Psycho with himself
The digital mental health market was growing even before the pandemic, but the stress of COVID -19 has increased the demand for online mental health products. Now, according to the Global Wellness Institute, the global mental health economy is estimated at $ 120.8 billion. Startups are mushrooming: more than 380,000 health apps are available on Apple and Android operating systems, according to the European Connected Health Alliance, of which about 20,000 are designed to tackle mental health problems. The best projects are in the Invest Foresight review.
Compassionate chatbot
Sometimes it is difficult to talk about your feelings when your soul is bad. An entrepreneur from India Jo Aggarwal (Jo Aggarwal) knows this firsthand: a few years ago, she fell into a deep depression when her start-up care for the elderly could not find a niche in the market.
But Aggarwal’s case history had a happy ending — depression prompted a new business idea.
“It was clear then that I needed to talk to someone . But the thought of sharing my feelings with another person seemed daunting. I thought that chatbots that communicate well with people could help me, ” says Joe.
In 2016, her company, Touchkin eServices, released an artificial intelligence (AI) -based mental health app called Wysa. Now the entrepreneur hopes that people who are depressed will find it easier if an “emotionally intelligent” robot listens to them.
The basic application is free and completely anonymous ( Wysa Premium Plus subscription costs $ 99 per month). The user shares their state with the chatbot. Artificial intelligence analyzes the story, based on it, selects a line of questions or a technique previously written by the psychotherapist, then continues the conversation. In severe clinical cases, the program recommends contacting emergency services or referrals to a real therapist.
“We want everyone to have access to psychological assistance resources. Our bot is that friend who is always there and ready to listen to you at 4 am, despite geographic and socio-economic barriers. Surprisingly, in many cases this is the only thing we really need, ” adds the founder of the project.
Wysa, she emphasizes, is not a substitute for a doctor. This is an additional tool when you need to give vent to emotions. Users with diagnoses are a rare case here. People come to Wysa mainly to improve sleep, reduce anxiety, or sort out relationships. With the outbreak of the pandemic, the project expanded its methodological base with a module developed at the University of Cincinnati. It is intended to treat anxiety associated with COVID-19. In March of this year, Wysa was included in the list of 17 applications in the investment program Google Assistant, and in May the company closed a $ 5.5 million Series A funding round. In total, the Indian startup raised $ 9.4 million in investments.
The Wysa app is now available in the US and UK in addition to India. It is used by over 3 million users. Last year, the Singapore government-licensed it on its territory to combat the emotional fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. But in the future, as conceived by Joe Aggarwal, Wysa will grow into a larger format: instead of referring patients with diagnoses to external therapists, the startup intends to become a full-cycle service and create its own network of mental health providers.
How to help children
One in eight (12.8%) people between the ages of 5 and 19 suffer from a mental disorder, according to a UK government report, but two-thirds of children are unable to access health services due to growing demand. COVID-19 has only made the situation worse. However, British startup Healios believes it has come up with an effective online therapy formula for children. The idea for the project was born to Rich Andrews when he got tired of fighting the health care system, never getting help for his close relatives suffering from mental illness. In 2013, Andrews, who previously held a senior position at the Swiss pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche, launched the Healios startup.
The online platform is intended for ordinary children with increased anxiety and low mood, as well as for children with autism and ADHD ( attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). At the first stage, Healios doctors assess the child’s mental health. They then offer a tailor-made therapy program and, in the case of autistic children, a post-diagnostic support plan for the entire family. Since its inception, the British startup has conducted over 70,000 clinical sessions.
“The UK is facing a mental health crisis. Demand far outstrips supply, and technology has a vital role to play in bridging this gap. We are immensely proud of the lives we have already changed with Healios, ” says Rich Andrews.
But he is modest: in recent years, the startup has achieved recognition at the state level. The virtual care platform has been approved by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence commended her service for cognitive behavioral therapy and family interventions for psychosis and schizophrenia. And the National Health Service of England has included the Healios Autism Assessment Method in the National Autism Best Practice Guidelines. The startup closed the £ 7m Series A round this year (total funding £ 9.2m). Investments will go to the technological upgrade of the platform using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms. After the planned expansion in the UK, Healios expects to expand internationally.
Refer to “Yana”
Andrea Campos has been fighting depression since she was 8. She tried all treatment options, from behavioral therapy to pharmacology.
In 2017, when she was in her early 20s, Andrea learned to program. She created a simple psychological help app. As a chatbot, Campos corresponded with users who were tired of fighting depression.
“For a month, I pretended to be an application and sent these people a list of actions they had to do during the day, such as writing in a gratitude journal, ” she recalls.
But Andrea Campos went further. By crowdfunding, she raised about $ 10 thousand. With this money, the girl hired a developer. But soon an earthquake struck Mexico City, and the programmer, who lost his home, had to move.
“I was left with nothing,” adds Campos.
“If you want to do well, do it yourself” — with this thought, the girl took up the project alone. In 2020, she launched the Yana app (an acronym for You Are Not Alone).
Google helped her to grow her user base. In the same year, he named Yana as one of the best personal growth apps. This caused a surge of interest — the number of users increased from 1 million to 5 million.After that, the Mexican startup attracted funding — according to TechCrunch, the amount was over $ 1.5 million.
It is currently ranked among the top three downloaded apps in Mexico and 12 countries including Spain, Chile, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Since the inception of the first version, Yana has changed dramatically.
In the application, in addition to a heart-to-heart conversation with a chatbot, you can create a daily routine, keep a gratitude diary, mark your thoughts and feelings in the calendar with the ability to return and view them again. Extended functionality is available through a premium subscription — for 119 Mexican pesos (over 400 rubles) per month. Going forward, according to Andrea Campos, Yana plans to “move away from the narrative of depression and anxiety.”
“We intend to compete in the wellness space,” she told TechCrunch. “We want to become a vitamin for the soul and to support people’s mental health at all times.”
Stress-free work
Stress, anxiety, sadness, dissatisfaction with oneself — against the backdrop of the pandemic, these words are increasingly heard among employees. According to a State of the Global Workplace study, stress is costing the global economy $ 8.1 trillion a year. There are several reasons for physical and emotional stress. Workload comes first, according to the UK Occupational Safety and Health Administration (44%), followed by violence, threats, or bullying (13%), followed by lack of support (14%), and lastly by changes at work (8%) … The statistics are worrying, but Dr. Nick Taylor, the founder of UK-based startup Unmind, believes digital solutions will help manage stress.
“Technology helps us track, analyze and understand our complex mind. They allow us to visualize and assess areas that need improvement and take meaningful steps to change our habits, ” he explains.
Prior to starting his own business, Taylor worked as a leading clinical psychologist for the UK National Health Service (NHS). Over the years, he watched ordinary employees lose motivation due to pressure from above. They started to skip and soon lost their jobs. To increase productivity, Nick Taylor decided to develop a support strategy for NHS workers. But soon the program that was being prepared for a single organization turned into a universal tool for the entire corporate culture.
Taylor helped translate ideas into serial businessman Ree Morgan (Ry Morgan), an entrepreneur in the field of management information systems and innovative products Nick Tong (Nick Tong), and a leading expert in the field of corporate welfare Steve Peralta (Steve Peralta). In 2016, they released a joint product, Unmind.
The platform helps the employee to anonymously track and assess their mental health. To do this, he needs to fill out questionnaires and keep a mood diary. In addition to emergency services such as teletherapy, the platform offers tools to support your daily well-being, from yoga and healthy recipes to exercise to improve concentration.
To better understand employee needs, employers can request reports from Unmind based on anonymous data. Now the platform, according to the company, is used by over 2 million employees in 110 countries. The peak in popularity of Unmind came in the past year when the stress level went off the scale due to COVID-19. The number of customers has grown dramatically — the platform is used by John Lewis and M&S, TSB Bank, Uber, Samsung, Virgin Media, British Airways, and Asos. Last year, the startup’s revenue increased by more than 300% (the company does not disclose the exact figures.). This attracted the attention of large investors to the project — Unmind closed series B in the amount of $ 47 million. In total, the startup received $ 63.2 million in investments.
