Therapy Gecko

Submission 20,526

Part of a series on Twitch. [View Related Entries]

Featured Episode

About

Therapy Gecko, whose real name is Lyle Drescher, is an internet personality, podcaster and streamer who hosts a call-in livestream show and podcast where guests talk about problems or share stories from their lives. Lyle started the show in June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, originally on the Reddit Public Access Network before expanding to Twitch. Clips from Therapy Gecko are also posted to YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, which has popularized his stream through viral videos and memes.

Career

On June 15th, 2020, Lyle launched the Therapy Gecko livestream show on the Reddit Public Access Network (RPAN) via the subreddit /r/TheYouShow.^[1] The concept of the show from this first episode did not feature a call-in function and was instead a discussion with the stream’s chat.

On July 26th, 2020, Lyle uploaded the first RPAN stream to his YouTube^[2] channel, which included the ability for viewers to call into the show via a number displayed on the screen. The video (shown below), received over 10,100 views and 380 likes in nearly one year.

On September 9th, 2020, Lyle then launched his Twitch^[3] channel where the show went on to focus as its primary platform.

The Therapy Gecko podcast,^[4] which is a condensed version of the livestream show, first launched on September 12th, 2020.

Online Presence

Therapy Gecko has a notable online presence across numerous platforms. As of July 6th, 2021, the LyleForever Twitch^[5] channel has over 61,100 followers, the Instagram^[6] has over 61,200 followers and the YouTube^[7] channel over 15,800 followers.

On Reddit, the /r/TherapyGecko^[8] subreddit, which was created on July 21st, 2020, accumulated over 1,700 members in roughly one year. The /r/TherapyGecko sub is a frequent source of discussion surrounding the show, as well as memes and fan art. On October 26th, 2020, Redditor^[9] aswpsych posted a meme of Gecko, receiving over 100 upvotes in six months (seen below, left). On December 4th, Redditor^[10] Yamendo posted a fan art example of “The Geck,” receiving over 100 upvotes in six months (seen below, right).

On January 20th, 2024, Vice released its documentary on Therapy Gecko to its YouTube channel. Titled "Therapy Gecko: Unmasking the Internet’s Unofficial Therapist | My Life Online," the video received over 335,000 views, 12,000 likes and 670 comments in four days (seen below).