A rising industry: mental health startups
Prince Harry joined a mental health startup, BetterUp, but what do these startups really do?
This week the internet blew up with news of Prince Harry joining the Silicon Valley startup BetterUp. What is BetterUp though? BetterUp is one of many rising startups focused on providing mental health solutions to the general population. In the United States, 1 in 5 adults live with a mental health illness and nearly 60% of those with a mental health illness do not receive health services for their illness. This growing problem has become the target of what many of these new mental health startups aim to solve with coaching, peer groups, and text and video call communications with mental health professionals.
With the pandemic and isolation taking a toll on mental health in the last year, and digital care services becoming more prominent in this socially distanced world, digital mental healthcare has become a growing industry. Annually, 10,000 apps and 100 startups are created with a focus on providing mental health solutions. Here are 4 mental health startups that are making news for their success and rising up in the world of digital mental healthcare that you should know about. Let’s start with BetterUp itself!
BetterUp
BetterUp uses strategies based on cognitive research therapy to help people excel and grow in their workplaces, give parenting support, and aid those who struggle with eating disorders. They focus on fostering “positive psychology” through “resilience training and mindfulness”(Fast Company). BetterUp provides rather expensive individual services but the majority of its target market is actually companies and organizations. They market to companies that then provide these services to their employees in order to boost company morale and employee performance as shown in the tweet below. Companies that work with BetterUp to provide employees with mental health services include Google, Airbnb, and Hilton. Their services are focused on providing one on one motivational video chat coaching to users along with group coaching for organizations. Their website also states that users of their services have a 20% increase in productivity, 31% increase in team performance, and 52% reduction in burnout.
Prince Harry will be the new Chief Impact Officer of this company and “advocate for access to coaching globally, identify opportunities to work with charities, shape the design of BetterUp and its content, and help expand the ecosystem of tools on the platform”. His strong social presence and his experiences with advocacy and charity as a part of the royal family have made him an ideal candidate for his new role. His involvement with a mental health solutions provider soon after the bombshell interview with Oprah discussing Meghan Markle’s struggles with suicidal thoughts and mental health is unsurprising to some extent. He has probably watched his wife go through a lot and wants to provide a platform of support to others who may be struggling similarly.
Humanest Care
Humanest Care is another one of these startups that focuses on providing immediate mental health support to users. These services range from same-day online therapy sessions to the use of Q&A platforms to discuss with therapists and peers. Individuals with membership are provided other digital mental health resources as well as an opportunity to participate in virtual therapy groups facilitated by counselors. Online therapy sessions with licensed therapists are not weekly but rather whenever one is in the mood to share their feelings or needs support. The therapy is supposed to be solution-focused and is a scientific approach that is “future-oriented and empowering, emphasizing real actions that you can take to feel better now”.
Membership is $39 per month with an additional $90 fee for each hourly one-on-one therapy session. Non-membership therapy sessions are also provided for a higher cost of $120 an hour. The main model of care is directed towards individuals seeking mental health services, but they also provide services to entire schools and workplaces at a bulk cost. Humanest Care also states on its website that users experience a “50% reduction in distress after a single session” and the service is “50% less expensive than traditional mental health”.
Ginger
Like Humanest Care, Ginger’s mental health services are based on the concept of immediate personal support. They provide 24/7 chat support and behavioral health coaching for all of their users and take a preventative approach to mental health with constant engagement. They also provide daily video call services for users with therapists and psychiatrists. These services are more of a medical approach to mental health and psychiatrists also can prescribe medications to users. Their cost model for the video call services is not specified on the internet but is supposed to be tailored to the frequency of the calls and individual insurances/medical plans. The rest of their services, including chat support and digital mental health activities, are free. Ginger’s website provides free audios and activities that share mental health tips. Though these services can be provided to individuals at a fee, Ginger also has a service package for companies that can then provide mental health services to their employees to boost work performance. Ginger’s services are advertised as helping organizations earn a return of investment of over 4 times their initial investment in mental healthcare for their employees. Companies that have tapped into Ginger to support their employees include Buzzfeed, Sephora, Pinterest, and Delta Airlines.
Ginger has recently made news for its success in collecting funding and reaching unicorn status (a valuation of over 1 billion dollars). Ginger has recently raised over 100 million dollars in funding and made 300 new clients (including large corporations) over the past year. Ginger plans to use the new funding to expand partnerships with companies and move overseas (MedCity News).
Moxie Girl
Moxie Girl is a startup based in Louisville (not Silicon Valley wow!) that helps young women struggling with mental health issues. Girls face a higher chance of developing multiple mental health illnesses, like being 3 times more likely to have depression than boys, and Moxie Girl aims to support these girls and bring meaningful change to their lives. Moxie Girl’s initial mission was to connect young girls with mentors to help them reach their personal goals. Now, Moxie Girl has expanded its services to also focus on helping girls who struggle with substance use, trauma, and anxiety. The app aims to provide girls the resources they need to thrive on a platform made for girls by girls. Users are able to chat and video call with mentors, while also tracking their personal goals on the app.
Moxie Girl works with pediatricians, schools, and therapists to provide their resources to girls with a free app subscription. There is also a monthly app fee for premium products and services as a cost model, and these services are covered by Medicaid and other insurances. All mentors for the girls are certified by the State Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and undergo background checks before working with Moxie Girl (WHAS). In the long run, Moxie Girl aims to help create 10 million confident girls through their services.
So there it is. Some of the leading startups in mental healthcare and their services at the touch of your fingertips. For those struggling, try to connect with mental health professionals or hop on of these mental health support apps to get help. In the case of an emergency, the National Suicide Hotline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255 or you can call 911 for help. Thanks for reading and stay updated on the field of healthcare by subscribing!
Thank you for sharing this post. Mental health needs to take seriously especially with the pandemic.
Thank you for sharing this! With our mental health being affected during the pandemic, I feel that people need to know where they can get support if needed!