Resilience Lab announced thursday It’s another step toward improving Americans’ access to high-quality mental health care, and its expansion has made it accessible to 10 percent of the U.S. population.
The mental health tech company has a platform to help match people with therapists that fit their needs — and has expanded in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. According to the New York City-based company, the expansion marks a critical step toward delivering high-quality, affordable mental health care to a potential population of 33 million. Tri-state residents who are members of United Healthcare and Humana will be able to access this care in the network, the group said.
Access to mental health services varies widely from one state to the next, according to research from organizations like nonprofits American Mental Health show. The pandemic has exposed gaps and barriers to mental health care, including costs, lack of insurance and a shortage of therapists, which have led to an increase in depression, anxiety and other behavioral health problems.
Given the vastly different licensure requirements from state to state, national corporations also struggle to overcome disparities in state-to-state access to mental health services. The restrictions prevent psychiatrists and psychologists licensed in one state from providing virtual care or teletherapy to people living in another state.
“Resilience Lab’s mission is to remove barriers that prevent millions of Americans from accessing the mental health support they need,” Christine Carville, Resilience Lab’s co-founder and chief clinical officer, said in a statement. “Our outreach efforts are designed to enable High-quality treatment and measurement-based care is affordable and accessible to patients whether they are in-network or out-of-network, or have no insurance at all.”
The company has 130 clinicians in New York and is currently hiring therapists in New Jersey and Connecticut. The Resilience Lab supports collaboration among therapists to improve outcomes and access, and ultimately aims to scale up in the U.S. to help alleviate therapist shortages.
As demand increases, more attention and resources are focused on mental health.Venture capital investment in mental health startups has reportedly reached record levels during the pandemic Data from CB Insights, many different companies are looking to fill gaps in behavioral healthcare.This includes companies like Lyraproviding workforce mental health care; shafta company that provides medical and mental health services in challenging settings, from inpatient facilities to prisons; and have a brainwhich focuses on improving access to mental health medications.
Growth efforts at Resilience Lab are led by Hannah Weisman, who recently joined the company as Director of Geographic Expansion.
“The way licenses work is complex and varies from state to state — even for the same type of license,” Weisman said in a statement. “I look forward to seeing Resilience Lab as it expands. Guiding it so that companies can enter new markets responsibly and quickly.”
Photo: SIphotography, Getty Images
