Mental Health’s Value Problem Is Selling Conversations, Not Solutions

The mental health industry doesn’t know what problems it’s trying to solve.

We talk a lot about increasing access and reducing stigma. But when someone asks, “What specific problems will therapy solve once I get in the door?” it’s hard to give a clear elevator pitch for that.

We default to vague statements about “a safe space to talk” and “feeling supported.”

Important? Yes.

Sufficient?

Not even close.

The talking trap

After more than a decade as a therapist, I’ve noticed a disconnect in how we promote mental health care.

We’ve centered our entire value proposition around the act of talking. We give the impression that conversation alone solves problems.

“Just talking about it helps.”

“It’s good to get things off your chest.”

“Having someone to listen makes all the difference.”

These statements aren’t false, but they represent just the first step of effective therapy.

Yet we’ve marketed this first step as the whole journey.

Many people rightfully ask, “How does talking about my problems solve them?”

They’re absolutely right to question this. Venting and gaining insight serve a purpose, but ultimately all therapy should lead clients to a choice point that results in committed action: Are you going to move toward what you value or away from it?

This isn’t just my opinion. It’s a core principle of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which teaches that real change comes from acting on values, not just understanding them.

What Apple understands that we don’t

Think about how Apple marketed the first iPhone. They didn’t say, “This is a nice device for conversations. You really should get one.”

They showed how it solved specific problems:

• Experience your favorite song with a flick of a finger
• Never get lost again with easy-to-use maps
• Capture life’s moments with a camera that’s always with you and sync them to your computer
• Access your email and calendar anywhere, anytime

People stood in line for days because the value was crystal clear.

Now imagine if Apple had pitched it the way we do therapy:

• It’s a space to explore technology.
• You’ll develop insight into your communication patterns.
• It provides tools that might help you connect better.

Would anyone have camped outside an Apple store for that?

The Problem-Definition Trap

Unlike Apple’s laser focus on user problems, we’re stuck chasing broad epidemics that leave clients unclear on what’s in it for them.

Mental health has become trapped defining its purpose through broad issues like suicide, eating disorders, and the anxiety and depression epidemic.

These matter, but they don’t always translate into clear solutions for the individual in front of us.

Clients want to stop fighting with their spouse, make decisions without second-guessing, or set boundaries without guilt, not just feel better.

By pitching talk as the fix for massive problems, we’re handing AI the chance to outshine us with targeted tools.

Apple wasn’t trying to fix the “productivity crisis.”

They built tools for specific user problems.

The ultimate goal we rarely articulate

The goal of effective therapy isn’t just to help people feel better, it’s to help them develop psychological flexibility so they can take meaningful action toward their values even when facing difficult emotions or circumstances.

Instead, we focus on getting people in the door (access) and educating the public about mental health concerns (awareness), but we’re vague about what happens next.

If providers can’t clearly articulate what success might look like, it’s easy for both parties to get lost in an endless process with no clear destination.

Why AI could eat our lunch

This vagueness creates the perfect opportunity for AI to disrupt mental health care.

Not because AI provides better care (it may not, but there are some compelling studies that get it pretty close), but because it promises specific, immediate solutions.

A 5-minute anxiety fix or a script for that tough talk with your toxic boss appeals to people wanting action now.

They’ll forgo the depth and nuance of human therapy if they can get past what’s tripping them up right now.

The value perception problem

This explains why people complain about therapy being too expensive while also dropping $1,500 on the latest iPhone.

It’s not about the wrong priorities. It’s about perceived value.

People gladly invest in products and services where they can clearly envision the return on their investment.

The truth is that effective therapy isn’t expensive when you consider the real cost of not addressing your problems.

Continuing to struggle with relationship conflicts, overthinking, or emotional problems is expensive when you consider lost opportunities, diminished productivity, and strained relationships.

Therapy should be positioned not as a luxury expense but as a high-return investment that costs far less than living with unresolved issues.

But we can only make this case convincingly if we can better clarify what therapy delivers, and make it so compelling that people believe they can’t live without it.

A better way forward

Unlike Apple, mental health can’t hire an ad firm to fix its messaging.

We’re a fragmented field of countless providers, each of us with unique approaches. So, we need a shift to pull people toward real solutions:

1. Providers must own and articulate their value. Name the specific problems you solve and tell clients exactly what they’ll gain.
2. Big players have to lead the way to reframe mental health’s image. Associations, platforms, and media need to move beyond trying to get people to reach out and talk and instead focus on showing therapy as a tool for action.
3. Define success as action. What will clients be able to DO differently as a result of our work together?
4. Be transparent about the work. Getting to therapy is a big win, but it doesn’t end there. Therapy isn’t magic or osmosis. It’s a collaborative process that requires active effort over time.
5. Focus on psychological flexibility as the win. The goal isn’t to eliminate difficult emotions but to build the capacity to accept reality and pursue meaningful lives right alongside those emotions.

Mental health has an image problem. People don’t access it because they don’t trust it delivers.

If providers and leaders don’t clarify our worth, AI’s quick fixes certainly will.

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References

• The first apple iPhone press release 
• How Apple Changed the World, Neil Patel (for additional insight on Apple’s strategy)
• Choice Point 2.0: A Brief Overview