This study focuses on the psy-startups—new companies that offer services and “content” related to psychotherapy—in China that are sprouting at the intersection of the country’s psycho-boom and startup frenzy.
When the Psycho-Boom Meets the Startup Frenzy: An Ethnographic Study of the Psy-Startups in China
It combines ethnographic methods with textual analysis and quantitative data analysis, and has three distinct yet interrelated aims: (1) to explore how these companies have come into being and the lived experiences of psy-startup entrepreneurship. (2) to examine the services offered by the psy-startups—usually through digital platforms—and how these companies are affecting the development of psychotherapy as a mental health services sector and a profession. (3) to analyze the information produced and disseminated by the psy-startups—typically via social media—and how these companies are shaping the understanding of psychology and mental health among the general population.