I agree that this might be a niche role. But I’m still unsure about the demand. There’s about 12,000 people in the FB group. If that’s conservatively about 10% of all EAs, we’re still only looking at about 120,000 people, and then only about 9,600 potential patients, spread across the entire globe.
Then again, I admit I really don’t know how demand works for psychology (is ~10,000 potential patients enough?), and those are just ballpark works.
A psychologist who does weekly 1-hour sessions with their patients might have 40 patients at one time if they work 40 hours a week and just spent time with patients. I think it’s likely that you want the person to do more than just 1-on-1 work and also write a few blog posts about what they learn, so 30 patients at a time might be a decent count.
CBT can be done via Skype, so the fact that patients are spread over the globe isn’t a problem.
That means your therapist might treat 120 people in a year. It would be fine to fund a single therapist for this task as an MVP. If you would have a single therapist who the EA community holds in high regard I would estimate that the person can find those 120 people to treat.
Cool. Thanks for the stats on how psychologists work; all this is new to me. A sort of Schelling therapist who’s able to help w/ people in the EA community does seem like a force multiplier / helpful thing to have, I guess.
Hm, okay, i hadn’t thought about it like this.
I agree that this might be a niche role. But I’m still unsure about the demand. There’s about 12,000 people in the FB group. If that’s conservatively about 10% of all EAs, we’re still only looking at about 120,000 people, and then only about 9,600 potential patients, spread across the entire globe.
Then again, I admit I really don’t know how demand works for psychology (is ~10,000 potential patients enough?), and those are just ballpark works.
A psychologist who does weekly 1-hour sessions with their patients might have 40 patients at one time if they work 40 hours a week and just spent time with patients. I think it’s likely that you want the person to do more than just 1-on-1 work and also write a few blog posts about what they learn, so 30 patients at a time might be a decent count.
CBT can be done via Skype, so the fact that patients are spread over the globe isn’t a problem.
According to the Mayo clinic CBT takes an average of 10-20 sessions (http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/cognitive-behavioral-therapy/details/what-you-can-expect/rec-20188674). That means you might change patients every 3 months.
That means your therapist might treat 120 people in a year. It would be fine to fund a single therapist for this task as an MVP. If you would have a single therapist who the EA community holds in high regard I would estimate that the person can find those 120 people to treat.
Cool. Thanks for the stats on how psychologists work; all this is new to me. A sort of Schelling therapist who’s able to help w/ people in the EA community does seem like a force multiplier / helpful thing to have, I guess.