A recent study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry has demonstrated that while the use of teletherapy has become more widespread over the last few years, access to such care has not increased for those who cannot afford it.

The researchers, from Columbia University, note that since the pandemic, the percentage of Americans seeking psychotherapy has more than doubled and has remained at higher levels since then, primarily due to the ease of access online.

For this study, the research team looked at previous research that focused on highlighting trends in patients seeking outpatient care in the U.S.— this earlier study involved 89,619 psychotherapy patients. A comparison of previous versus current data found that despite the hope that increasing the use of teletherapy would lead to more help for low-income people, there was no noticeable improvement. Patients using such services tended to be young, well educated and in higher income brackets.

The researchers also looked at data from another study focused on the use of telehealth by children and adolescents and found similar results. Most were members of high-income families, especially those with good health insurance.

The research team concluded that it appears that teletherapy has done little to improve access to mental health care for low-income people, primarily because those who offer such services expect to be paid the same as for in-office sessions, either by clients or their insurance companies.

Source: Mark Olfson et al, Use of Telemental Health Care by Children and Adolescents in the United States, American Journal of Psychiatry (2025). DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20240193