Birches Health

Birches Health is a New York City-based digital behavioral health company that delivers virtual, specialized treatment for gambling disorder and other compulsive or process addictions, including sports betting, casino gambling, lottery play, day trading and cryptocurrency speculation, video gaming, pornography, sex, and internet addiction. Services are available in all 50 US states and include clinical assessment, one-to-one therapy, group therapy, family and couples therapy, resilience programming, and peer recovery support.

Each client is assigned a multidisciplinary care team that can include a licensed gambling disorder therapist, a peer support mentor with lived recovery experience, a group session leader, a financial wellness coach, and a family or couples therapist. The clinical program is built on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing, with a core course of treatment typically completed in roughly 12 weeks across assessment/goal-setting, skills-building, and transition phases; graduates receive free ongoing access to the Birches Recovery Network community. Intake begins with insurance verification and therapist matching.

The company also operates a provider-side network, recruiting licensed therapists, covering the cost of specialized accreditation, supplying client acquisition and administrative work, and offering supervision hours and a 30-hour asynchronous gambling-specific training program certified by the IPGGC. Birches Health states it is a member of and partner to the National Council on Problem Gambling.

Founding story

Birches Health was founded by CEO Elliott Rapaport, previously an early executive at digital health company Elemy. According to AlleyCorp, his motivation came from college friends who had lost money to casino and online sports betting, classmates unable to find providers in Western Massachusetts capable of treating gambling addiction, and time spent attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings in New York City. The clinical program was created by a team with decades of experience in gambling-specialized care.

Business model

Birches Health delivers care directly to individuals through a virtual platform while contracting on the supply side with independent licensed clinicians, whom it trains, certifies and supplies with clients and non-clinical support. Demand is sourced substantially through institutional channels — state government programs in jurisdictions with legalized sports betting and national insurance plans — rather than relying solely on digital advertising or word of mouth.

Care is billed to health insurers and government payers; the company reports partnerships with more than 100 payers and 18 or more state governments. Clinical assessments and ongoing one-to-one therapy sessions are billed to government programs or insurance, while group sessions were described as not currently monetized. Cash-pay and sliding-scale options are also offered; the company states most clients pay $0-$25 per session and that more than 90% of patients pay nothing out of pocket.

Traction

The company reports operations in all 50 states, more than 100 payer partnerships and 18 or more state government partnerships. Published outcome figures include an 81% decrease in problem behaviors after nine appointments, a 98% decrease in gambling's interference with normal activities at program graduation, 85% of clients improving after nine sessions, 96% of clients reporting increased quality of life, and 94% rating the service 5/5 stars. Total disclosed funding reached $20 million as of September 2025.

Latest developments

In September 2025 Birches Health disclosed $20 million in total funding, including a $10 million Series A led by AlleyCorp that closed in August 2025. Management said the capital will fund expansion of the provider network, specialized clinician training, clinical outcomes measurement, and additional payer relationships with private health plans and state health agencies, and that the company will begin treating adjacent digital disorders such as gaming, pornography, and internet addiction.