Disrupting Mental Health For The Good

Mental health is not a funny thing; but finding the help one needs when facing mental health challenges is a challenge all in its own. To a point where it starts to become funny, when it shouldn’t be funny one bit.

Seeking a counselor is a journey to say the least. Most common first steps are Google and reaching out to people whose opinion you respect most. Next step may be the local Facebook groups, I’ve witnessed those mom groups assemble with all might. They will make some great recommendations of counselors they have experience with in the past, simply for you to find out their calendar is full, or they’re not a good match. Word of mouth in this case rarely works out.

Google provides a headshot and maybe a brief bio. Perhaps you find some dated rolodex style website that really doesn’t answer any of the questions you seek. Yes, I used the word rolodex, and it couldn’t be more fitting. That’s the amount of info you get on a potential counselor, almost like looking for new tires. Sounds silly, but it’s true.

The real question in people’s heads is, is this a good fit for me personally? Long term? Do they specialize in my needs? Are they local? Do they offer in-person or telehealth services? Is this the type of person I would like to get a beer with after a session? Although that last step is not recommended, it certainly shows the warmth one would hope for before disclosing personal issues to someone they just met.

Personality compatibility is a real deal thing, ask anyone combing this earth for love. The right match can make all the difference, and it’s a needle in a haystack scenario, that often ends in frustration, and right back where you started. Not to mention the money that goes into this fruitless adventure.

All of the issues mentioned above are ongoing problems in the mental health space. Then came Covid-19 that rocked the world. It shook almost every person to the core on this planet. It magnified the unknown and disrupted everyone’s routine. In result, the demand for mental health services sky-rocketed, and sadly went unanswered. The thought of a huge portion of our community not getting the mental health access they need is scary.

On average it takes a client 4-6 months to find a compatible counselor, which is why I use the love metaphor intentionally. Although not the point of counseling connections, it displays the level of connection that should be prevalent in today’s mental health industry. Like a dating app, one should be able to get to know a counselor ever before committing to a session.

A counselor should have a platform to express themselves, their culture, methodology, specialties, modalities, and personality traits. Perhaps even their personnel interests could lend towards compatibility. One thing was certain, today’s technology should and could assist with this issue in a big way.

This is the concept that kept lingering in the heads of co-founders Collen Hilton, Practice Owner of Acuity Counseling, and marketing guru’s Greg Brumann and Josh Dirks.  When we all finally met up for coffee and got this conversation moving, it became clear to me how strong this tool had the potential to be, and that nothing of its kind existed.

I was delighted at the opportunity to be brought onto the Thrivelution team, and one thing was clear, there was an instant mountain of work to do, and we needed to start at the core.