7 Cups (formerly called 7 Cups of Tea) is an online

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

platform that provides active listening to its users. The active listening services are provided by "listeners", who have been trained in active listening, via anonymous text or voice chats. The site features distinct groups for adolescent minors and adults over the age of eighteen. Groups and sessions with listeners are free with an account, with paid counselling options available for a fee. An investigation by '' Everyday Health'' found that training to be a listener was very brief and not highly regulated.

History

In July 2013, 7 Cups of Tea (as it was known then), was founded by psychologist Glen Moriarty as a

Y Combinator Y Combinator, LLC (YC) is an American technology startup accelerator and venture capital firm launched in March 2005 which has been used to launch more than 5,000 companies. The accelerator program started in Boston and Mountain View, Californi ...

startup A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses including self-employment and businesses that do not intend to ...

. The company later rebranded itself as simply 7 Cups. The company derives its name from the

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

ous poem by the 9th-century Chinese poet

Lu Tong Lu Tong (; ; 790–835), pseudonym Yuchuanzi (), was a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty, known for his lifelong study of Chinese tea culture. He never became an official, and is better known for his love of tea than his poetry. Biography Lu ...

Reception and criticism

In April 2025, 7 Cups faced scrutiny over its therapist directory after findings circulated on social media suggested that out of more than 130,000 therapist profiles listed on the platform, only 67 were verified. These findings were later reported by ''Mashable'', which revealed that 7 Cups had created unauthorized profiles for therapists without their consent, some of which contained inaccurate or misleading information. ''ChoosingTherapy.com'' also weighed in on the issue, noting that some therapist profiles on 7 Cups appeared to have been generated by scraping external sources and rephrasing content using artificial intelligence tools. Upon doing their own investigation, their Editor in Chief, Dr. Melissa Boudin, PsyD found an unauthorized profile in her name on 7 Cups. She also discovered that patient inquiries made through the profile were never sent to her and, instead, the patient was redirected to 7 Cups’ peer support service. The unauthorized therapist profile was eventually removed after a request made to 7 Cups. These reports raised concerns about the transparency and reliability of 7 Cups' services, the ethics of listing therapists without consent, and the potential risks to individuals seeking legitimate therapeutic support. Additional ethical and legal concerns have been raised by ''ChoosingTherapy.com'' after further research into 7 Cups' online therapy services led to the discovery that 7 Cups matches prospective clients with therapists that are not licensed in their state. The article highlighted that this practice may violate state licensing laws and could mislead users into receiving care from providers who are not legally authorized to offer services in their jurisdiction.

References

External links

* Crisis hotlines Y Combinator companies {{website-stub Chat websites Online support groups Social networking websites