☁️🍄 Issue No. 020: Renewing Our Vows

Hello, and happy 20th issue of Headlines! Time flies, doesn’t it? Today, we’re taking a trip down memory lane and renewing our vows as a newsletter with you, dear reader. 💍

To inform this piece, I sat down with Ember Innovations’ Cambrian Berry, who’s working on developing a new ecosystem for New Zealand’s mental health system. A super-inspiring convo, and I’m excited to share this one. Let’s get into it!

From MDMA to AI, somatic work to VR, we’ve covered a vast range of mental health tech and modalities here at Headlines.

But getting deep into the trends can make it easy to miss the forest for the trees. Today, we’re zooming out to a 10,000-foot view of the mental health landscape and what’s ahead.

RECAP, REWIND

Back in January when we first launched, we detailed the story and mission behind Headlines.

I shared my own personal journey with mental health challenges, the broken state of our care system, and the burgeoning mental wellness industry — one that’s set to clear $500B by 2030. 

Six months later, mental wellness has continued to go mainstream. There are arguably more people than ever working in, thinking about, and innovating for mental health. 

The nascent psychedelic renaissance is projected to top $11.8B by 2029; this June, MAPS is gearing up to host the largest psychedelic conference in history.  

And, according to a16z, mental health emerged this year as the fastest-growing marketplace for startups, and it’s not even close.  

But… another fact has unfortunately also held true since January: Despite rapidly increasing innovation, the crisis appears to be getting worse. 

• Depression rates among US adults are reaching record highs.

• Nearly two-thirds of employees report struggling with their mental health.

• Teens’ psychological well-being is plummeting; CDC data reveals an unprecedented rise in suicidal behavior, especially among teen girls. 

While acknowledging potential lags between implementation and outcome, it’s clear that increased innovation doesn’t always beget increased impact.

INNOVATION FOR THE INNOVATORS

That’s where organizations like Ember Innovations come in. Its thesis is this: We all have a part to play in driving effective innovation to support individuals, communities, and their well-being.

In other words, the innovators need innovators too. Mental health has plenty of folks working on individual solutions, but not many who are thinking about how the whole puzzle fits together, connecting entrepreneurs, clinicians, investors, and policymakers to drive real change.

Indeed, the most pressing question is now no longer whether there’s a crisis or how to raise awareness. It’s a question of impact: How do we support the emerging system so that talent, resources, and funding can be directed in an impactful way? 

To answer that question, Ember Innovations is designing a model that takes into account all the different stakeholders in the system. 

At the heart of this model are stories and experiences of the specific individuals and families who struggle with mental illness, as well as the community supporting them. 

Moving outward, there are the mental health professionals, whose frontline perspectives and experiences are critical, as well as the policymakers and healthcare institutions that play a vital role in influencing systemic changes or upholding the current system — things like implementing new policies or expanding insurance coverage. 

Then, in the innovation realm are the researchers/academics, startup founders, investors, and more who are working to enhance speed, efficacy, accessibility, and affordability. 

How do all these operators fit together? What are the biggest challenges facing each cohort, and where are the biggest gaps? Which sorts of shifts will have the highest leverage impact? And whose responsibility is it to build this infrastructure that will allow innovation to thrive? 

These are all questions that Ember Innovations is looking to answer in New Zealand, and they should be top of mind here in the US, too. 

LOOKING AHEAD

Understanding the broader mental healthcare system, and where one fits in, is crucial for any operator wanting to help. Rushing to action without it can, at best, squander resources and, at worst, hurt patients who are already skeptical of a floundering healthcare system.

This has been a driving part of our mission at this newsletter — to equip the frontline workers, the builders, the investors, and everyone else in between with the perspective they need to make key decisions. 

Punchline: People, by and large, want to help combat the mental health crisis; the billion-dollar question now is where and how. Rather than innovation for innovation’s sake, impactful solutions require a deep understanding of where the gaps truly lie. 

At Headlines, providing these perspectives will continue to be our north star. It was true six months ago, and it’s true now. Consider it a renewal of our vows.

QUICK HITS

• Psych-flation. Over 60% of therapists say they’re planning on increasing rates.

• Apple has entered the chat. The tech company is honing in on mental health. 

• Served. Over 2K families are suing social media companies over the youth mental health crisis.

• Life in plastic, it’s fantastic. New landmark study investigates how psychedelics promote neuroplasticity. 

• Suit shakeup. A major CEO reshuffling is taking place across several behavioral health providers: Mindpath Health, Valera Health, and Bloom Health Centers. 

• Psychedelic cryptography. For the Qualia Research Institute, artists designed videos with hidden messages only decodable while tripping. 

• Taking pride. How anti-transgender legislation is harming the mental health of transgender youth — and how to help. 

• Private matters. Several UK mental health charities gave away Facebook users’ sensitive data. [Re-read: Issue No. 004: Privacy, Please]

• Going dry. A first-of-its-kind study investigates how psilocybin-assisted therapy helps patients overcome alcohol addiction.

NEWS & TRENDS

1) From fried chicken to ibogaine 

Definitely not on anyone’s 2023 bingo card: Last week, the state of Kentucky pledged a staggering $42M to fund research into ibogaine for opioid addiction. As we’ve written about before, ibogaine is an incredibly powerful psychoactive substance, one that’s often used as an extremely effective treatment for opioid use disorder. 

But the announcement has been met with mixed reactions. While some see the move as a promising step forward for psychedelics, others point out that iboga has a dark and dangerous side — it takes a heavy toll on the heart, in severe cases leading to cardiac arrest; fatalities are also not uncommon. 

→ Read more

2) Chemical collide

Most folks are now well aware of psychedelics and their potential as a treatment for depression, but less are cognizant of the complications that can come from mixing these substances with traditional antidepressants. Indeed, people who want to try psychedelic therapy are often advised to wean off of antidepressants because of one, the risk of serotonin toxicity and two, potential decreases in psychedelic efficacy. 

There’s a lot we still don’t know about the interactions between psychedelics and SSRIs. With nearly 43M people in the US on antidepressants and psychedelic enthusiasm at all-time highs, it’ll be an important thing to understand. It’ll be especially pressing as more and more start experimenting with microdosing and as the underground movement gains momentum.→ Read more

DEALS & DEBUTS

🩹 mend, a digital nutrition and behavioral health platform, raised $15M in Series A funding in a round led by S2G Ventures. The startup offers nutrapharma products designed for various conditions, as well as an AI-enabled behavioral health coaching platform. → source

🙌 Laudio, a healthcare management platform, closed $13M in Series B funding in a round led by Define Ventures. The startup leverages AI to help managers engage with team members to reduce turnover and burnout.→ source

🕯 Ritual, an audio-based mental health app, closed a $4.8M seed round. The platform provides guidance on everything from meditation to prayer to journaling to support user well-being.→ source

🍭 Lucy Scientific Discovery, a psychedelics manufacturing company, announced a proposal to acquire Pasithea Therapeutics, a biotech company focused on innovative treatments for Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders.→ source

🛠️ Terran Biosciences, a psychedelic biotech company, secured an exclusive licensing deal with Pierre Fabre Médicament for global development and commercialization rights for idazoxan, a clinical therapeutic for schizophrenia.→ source

🍄 Beckley Waves, a psychedelic venture studio, established a psychedelic ethics council to help guide industry standards across the sector. → source

💞 BeMe, a teen mental health app, raised an undisclosed sum. The startup aims to create a safe space for teens to work through new skills, connect with coaches, and access crisis support. → source

📖 WellStory Health, a therapy homework and treatment planning platform, launched. The Atlanta-based platform wants to help bridge the “therapy engagement gap” and help clients stay engaged in between sessions. → source

🏋🏼 Kilo Health, a digital health company, launched Greatness, a habit tracking and lifestyle management app built on behavioral psychological research. → source

🎧 Real, a digital mental wellness platform, added a suite of new features, including audio-sessions and therapist-created tools, recorded community stories, and anonymous live events.→ source

WHAT I’M READING

• How to find a therapist. A practical guide to navigating the ins and outs of finding a therapist. → Every

• Exotic mental states. The science behind Nirodha Samāpatti, a state of meditation that follows after states of extreme concentration. → Sasha’s Newsletter 

All set for today. East Coast readers, sending some love from the other side of the country. I hope y’all are breathing okay out there; the pictures look absolutely wild.  

Funny thing is, I’m actually headed your way. I’m flying over to Philly this weekend (trip was planned pre-wildfire), where the air quality was apparently the worst in the world this past Wednesday. 😬 Wish me luck / time to break out the P100 masks. 

Until next Sunday,

-Mel