April 22, 2025

The Clinical Social Work Association (CSWA) and the Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN) are alerting mental health professionals, the public, and regulators that a company called 7 Cups of Tea, or 7 Cups, has used the professional information of licensed mental health clinicians without permission or notification. Using clinicians’ names and professional information is concerning on many levels. First, 7 Cups is a for profit business, and it is using this information about therapists, which it has obtained in unclear ways, to sell its own services. Second, 7 Cups’ actions may also represent a restraint of trade, and we are pursuing legal options on this front. Finally, this marketing tactic adds to the confusion of unreliable information circulating online about mental healthcare and breeds mistrust, which is especially concerning at a time of such high need for reliable and effective psychotherapy.

In addition, the 7 Cups website offers connections both to licensed mental health clinicians and to “listeners.” While talking to someone about one’s problems may be helpful, it is starkly different from engaging in therapy with a professional. 7 Cups listeners are rated and rewarded as they are on many apps and games, earning “cheers” and “compassion hearts” for increased engagement. Blurring the lines between professional treatment and gamified interactivity is a fraught strategy, and will likely only add to the confusion people have when they are in need of effective mental healthcare.

Background Information

7 Cups is apparently taking information from therapists’ Psychology Today profiles, and other places, to list on its website, representing that these therapists work for 7 Cups. However, clinicians who wish to get referrals from 7 Cups must pay for the privilege, $39.99 a month. Additionally, here is a list of the costs which 7 Cups charges clients for various services:

Free: Access to volunteer listeners, chat rooms, and forums.

Premium: $7.99 monthly for 1-on-1 chats with an Active Listener, group chats, and the AI chatbot.

Messaging Therapy: $159 monthly for text-based therapy with a licensed therapist.

Talk Therapy: $299 monthly for all premium features and a weekly video call with a therapist.

These tactics are similar to those that were used by a company called CareDash in 2022. The difference is that CareDash used data taken from the government’s NPI database. Following complaints filed to the Federal Trade Commission by CSWA, PsiAN, and other organizations, CareDash’s parent company shut down that business.

Guidance for Therapists

To protect therapists and the public, here is what CSWA and PsiAN recommend therapists do to protect their practices and the public:

1. Google “7 Cups [your name]” to confirm that you have been listed on this website. This is more likely if you have a Psychology Today profile.

2. Once you see your name is listed, go to 7 Cups help and use the drop down box to “data removal request”.

3. You should receive confirmation that your request was received in the next 24 hours. If you do not, send your request again.

4. Contact your state’s Insurance Commissioner about this attempt to stop potential clients from contacting you, since anyone who checks a clinician’s name who has not paid a fee is referred to 7 Cups' own list of clinicians. Here’s a link to locate your state’s commissioner.

5. Email the 7 Cups' legal department at legal@7cups.com or have your attorney contact them and ask 7 Cups to “cease and desist” using your professional information. If you prefer to use their mailing address, it is 7 Cups of Tea Company, 1201 Orange Street, #600, Wilmington, Delaware 19899.

6. Contact your state Attorney General with this information and ask them to investigate as this seems to violate the Lanham Act which is designed to keep companies from profiting from the name and professional qualifications of others without consent.

7. Contact the Federal Trade Commission to report this issue. The FTC will ask for an actual address which is 7 Cups, 746 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91101.

8. You may also file a complaint with your state attorney general consumer protection.

9. Here is a template for sending a complaint:

I am a Licensed [enter your discipline] writing to inform you that a company, 7 Cups, is unfairly restricting my practice as [your discipline]. They have listed my professional information on their website without my permission and refer anyone who checks my name to their own list of clinicians. I do not wish to work with 7 Cups, nor even to have my name listed on what they call a “registry”. The bulk of people on this registry are doing “listening,” which is not psychotherapy and does not require a license. Having my name on this registry blurs the line between what might be considered coaching/peer support and psychotherapy. This is a restriction of trade that should be stopped immediately.

These marketing tactics add to the confusion of unreliable information circulating online about mental healthcare. As we know, many people seeking care are especially vulnerable and need effective psychotherapy.

CSWA and PsiAN encourage all members and affiliated societies to file complaints with the appropriate state and/or national organizations.

Contacts:

Stephanie Payne, LCSW, President, Clinical Social Work Association, president@clinicalsocialworkassociation.org

Laura Groshong, LICSW, Director of Policy and Practice, Clinical Social Work Association, lwgroshong@clinicalsocialworkassociation.org

Linda Michaels, PsyD, MBA, Chair, Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN), Linda.michaels@psian.org