Psyche
Single-point-of-access mental health platform for caregivers of emotionally complex youth
Introduction
Psyche is a mental health single-point-of-access platform for caregivers of youth (ages 8-24) with complex emotional/behavioral challenges. Our tech-enabled, high-touchpoint care navigation service helps families connect to the best-fit clinical care and develop personalized at-home protocols for managing crises with confidence. Our care navigation platform allows each family to have a reliable guide, mentor, and cheerleader to support their journey from crisis to long-term stability.
Problem
Each year, 7.8 million ER visits are related to youth mental health crises. Parents of children with complex emotional/behavioral disorders bear all of the burden in navigating crisis care for their child’s mental health. We interviewed 250+ parents/pediatricians/counselors and learned that families are resource-exhausted -- some parents pay $2000/week, spend 10+ hr/week, and even develop PTSD. Most of these families are dissatisfied with the quality of care matching/support.
Their only crisis options are limited to first-line-of-defense options such as 911, 288, and mobile crisis teams. If families utilize ER or in-patient care, they are often limited by the list of resources offered by discharge clinicians: they usually include limited point solutions that lack personalization and continuity. Families don’t have skill-building resources for the transition back to home and end up re-leveraging high-cost emergency services whenever symptoms escalate, which often leads to repeated ER visits.
Opportunity
Psyche is a single-point-of-access platform that supports caregivers in transitioning their loved ones from crisis to long-term resilience. We aim to strengthen the family’s resilience by supporting parents in finding best-fit care and developing at-home protocols for personalized interventions. We do this by providing frequent supportive touchpoints and continuous care. We offer clinical support by a highly-trained care navigator (NP/LCSW) who meets with the family to inform best-fit clinical care coordination and psychoeducation. We offer social support by connecting each family with an experienced peer mentor to empower families with the necessary at-home skills. Finally, our proprietary care management platform allows for high-touchpoint engagement with families through information collection, organization, and sharing between caregivers and their care teams. This engagement includes building an adaptive touchpoint calendar, symptom-specific to-do lists, and other need-specific resources.