Most kept attending weekly therapy sessions after they already felt improved
Sixty percent of employees who have used therapy say the care felt more intensive than what they needed, and 65 percent kept attending weekly sessions after they already felt improved.
The report sets the findings against employer cost pressure, citing WTW projecting global medical costs to rise 10.3 percent in 2026 and US employers projecting a further 9.2 percent median increase in health care costs for 2027 before plan design changes.
Modern Health's announcement attributes the 9.2 percent figure to Business Group on Health.
Therapy itself rates well with the employees surveyed: 88 percent said it met their needs and 86 percent said they had a clear treatment plan that helped them identify goals and measure progress.
Alison Borland, chief people and strategy officer at Modern Health, said in the company's announcement that routing every concern to the same clinical option by default means employees don't get care that fits them, and employers pay for support that isn't best clinical practice.
The survey found 58 percent continued therapy after meeting their intended goals because they were anxious about losing support, and 37 percent said they had exaggerated or embellished symptoms or stress to justify continuing sessions.
Of those who continued weekly sessions after feeling improved, 25 percent said they felt they were simply supposed to continue indefinitely, while 33 percent reduced frequency and moved to periodic check-ins.
Half the sample, 51 percent, reported seeking therapy or coaching in connection with workplace stress, and 35 percent said they did so instead of speaking with their manager or HR.
Among those who sought care for workplace stress, 51 percent said all or most of it could have been addressed through better management, clearer communication, reasonable workloads or better leadership.
Reasons given for bypassing managers included a manager too focused on productivity and efficiency (42 percent), personal or emotional topics not feeling appropriate for a manager (41 percent), worry that disclosure could be held against them (37 percent), and a manager never trained to discuss workplace well-being (30 percent).
Employer-provided coaching was available to 43 percent of respondents.
Of those without access, 83 percent said they would be very or somewhat likely to use it, citing everyday stress (57 percent), work-related stress (53 percent) and work-life balance (52 percent).
Across the full sample, 83 percent believed at least some of what they brought to therapy could have been effectively addressed through coaching, including 21 percent who said most of it could have been.
Ninety percent said a lack of understanding about coaching may keep people from using it, and 38 percent associated coaching primarily with executives and wealthy people.
Modern Health commissioned the Global Therapy and Coaching Survey, conducted by DKC Analytics between August 3 and 9, polling 2,000 full-time employees aged 22 to 60, all of whom had used or were using therapy.
