but it also benefits my clients because I am working with less stress and risk of burnout.
But the other side to this is I am working alone. I am responsible for getting my clients, for the admin around running a private practice and I am no longer working alongside colleagues. It can be an isolated space for private therapists. Which is where the idea for a community came from. But not just a token community - one where real connections are made and consistent contact happens.
This is why we have Therapist Pear Pods. We on-board community members in batches of 8-10 people, and this becomes your 'cohort,' Real connections can therefore be made as you connect, share and grow alongside each other.
We also want to take away the marketing/business development burden from therapists. We recently had a survey out with therapists and every single response said that marketing themselves was the part of their job that they struggled with the most. We know that 'where is my next client going to come from?' is a constant worry for most therapists so our aim is to to take that worry away with a steady stream of referrals for your best-fit clients.
We love to see platforms founded by those in the industry rather than venture capital with no knowledge of mental health. How does your background inform Pear?
I have worked in the field of mental health since 2008. SO much has changed since then! So much has changed since I left the NHS 5 years ago. I still see so much of mental health support work being reactive and hard to find. The values behind Pear are: normalising mental health, empowering people, respecting individuality, trustworthy, approachable and compassionate.
These are all taken from my understanding that good mental health support needs to stand within real life, not within a clinical medical setting. With Pear we are trying to 'normalise' the struggles and getting support for these. We want to build a brand that feels very approachable and makes finding great support really easy.
I also know, first-hand, how draining and difficult being a therapist can be so, unlike many of the venture-capital built platforms, we care as much about our therapists as we do our clients. We are nothing without our community of therapists and we believe so strongly in protecting their individuality and building a space where they feel supported.
How does Pear match differently compared to other platforms like psych today, counselling directory, Meela, betterhelp etc?
Well first off, we are VERY different to psych today, counselling directory, bacp directory etc. Jargon-filled bios and poor filtering capabilities mean that it's virtually impossible for people to get anywhere near finding the right person to help them on these directories. They expect people to show up knowing exactly what modality and approach they want to work with and this just isn't the reality for most people. They also expect them to know what they are struggling with and, again, more-often-than-not, they don't.
We differentiate from other online 'therapist-finder' platforms by making the process approachable and easy. No forms, no tick boxes... just tell us a bit about how you're feeling and we'll take it from there.
We also know our therapists. Through our community model, we get to know our therapists really well. We know how they work, who their ideal clients are and their personalities. As we grow, we are desperate to maintain this close contact with our therapists as we feel it really sets us apart and will ensure excellent pairings.
We’re seeing a change in types of platforms, from commission based models, fixed fee models, directories with fixed fee subscriptions and more. How will Pear work?
We are currently still in the early stages of developing Pear. At present we are offering a subscription based model for therapists. This will be a monthly payment of £20 which will include access to their Therapist Pod, Whatsapp group, monthly online meet ups, monthly newsletters and an opportunity to contribute content to our member noticeboard/newsletters to showcase their work. At present this fee includes referrals as well but that might change in the future. We want to keep the service and platform free for clients.
How do you select and vet therapists for your platform?
We have specific criteria and we ask all our members to confirm (with evidence) this before we onboard them. We ask to see evidence of qualifications, agreed supervision arrangements, insurance certificates and evidence that they are actively practising. Other than this we are keen to create a rich and diverse community serving different needs, budgets, availability, styles etc.
What benefits does Pear offer to mental health professionals that other platforms don't?
We care as much about our therapists as we do about our clients. There are so many platforms out there that claim to be 'committed to improving mental health outcomes' but this only seems to apply to one side of their marketplace, their clients. Therapist burnout is a real problem at the moment. We are committed to creating a supportive and welcoming space for therapists in our community. We also want our therapists to work in a way that suits them. We want them to charge what they want, work when they want and how they want. We're not here to dictate that. We believe that this is what will ensure we build a sustainable business.
We also want our members to shape this platform so we want to be able to respond and adapt to their needs. So who knows what direction we'll be going in in 6 months time... Can we do a Pear pt. 2?!
Oh and did we mention that we are 100% committed to making sure that therapists are properly remunerated for the amazing work they do?
It seems like Pear is really focused on ‘pearing’ the right therapist and client. What factors do you take into account to make a good pair?
Yes, great 'pearings' are at the core of our business. As a clinician myself, I know what it is like when a great fit referral lands in your inbox. You know that you are going to be able to help without draining your own energy too much. It is a great recipe and all private therapists should have a large chunk of their client work with these types of clients (ones that suit their way of working really well).
We focus on approach, needs and personal styles. This is becoming easier to capture in a scalable way. Pairing with a great therapist isn't an exact science, but it's also not complete guess work, therapists will probably know what I mean by that.
What has been the most challenging aspect of building a company in the mental health space, especially as a clinician yourself?
The challenge is always the juggle for me! I am a mother to two small boys, I run my own private clinic and I am trying to disrupt the mental health system. My biggest barrier is time.... and also lack of sleep! But we are so passionate about our plan. We have such a solid vision for what could become a great system (and community) for private therapists and therefore clients. This keeps me going when I am feeling empty.
I also think that both Tallie and I get little doubts that creep in, imposter syndrome hits and we wonder whether anyone actually wants this? Will it be successful? Can we do it justice? But the feedback so far from our manual matching, from our first Therapist Pear Pod has all been so positive that it's spurring us on!
We are currently building our next Pear Pod, launching in June so if you would like to talk about getting involved then please drop me an email jo@ilovepear.co.uk or find me on LinkedIn @DrJoCarlile.
What do you think about Pear? We know many of our subscribers also live in the USA/AUS or Canada. Does your country need Pear?