Hello and welcome to Business Daily from the BBC World Service. I'm Laura Heitengens. Today, the rising online therapy.

Nearly anyone would benefit from therapy. You can make positive changes to your life.

Your therapist is always there for you with live video sessions and unlimited daily messaging.

Breaking down barriers to mental health support.'s an industry worth an estimated half a trillion dollars worldwide the growing

demand for therapy has made this a lucrative sector with more and more platforms emerging advocates of

online therapy say it means fewer barriers and more flexibility for people seeking help.

But should business really be driving this industry?

Probably one of the hardest things for people right now when it comes to mental health is being a discerning customer.

And you can't just assume that because they say they do mental health, they're, you know, supported by people who

care about your mental health. We'll ask whether it's as effective as face-to-face therapy

and whether the ethics of the profession are being preserved. That's all coming up on today's

business daily. First, let's go back to the beginning.

The moneyed neighbourhood of Hampstead in North London.

This is a typical tree-lined street of immaculate red brick houses.

I'm visiting one in particular which has a blue plaque, denoting a famous former resident.

I'm Emilia Ratchkowska and I'm the director of education at the Freud Museum.

And Sigmund Freud himself lived here.

Yes, that's right. So he came here with his family in 1938 and what is quite unusual for a refugee,

he was able to take with him his entire collection of antiquities and all of his furniture.

And that's all here still today?

Yes.

The study is through here on the ground floor.

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