When he was 20 years old, Smith left college and became housebound because of his obsessive-compulsive disorder. After experiencing misdiagnoses and ineffective treatment, he ended up waiting seven months to see a clinician trained in specialized OCD care. The cost was $400 a session.
The treatment he received, called exposure and response prevention therapy, helped Smith recover so he could return to college.
But the lack of specialists trained to provide ERP therapy means that of the 2.5 million US adults with OCD, few can access the care that worked for Smith.
Smith started NOCD in 2014 to bridge that gap. The Chicago-based startup connects patients with licensed therapists who provide virtual ERP therapy for OCD. Patients can also access peer communities and self-help tools through NOCD’s app.
“Our goal is to ensure that everyone in the US, no matter where you live or how much money you make, can access this treatment,” Smith said.
NOCD provides its clinicians with ERP therapy training, and the company built its own electronic-medical-records system to better monitor its patients’ progress.
Today, NOCD is available in all 50 US states and internationally, and tens of thousands of people get therapy through NOCD, Smith said. About 130 million people in the US can use insurance to pay for NOCD’s services, he added. Without insurance, NOCD’s sessions cost between $90 and $210, depending on the length of the visit.
The startup has raised about $85 million and says it expects to bring in more than $50 million in revenue this year.
NOCD has begun providing care for other mental-health conditions that can present alongside OCD, like tic disorders and hoarding disorders. Smith said NOCD plans to launch care for body-dysmorphic disorder in the next 12 months.
— Rebecca Torrence