• TAO Connect

  Participated · Equity · Feb 2016

  TAO Connect operates a virtual platform designed to increase access to behavioral health therapy through a suite of digital tools for therapists and clients. The platform supports self-directed use, minimally supported programs, group support, brief and traditional psychotherapy, and transitions from inpatient care. TAO is available via a self-help subscription plan or through employers and universities and is currently used by 144 customers, including universities, community mental health centers, employee assistance programs, and government mental health services in the U.S. and Canada. The company is developing an AI-based chatbot to provide a more humanized, engaging, and personalized experience; the chatbot will respond to emotions and use evidence-based techniques to suggest next steps. TAO says the chatbot is in development and will be fully available in the coming months. The company frames its mission around reducing behavioral health disparities by making affordable, effective, and accessible treatment available to those with limited access. TAO Connect is a St. Petersburg, FL-based provider of a suite of online management tools for therapists. Founded by university psychologist Dr. Sherry Benton and led by CEO Bob Clark, the company offers tools for patient education, engagement, and accountability. The platform is designed to help mental health providers serve more patients effectively and efficiently. Its suite is now used by 58 universities. TAO Connect raised $460k in funding in a follow-on investment from New World Angels. The company plans to use the funds to add modules to expand into private practice while further spreading adoption in the education market. TAO Connect is a provider of a Therapist Assisted Online (TAO) integrated treatment platform focused on online mental health care. The company is led by CEO Bob Clark and Sherry Benton, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer and founder. Initially a start-up from the University of Florida’s Innovation Hub, TAO Connect has focused on serving college students with depression and anxiety. The company is based in St. Petersburg, FL. It raised $1.1m to support ongoing product development and marketing. TAO plans to use proceeds to expand into non-university settings, including veterans’ services, private practice therapists, and Medicare patients. TAO Connect provides a seven-to-ten week online treatment program (TAO — Therapist Assisted Online) combining online education modules, brief weekly 10–12 minute videoconferencing, daily text messages, reminders, and mobile homework. The platform uses technology licensed from the University of Florida and enables clinicians to monitor patient progress on treatment tasks and symptom change over time. TAO is designed to deliver effective treatment with roughly one-third the counselor time and about half the overall cost of traditional face-to-face psychotherapy. A year-long pilot study at the University of Florida reported that clients using TAO improved more than with traditional face-to-face therapy alone, attributed to greater daily patient engagement and the therapeutic relationship. TAO sells licenses and training to college and university counseling centers, employee assistance programs, outpatient mental health clinics, VA medical centers, community mental health centers, and private practitioners, charging a small fee per patient per module. The company states its goals are to decrease mental health care costs, reduce disparities, and improve access to effective treatment.

No current team members are available.