Coach is an optional AI-powered tool available in the Grow Therapy mobile app, designed to support you between sessions. This guide explains what coach is, how to use it, and what to know about privacy.
🚨 Important: Coach is not a crisis tool. If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs immediate help, call 911 or +1 800-273-8255 to speak with a crisis counselor. Additional emergency resources are available in our Help Center.
🛠️ Feature notice: The iOS app is not available to minors, clients with Kaiser insurance, or clients residing in Illinois or Nevada.
Key Points
Coach is optional and available at no additional cost as part of your Grow Therapy plan.
Coach is not a therapist, crisis tool, or substitute for your sessions. It’s designed to complement the work you’re doing with your provider.
You can talk to coach out loud and hear it respond using voice mode, in addition to typing.
By default, your provider can view your Coach conversations to help them prepare for sessions with you. You can switch to private mode to limit what they see.
If Coach detects a safety concern, it will show you crisis resources and alert your provider.
What is coach?
Coach is clinically informed, but it is not a licensed therapist and does not replace your sessions. It doesn’t diagnose, prescribe, or treat. Think of coach as a space to process and prepare between your scheduled appointments. It can help you:
Reflect on your day or how you’re feeling
Walk through a tough situation
Reinforce skills and techniques from your therapy sessions
Create a list of session topics to discuss with your provider
Coach is AI-powered and not monitored in real time by Grow Therapy. If the system detects a safety concern, it will show you crisis resources, pause Coach, and alert your provider.
Privacy notice: Your conversations with Coach are not used to train external AI models. All messages are encrypted and stored in accordance with HIPAA. Learn more about data storage and protection here.
Start a conversation with coach
Follow these steps to access coach in the mobile app:
Selecy Log in on the Grow Therapy mobile app on your iOS device.
Select your preferred login method from the options listed.
Coach opens automatically as the first screen after you log in.
Select a prompt from those available, or use the text field to type your message. You can also select the microphone icon in the text field to speak instead of typing, or select the voice button to start a full voice conversation with coach.
Select the send icon.
Coach will respond with prompts, reflections, and exercises based on what you share.
Use voice mode
If it's easier to talk through what's on your mind than type it out, you can turn on voice mode to talk with coach and hear it respond, like a phone call.
Select the voice button next to the text field to open voice mode.
Review the disclosure explaining how voice mode works, then select Enable voice mode.
🌟 Note: Your audio is converted to text by a third-party service and isn't stored. Your conversation is still saved as a transcript, and your provider can view it just like your text chats. You can switch back to text chat at any time, or turn off voice mode in Account Settings.
Swipe through the available voices and select Replay audio to preview how each one sounds.
Select Set as voice to confirm your choice.
Once voice mode starts, coach responds out loud, and "Coach is speaking" appears at the top of your screen while it talks. Speak naturally, just as you would in a phone conversation.
Coach may also display a button for a relevant next step, such as Go to appointments, when it's helpful.
Use the icons at the bottom of the screen to control your conversation:
Eye icon — switch to private mode
Microphone icon — mute or unmute yourself
X icon — end the voice conversation and return to text chat
Use private mode
By default, your provider can view a summary of your Coach conversations and the individual messages you send. If you’d like a conversation to stay private:
Select the eye icon within the Coach chat to switch to private mode.
Select Private.
Your screen will switch to dark mode to confirm that private mode is active.
In private mode, your messages won't be visible to your provider unless coach detects a potential safety concern. You can switch between standard and private mode at any time during a conversation.
View recommended actions
In addition to coach, your home screen surfaces recommended actions, which are personalized prompts designed to help you stay engaged with your care between sessions. Rather than navigating through menus, recommended actions bring the most relevant next steps directly to you at the right moment, such as completing a form before an appointment or joining an upcoming telehealth session.
One of the most useful recommended actions is session insights. When your provider shares a summary of your session, a prompt will appear on your home screen so you can review it right away. Selecting the card opens your session insights directly, giving you a timely opportunity to reflect on your session and prepare for what's ahead.
Other recommended actions you may see include:
Intake forms — a prompt to complete any outstanding forms before your next appointment, so your provider has what they need ahead of time
Telehealth sessions — a same-day reminder with a direct link to join your upcoming session
Therapy toolkit resources— clinically reviewed content suggested based on your goals and where you are in your care
Push notification consent — an invitation to enable notifications so you don't miss time-sensitive updates
Recommended actions update dynamically based on your upcoming appointments and activity, so what you see will change over time as your care progresses.
Additional support
For more information answers to frequently asked questions about coach, refer to this article.