In a quick summation, the landscape of mental health care and treatment is adapting to the dynamic world in certain areas and lacking in others. While new ideological theories and recorded evidence are published every day, the field is not associated with a strong sense of technological advancement. A number of reasons could have contributed to this nationwide trend, but the bottom line seems to be that a general sense of tradition is still present in many forms of health care today. A major upheaval of the current systems in hospitals and within other larger, more established mental health services is a great challenge to overcome.

Although many new programs and initiatives across the country have attempted to integrate technology for purposes such as storing patient information and improving cross-communication, the overall process is happening at a slow and gradual pace. A collection of various industries throughout history has shared similar droughts of innovation. The most notable innovations have come from various sectors of the technological world, from virtual reality to mobile applications. In fact, many of these great, new additions to how society functions are made possible by a growing pool of hands-on and newly founded companies, also known as startups. These organizations have formed time and time again to produce a list of useful products. Fueled by personal desires to introduce something that was lacking from the world, most startups have created the change they wanted to see by taking matters into their own hands.

A similar change is now making its way into the mental health field as well. In response to the noticeable rise of mental health disorders affecting 43.7 million adults in the United States alone, a collection of startup companies have taken it upon themselves to bring well-needed advancement to the diagnosis, treatment and management of mental disorders.

ThriveOn

One of the biggest newcomers in the field is an organization known as ThriveOn. What has led to the company’s publicity can be attributed to the issues it has aimed to tackle, especially making mental health care affordable, accessible and less stigmatized. Together with an advisory board of psychiatrists from accredited universities, ThriveOn’s cofounder Alejandro Foung helped develop a series of personalized eight- to 12-week programs with professional therapists that users can access on their smartphones.

“Part of our mission is rebranding mental health. I like to call it the black sheep of health care,” said Foung. “Even hospitals don’t want to deal with it and physicians don’t want to deal with it. Part of ThriveOn is to demystify and destigmatize mental health care.”

Mental health care startup companies

As with many unexplored avenues in the industry of technology, a multitude of burgeoning startups are entering the competition to become the next big thing in mental health. This brings a fresh and varied sense of opportunity for many underserved people with mental illness, but it also comes with an extensive and ever-escalating list of possible choices to devote one’s recovery to. While this may be an arduous task to sort through, some promising examples in the field include:

• eTherapi: this website eliminates the geographical barriers and breaks down the process of finding a therapist into three simple steps. Once connected to a therapist who is the best fit for the user, the service also allows him or her to see the professional online.

• Talkspace: this online resource aims to make the therapy process as fast and accessible as possible, especially for younger generations who are used to text-based messaging. The site allows visitors to chat openly with a pool of over 200 professional and licensed therapists. Live video counseling is also available.

• Healtheminds: more focused on management and wellness, this site provides a host of online quizzes and other materials designed to measure beneficial patterns of behavior.

• The CTH MoodTracker app: this application is targeted to those afflicted with a mood disorder, such as depression or anxiety. It compiles all the crucial elements involved in a smooth recovery within the person’s phone or tablet screen, including medication reminders, recording specific emotional patterns and even informative videos from actual psychiatrists.

• iCouch CBT app: this application brings cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to new waves of people by use of their phone or tablet. Users will describe events that upset or disrupt their day, attach emotional responses to the event and even propose better alternatives to how the situation actually went. The program also takes its accommodation to the next level by featuring fully-customizable emotions and distortions, allowing users to describe their world and experiences as best as possible.

As new opportunities for growth enter the realm of mental health services, a widened level of accessibility may be able to lessen the incline of disorders and conditions impacting various individuals throughout the world.

Sovereign Health Group is a mental health and substance addiction treatment provider with a mission to uphold the latest treatment modalities while also meeting the needs of new generations and specific demographics of people alike. In addition to utilizing therapy based on the most current research, Sovereign also makes it simple to contact a consultant at any time with live chat services on our website. If you would like more information on our treatment programs for mental health, addiction or co-occurring disorders you can talk to a member of our team anytime on the phone or through our online chat.

Written by Lee Yates, Sovereign Health Group writer