About 61.4% of women experiencing perimenopause or menopause battle anxiety or depression. Recognizing this as an opportunity, digital mental health company Talkspace and digital menopause care company Evernow are teaming up to support women ages 40 and up, the companies announced Monday.
New York City-based Talkspace offers therapy, psychiatry and medication management. It treats patients for depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and several other conditions. San Francisco-based Evernow supports women who are menopausal and perimenopausal (the transition to becoming menopausal). It offers hormone therapy and ongoing support from menopause specialists. The company addresses common symptoms of menopause, including brain fog, cramps, weight changes and hot flashes.
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The decision to partner makes sense given the growing fatigue over point solutions, leading employers, payers and providers to want to bundle services together. Many standalone startups are starting to collaborate.
Through the new partnership, Evernow customers with multi-month memberships (meaning a three-month membership or a 12-month membership) will get free access to Talkspace’s self-guided mental health content. This includes more than 400 self-guided therapy sessions and on-demand workshops and classes. The content covers topics including depression, anxiety, parenting and relationship issues. In addition, Evernow customers will get a $100 discount on Talkspace virtual therapy (therapy plans start at $69 a week, though patients may be able to get it covered by insurance).
Conversely, Talkspace patients will get $50 off on any of Evernow’s multi-month care plans that allows them access to hormone therapy and support from specialists. Patients can get a three-month plan for $129 or a 12-month plan for $348.
The two companies are also teaming up on a customizable bundled offering of their services for employers who want a solution for their female employees aged 40 and older. About 45% of working women are over the age of 45, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor. A recent Evernow survey of women between the ages of 40 and 60 found that 85% of this population feel that offering a menopause benefit would improve work productivity and satisfaction. Employers lose $26.6 billion a year because of decreased productivity and medical costs related to menopause, a Mayo Clinic study found.
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Evernow chose Talkspace as a partner because of the clear link between mental health and menopause, said Dr. Alicia Jackson, CEO and founder at Evernow.
“There is strong evidence linking anxiety and depression to the perimenopause transition. Pairing experts in behavioral health with experts in menopause provides an opportunity to offer specialized care and drive better outcomes for women over 40,” Jackson said in an email. She added that the company values that Talkspace offers access to licensed therapists and self-guided content.
Talkspace, meanwhile, decided to work with Evernow because of an alignment in visions, said Natalie Cummins, chief business officer at Talkspace.
“Evernow emerged as a natural choice due to its expertise in perimenopause, menopause, and beyond, addressing a critical and often overlooked aspect of women’s healthcare,” Cummins stated in an email.
Several other companies are in Talkspace and Evernow’s respective areas. Other digital mental health companies include Headspace and Spring Health, while other companies that offer menopause support include Midi Health and Gennev.
In working together, Talkspace and Evernow “aim to empower women to more confidently navigate menopause through comprehensive care in both body and mind,” Jackson said.
Photo credit: Olga Strelnikova, Getty Images
