On this World Mental Health Day, Mantra Health is proud to join the World Health Organization to break the stigma around mental health and advocate for more accessible, affordable, and quality mental health and well-being services. Millions of people are battling anxiety, depression, suicidality, and other mental health conditions, without assessment, diagnosis, and treatment, and countless others are facing discrimination in their attempt to get care. 

Mental health and well-being for all must be made a priority. Individuals, communities, and nations have been devastated by the pandemic and are continuing to experience rising rates of mental illness and poor mental health, requiring all of us – individuals, communities, government entities, institutions, and organizations – to unite and create immediate and sustainable change. 

“We’re honored to be a part of the collective mission to bring evidence-based mental healthcare to those in greatest need and we are committed to being a leader in the young adult mental health space,” says Ed Gaussen, Co-Founder and CEO of Mantra Health. “Our hope is that mental health is recognized with the same fervor as physical health and mental health services become as accessible as a walk-in clinic.” 

Our Team is Igniting Change in Real-Time

Our dedicated team is working round-the-clock to build the mental health programs and services that are ultimately changing the lives of thousands of young adults around the country. We are so grateful for their hard work, passion, and desire to fulfill our mission – and we’re happy to highlight some of their efforts!

Carla Chugani, PhD, LPC, our VP of Clinical Content and Affairs, is working on Mantra Health’s first content product, a program that teaches students evidence-based coping, communication, and life skills. “We’re taking material that normally can only be accessed through therapy and making it accessible as a non-clinical, psychoeducational, digital product. My hope is that this work will radically increase equitable access to evidence-based mental health promotion at the campus population level,” she says. “Knowing the potential for how many lives could be improved is part of what keeps me excited and working as hard as I can to create something that students will see genuine value in.”

Becky Arroyo, LMHC, a provider at Mantra Health, collaborates with counseling centers and works one-on-one with students, and says, “I very much enjoy working with young adults and believe that helping young adults is the building blocks for a future where mental health is not so much of an epidemic.” 

“One of the greatest parts of building a software product is actually getting to see the results of your hard work in action. We’re building a future where mental health is at the forefront of conversations. We’re changing lives and improving the campus experience, supporting folks who may not have felt supported in the past. We’re really trying to build the future we want to live in. This is a mission that excites me, and fills my heart with gratitude for the opportunity. It’s truly a dream come true for me,” says Hunter Davis, our VP of Engineering. 

We’re Prioritizing Young Adult Mental Health for a Reason

From the early days of our founding, Mantra Health has made the conscious and deliberate decision to focus solely on the mental health of young adults. We know this population faces life transitions, identity crises, future career decisions, and the sudden onset of psychiatric conditions, all while battling academic pressure, financial stress, and countless social stressors – and we want to ease these burdens and provide them with quality health and wellness support. 

“We’re asking young people to carry so much – social injustice, climate crises, economic uncertainty – all on top of navigating their own well-being and mental health. There is so much heaviness, and students are learning to sit with this, process grief, and care for themselves, all while taking action to advocate for their and the community’s mental well-being,” says Emily Grady, LPCC-S, Partner Success Manager. “At the same time, I feel hopeful knowing that more and more people are joining together to ensure that the up-and-coming generations are getting equitable care.” 

This is such a critical time for young adult mental healthcare. As a nation, we’re still battling and recovering from a global pandemic, which has harmed our most vulnerable communities and caused our young adults to miss transformative experiences like prom, freshmen orientation, career day, and led to more experiences of grief, anxiety, depression, and other prominent mental health issues and conditions. We want to bring relief to the millions of young adults who feel isolated, alone, and unsupported.

“Our comprehensive mental health and well-being programs are custom-built for young adults who expect a unique experience; they want access to diverse providers who have been trained in identity-affirming care and cultural humility, appointments on evenings and weekends on weekends, remote medication management support. They want access to evidence-based coping strategies, which they can use in their daily lives,” says Gaussen. “We’re listening to our patients and partners and we’re innovating on a daily basis to ensure that every college student is being cared for, no matter where they are on their mental health journey.”

This World Mental Health Day and every day thereafter, we hope you’ll join Mantra Health in raising awareness for the importance of mental health and well-being and bringing more accessible, equitable mental health care to young adults. Learn more about our solutions here.