Article | May 03, 2021

How Organizations Can Make Tangible Change for Mental Health

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time set aside to raise awareness of and for those living with mental or behavioral health concerns and to help reduce the stigma so many experience, which often prevents individuals from seeking help.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected mental health for people of all ages. Now, more than ever, it is critical to talk about mental well-being and encourage conversations, personally and professionally.

Executives from three Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® member companies in the digital health space shared insights about mental health programming for organizations, initiatives from their companies and areas where technology can help drive change for mental well-being.

Hear from Dr. Nikole Benders-Hadi, medical director of behavioral health at Doctor on Demand; Christine Hsu Evans, chief marketing officer at Ginger; and Kyle Robertson, founder and CEO at Cerebral.

Dr. Nikole Benders-Hadi

Medical Director of behavioral health, Doctor on Demand

Christine Hsu Evans

Chief Marketing Officer, Ginger

Kyle Robertson

Founder and CEO, Cerebral

Part One

What can organizations do to fully leverage the promise of mental health programming and resources for their employees and drive change?

Robertson: It’s not enough to simply offer a virtual mental health service to employees, as these crucial benefits can often get lost in the noise of the overall benefits package and plan design changes. Creating visibility of the benefit is a key component to ensuring that as many as possible know what’s available to them.

Part Two

What are areas where digital innovation in mental health can make tangible changes?

Hsu Evans: What I’m most excited about is technology's ability to help democratize access to mental healthcare. There’s far greater demand for mental health services than there are therapists and psychiatrists in the U.S.; the traditional way of providing mental healthcare won’t solve this problem.

Part Three

What are some initiatives you are doing as a company and leader to fight stigmas — both in your organization and beyond?

Benders-Hadi: We believe that everyone has the right to comprehensive physical and mental health services whenever and wherever they need it and our employees are no different. We also actively work with our customers to make sure they have the tools and resources their employees need to be their healthiest selves.

Mental Health Awareness Month

For Mental Health Awareness Month, Ginger is kicking off Ginger Chats. Ginger Chats harnesses the power of storytelling to de-stigmatize mental health challenges. It’s a series of interviews with a diversity of people, including artists, musicians, athletes, celebrities, CEOs, and leaders. The series highlights how storytelling can be therapeutic for both the storyteller and the listener, and helps normalize tough discussion.

Learn more about storytelling and Ginger Chats from Ginger Chief Clinical Officer, Dr. Dana Udall, and visit www.ginger.com/chats.

Join the Mental Health Working Group

You can influence the standards-setting process for mental health technology by joining CTA’s Mental Health Technology Working Group. This new standards working group will develop industry best practices around the characteristics and requirements for mental health technology solutions. Not a CTA Member? Join today.

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