Therapists on Wheels

🎤 Inspiration

This idea was born out of heartbreak. I’ve watched friends drop out of university due to untreated mental health issues, and I’ve seen people in my community suffer in silence or even lose their lives. What struck me most is that access to therapy is often hard, slow, expensive, or intimidating. I asked: "What if therapy could knock on your dorm door, like Uber Eats?" That question became Therapists on Wheels — a mission to make therapy accessible, private, and judgment-free for students.

💡 What it does

Therapists on Wheels is an on-demand mental health app for students. It lets users:

• Match with certified therapists based on mood check-ins.
• Choose (chat, call, video - coming soon!) or in-person sessions( working).
• Tap an SOS button for urgent help.
• Pay flexibly — even "what you can" pricing. It’s therapy, delivered — just like a ride.

🛠️ How we built it

We used:

• Bolt - React + Vite + Tailwind CSS for a fast, modern frontend.
• Supabase for auth, real-time sessions, PostgreSQL logic, and media storage.
• Google Maps API for therapist location tracking.
• Cash payments for flexible payments.
• Custom hooks like useAuth, useLocationTracking, and useSessionManager to manage logic.

🚧 Challenges we ran into

• Complex Supabase RLS permissions for client/therapist access.
• Google Maps API billing + geolocation accuracy.
• Syncing real-time location updates smoothly.
• Image uploads with cropping and cleanup logic.
• Debugging PostgreSQL triggers and functions.

🏆 Accomplishments that we're proud of

• Built a fully functional MVP in under 30 days.
• Implemented real-time tracking and session matching.
• Designed a platform that feels familiar, safe, and stigma-free.
• Proved this can save lives and scale across campuses.

📚 What we learned

• Students want help — but on their terms.
• Tech must be simple, fast, and emotionally intelligent.
• Database-first logic can streamline the app but adds backend complexity.
• Real-time apps require robust design and testing.
• Bolt is the Masterchef in the dev kitchen

🚀 What's next for Therapists on Wheels

• Launch a pilot at South African universities.
• Partner with therapists and sponsors to fund free sessions.
• Add anonymous peer group support and journaling features.
• Expand to rural areas and eventually scale across Africa.
• lets users: Choose (chat, call, video) sessions too.

Built With

• apis
• bolt
• google-maps
• postgresql
• react
• stripe
• supabase
• tailwind
• vite