Mental health problems can be found in people everywhere from college campuses to veterans, but when most people think about health, mental health usually isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. It is often costly and negatively stigmatized. Startup mental health company PsyInnovations, co-founded by Ritvik Singh, Navya Singh, PhD and Stan Miroshnikov, a software Engineer and Manager with a masters in Computer Science from Columbia, is looking to change that by creating a cost and time efficient product to help people with mental health problems.
The company joined StartUp Health earlier this month as a portfolio company.
In an interview with MedCity News, co-founder and CEO of PsyInnovations Ritvik Singh said the motivation for the company stemmed from the lack of help for people with mental health problems — something co-founder Navya Singh recognized during her work as a psychologist. Navya worked with patients in different areas of New York and identified a serious need for more mental health awareness and help for those with mental problems.
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Even though Ritvik Singh has a background in banking and co-founder Stan Miroshnikov has a background in developing, the two of them came together with Navya Singh to try to change the way people with mental health problems can receive the help they need.
The company’s product, wayForward, is a mobile app that will initially focus on anxiety. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, over 50 million adults in the United States suffer from anxiety disorders every year and only 12.7 percent of them receive minimally adequate treatment.
According to Singh,
wayForward provides machine-assisted therapy helping users achieve everyday life goals such as performing better at interviews or presentations, or overcoming anxiety related to dating or social gatherings. They will also have access to personalized care from licensed therapists.
So how exactly does the app work? It takes what would usually be a 45-60 minute therapy session and condenses it into a five to ten minute session. This allows patients to get the care they need and therapists to reach more patients that need the help. There is a calming breathing exercise at the end of each session.
There are different types of therapy sessions depending on the patients’ needs. wayForward therapists do shorter therapy sessions than a typical hour so they can see more patients.
The product is still in Beta and is in the middle of funding. The company is mostly self-funded with a few small investors. PsyInnovations is working towards seed funds and angel investors so they can strengthen and improve the mobile application, by increasing the number of therapists and an improved interface, so users can get as much help as possible.
Singh said they are looking to release the app to consumers in the next two to three weeks. Even though Singh couldn’t clarify a specific price users would be able to purchase the app for, he said once wayForward is released, consumers will be able to purchase it at a reasonable price.
As far as competition goes, PsyInnovations recognized that when it comes to mental health, there are so many different approaches to take. Despite the lack of thought of mental health in the world, other companies, such as Lyra Health, are on a mission to change that. To set themselves apart from other mental health apps and companies, like Lantern, Singh said their business model is different from competition because, “We don’t make it necessary for users to get a therapist as a coach and that reduces the cost significantly.”
PsyInnovations is looking to change the way people think about mental health and help those with mental health issues in the most effective way possible. As Singh put it, “What happens with mental health impacts everything.”
Photo: Flickr user Drew Leavy
