Between the global pandemic and political turmoil, this past year has taken its toll on Americans’ mental health. A recent CDC poll found that 40 percent of adults in the U.S. are struggling mentally — anxiety has tripled, depression has quadrupled, and the problem isn’t exclusive to just adults.
As a result, the mental-health tech space has become an increasingly crowded one, with companies like Happify Health and Modern Health raking in tens of millions of dollars in just the last couple of months amid skyrocketing demand. Now Real, a relatively new startup in the space, is looking to make its mark on the industry too, taking a digital approach to a long-standing practice: group therapy.
With a team of full-time therapists, Real leads virtual group therapy sessions across a variety of issues, including anxiety, anger management and relationships. It also offers on-demand audio and video sessions (the same way one would stream a workout class), as well as monthly progress check-ins and journal prompts to track your goals. Through these demographic-based sessions and specialized “pathways,” Real intends to offer ongoing, personalized care for users that is approachable, effective and action-oriented.
For all this, users pay $28 a month, a fraction of what it would normally cost to be in a one-on-one therapy session.
The goal, says founder and CEO Ariela Safira, is to help people, rather than help therapy.
“We don’t anchor our expectations in therapy today — we anchor our expectations in people today. We don’t ask ‘Are we more affordable than therapy today?’; we ask ‘Are we affordable for the majority of Americans?’” Safira told Built In via email. “How do we ensure Real is something valuable across the board, not just compared to other therapy offerings? This line of questioning is what makes Real real.”
Now, less than a year after launch, the model appears to be working. From March to July of last year, more than 5,000 people joined Real’s waitlist, and its first cohort reported very high satisfaction rates, with 98 percent claiming they feel better having joined Real.
To keep up the momentum, Real has raised $10 million in fresh funding. The Series A was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from new investors like U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe and Minnesota Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks.
The money will be used to further expand the platform and membership nationwide, as well as grow its NYC-based team, with a particular focus on its product development, engineering and therapy departments. Real also plans to open its first “mental health studio” here in the city as soon as it’s safe to do so, bringing its “approach to mental healthcare to life.”
Looking ahead, Safira says she is eager to disrupt mental-health treatment as we know it. She hopes to spark a “massive societal mindset shift,” permanently making mental health a key component of everyone’s life.
“This involves expanding our understanding of mental-health ‘care’ outside of the therapy office — how can we change workplaces and school systems to improve mental health? How can family practices evolve to improve mental health? What does a couple’s relationship look like with improved mental health?” Safira explained. “I’m eager to solve these questions, improving mental health beyond the 1:1 system we know today.”
