The Ghost Network Behind 7 Cups

The Unauthorized Therapist Profiles & How They Were Discovered

The scandal came to light earlier this month when psychologist Dr. Kathryn Ambeau found that 7 Cups had created a profile for her on their website without her knowledge or consent. This unauthorized profile used her maiden name, detailed her therapeutic methods, and featured a “send message” button suggesting she was available to provide therapy through the platform. However, Ambeau had no affiliation with 7 Cups and was completely unaware of the service’s existence.¹

“This misleading practice not only misrepresents my affiliation with their service, which does not exist, but also breaches consumer trust, misguides clients seeking assistance, and infringes on professional reputation and intellectual property,” Ambeau stated regarding 7 Cups’ directory.¹ She posted her findings on LinkedIn, gaining traction from other therapists who found their unauthorized profiles on the platform as well.¹

In learning about the unauthorized profiles of other clinicians, our Editor in Chief, Melissa Boudin, PsyD, immediately did a Google search of her own name and 7 Cups, finding that she too had a therapist profile on the site without her knowledge. The information provided looks like an AI-driven, slightly modified copy of what was available on her ChoosingTherapy.com directory profile.

Each profile on 7 Cups includes a “send message” button that gives the impression clients will be contacting the listed therapist directly. However, 7 Cups doesn’t actually have reliable ways to reach the listed practitioners. In public statements on LinkedIn, 7 Cups acknowledged it lacks accurate contact information for all therapists listed.²

I got this message (below) stating they had contacted Dr. Boudin for me, but encouraged me to use the other services 7 Cups offers while waiting for her response. Dr. Boudin, upon being shown this, checked all of her current email accounts and did not receive a message from 7 Cups. She also did not receive emails from 7 Cups for any of the several requests my colleagues made, also trying to message her through the 7 Cups platform.

The Scale of the Problem: A Massive “Ghost Network”

The potential amount of unapproved profiles 7 Cups has amassed is staggering. According to research shared on LinkedIn by Jon Sustar, Co-Founder of Quill Therapy Notes, only 67 out of over 130,000 therapist profiles on 7 Cups were marked as “verified,” suggesting the vast majority were created without approval from the therapists being listed.³

This type of misleading directory has been labeled a “ghost network,” a term that’s been used to describe online directories managed by insurance companies that list providers who no longer accept insurance or may not even be practicing anymore. These networks create significant barriers for people seeking mental health support.¹

Manipulating Google Results & Violating Google’s Policies

7 Cups has a huge presence on Google. When users search “free online therapy” or any version of that term, 7 Cups comes up near the top of Google’s search results. According to SEO tool Ahrefs, these terms are some of the most difficult to rank for and have more than 33,000 searches per month.

In addition to these queries about finding free therapy online, 7 Cups is featured in many “Discussions and forums” segments on Google for several topics, many of which revolve around anxiety. Over 35,000 people per month search “symptoms of anxiety” on google, and it’s incredibly difficult to rank for that term, according to Ahrefs. According to Ahrefs, 7 Cups ranks #5 for the term “how to get rid of anxiety,” which has a high difficulty and almost 9,000 searches per month.

Why Does This Matter?

From our findings, it’s clear that 7 Cups is using scraped and AI-generated content to create a massive “network” of therapists “available” on its platform in order to manipulate Google’s search engine. While these tactics are explicitly against Google’s guidelines, it appears to have been working for 7 Cups. They’ve held prominent places in Google search results, which would have introduced tens-of-thousands of users to 7 Cups each month.

However, this could easily backfire, as more and more consumers may find it frustrating to use the platform thinking they’re messaging a therapist who isn’t actually getting their message.

Plus, the key function of 7 Cups is not to provide actual therapy, but instead to facilitate peer support. We’re concerned that leading so many folks to the platform, only for them to be disappointed with the care they receive (or lack thereof), could discourage them from seeking quality, evidence-based mental health support in the future.

7 Cups’ Defense & Reactions

7 Cups has defended its practices on multiple fronts. In a series of public exchanges on LinkedIn, they defended their directory, refused to take down provider profiles posted without consent, and acknowledged their lack of accurate contact details for all listed therapists.²

Glen Moriarty, the CEO of 7 Cups, told Behavioral Health Business that the establishment of therapist profiles on the company’s “local support service” provides a vital connection between therapists and people seeking services. “We think it is important and a good thing to connect clients to local resources for additional support,” Moriarty stated.⁴

How to Respond If You Have a Fake 7 Cups Profile

If you’ve found your information on 7 Cups, you can go to its Help Center and choose “data removal request” from the drop-down menu. Kathryn Ambeau reported that it took nearly 72 hours for 7 Cups to delete her profile after she requested removal. She also alerted state and federal officials.¹

Our Editor in Chief, Melissa Boudin, PsyD requested removal of her information on the morning of April 22, 2025, and her listing was removed about 24 hours later. However, when she sent follow-up questions regarding where 7 Cups got her information, she received the same generic response stating that her listing had been deleted. When she followed up again, her email was marked as “responded to” even though she received no further reply.

The Clinical Social Work Association (CSWA) has provided step-by-step guidance for following up with legal action, including contacting your state’s insurance commissioner, issuing a “cease and desist” letter to 7 Cups’ legal department, and filing complaints with the FTC and the attorney general. It even provides a script to use to do so.⁵