Interconnected is the official publication of eMHIC
with a cause Taimi Allan’s lived experience Rebel Global brain health initiative When AI becomes the caregiver Tech with a human-centred moral compass Protecting young minds
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plus SUPPORTING THE HEALTH WORKFORCE
Feel Out Loud.
KIDS
HEARING ABOUT BAD STUFF GOING ON AROUND THE WORLD MAKES ME FEEL HORRIBLE. IT MAKES ME FEEL USELESS AND SAD BECAUSE I CAN’T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT”
“
PHONE This paraphrased text comes from over 50 million data points — anonymized and aggregated — to highlight the overwhelming need for HELP. As Canada’s only 24/7, free, confidential, and multilingual e-mental health solution, Kids Help Phone is here to ensure that young people always have a safe place to Feel Out Loud.
Help means everything.
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As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Digital Mental Health Global Congress, I am honoured to introduce Interconnected, the first retail magazine dedicated exclusively to Digital Mental Health and Addiction. This milestone inaugural publication marks a new chapter for our global community. For a decade, the eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC) has brought together lived-experience leaders, innovators, clinicians, academics, and policymakers committed to advancing mental health through digital innovation. With Interconnected, we extend that mission to a broader global audience, showcasing the breakthroughs, best practices, and partnerships that are transforming how people access mental health information, care, support, and treatment. Interconnected will be eMHIC’s trusted voice to decision- makers, spotlighting evidence-based, scalable, and sustainable innovations from around the world that are reshaping the way mental health care is delivered and accessed. It will celebrate extraordinary progress across countries and disciplines and inspire collaboration and investment in this rapidly evolving field. Together, we are redefining what accessible, equitable mental health care looks like in the digital era. I invite you to join us in celebrating innovation, connection, and hope through the pages of Interconnected. Welcome from the Executive Director
Anil Thapliyal Founder & Executive Director eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC)
anil@emhicglobal.com
eMHIC Newsletter Subscribe for global news and updates
Interconnected View digital edition
Showcase your work in a future issue Editorial and advertising options available interconnected@emhicglobal.com
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ON THE COVER The irrepressible Taimi Allan shares how lived experience shapes her approach to mental health care
Contents
Executive Director Anil Thapliyal | anil@emhicglobal.com Publisher Interconnected Kim Mundell | kim@emhicglobal.com Communications Manager Nicky White | nicky@emhicglobal.com Strategy & Partnerships Lead Linda Mouhamou | linda@emhicglobal.com Marketing Director Olivia Dunn | olivia@emhicglobal.com ABOUT eMHIC eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC) is the global peak body for digital mental health implementation. Globally, the demand for mental health support is greater than the supply of traditional mental health services. Using digital tools allows service users to access timely care, information, and treatment at a time and place of their choosing. eMHIC facilitates digital mental health collaboration and knowledge exchange across borders, creates collaborative networks of experts and thought leaders, promotes self-help solutions, fosters innovation, and highlights international best practice.
3 Welcome From the executive director 7 Book Review Governing digital mental health
32 Crisis Text Line
The future of mental health Is human and it starts with a text
38 Alchemic Sonic Environment Raising the frequency
8 Mental Health
44 Flinders University
Commission of Canada Doing the next right thing for digital mental health care
Collaborating for change: policy-driven digital mental health solutions
12 Kids Help Phone The future, co-created: accelerator KHP
48 DIVERT Mental Health Reimagining youth mental health research and training
eMHIC BOARD Board Chair Charles Curie Deputy Chair Taimi Allan Board Member Fredrik Lindencrona Board Member Sean Duggan Board Member Michel Rodigue Board Member Anil Thapliyal
18 Drive Health
52 e-Mental Health in Practice (eMHPrac)
Raising the Floor: How ‘Avery’ Is Reimagining Mental Health Support
Supporting the health workforce to integrate digital mental health
DISCLAIMER The views, opinions and content expressed in the articles and contributions published in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or positions of eMHIC. Publication does not constitute an endorsement by eMHIC of any products, services, organisations, or viewpoints contained herein.
22 GoMo Health Resilient minds: how personalized support builds women’s brain resilience 28 Kooth Protecting our minds in the age of machines
56 WellMob, University of Sydney Culture first: The WellMob approach to digital wellbeing 60 Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency The digital mental health project
PO Box 28530, Remuera, Auckland 1541, New Zealand
eMHICglobal.com
ISSN 3021-5064 (Print) ISSN 3021-5072 (Online)
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112 Vielight
66 RapidsHealth Bridging the chasm
92 LIO What’s next for mental health care?
Photobiomodulation and the aging brain
70 Mental Health Research Canada Striving to transform mental health
116 MindPowrr The alchemy of equity 120 UNICEF Childhood, mental health, and digital solutions
96 Calian Connecting care at every level 100 St Josephs Healthcare Hamilton How VR, global learning, and cloud tech are transforming forensic psychiatry 102 Ottawa Guiding Council for Mental Health and Addictions Secretariat Reclaiming our ability to care for each other 104 MIND Between comfort and caution 108 Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Powering Canada’s health system with data 110 Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) National guidance on artificial intelligence in mental and substance use health care
72 GreenShield
How GreenShield is building a more inclusive future for mental health care
124 Taimi Allan Tech with heart
76 Mohawk Building digital bridges for mental wellbeing
130 GGz Centraal SAM (Stress Autism Mate)
78 Lean6Health
132 Mirror XR
Connecting, supporting & guiding patients wandering care transitions
Reclaiming digital spaces for Gen Z mental health
82 Salesforce
134 Momentum Mindset The Healer’s Compass 135 Lamplight Magazine A creative space for caregivers to be heard 136 The Honest Talk A community powered by women’s voices
The new role of technology in mental and behavioural healthcare
84 Sane Health Helping the help-seekers
88 Nous Group From fragmentation to connection
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BOOK REVIEW
GOVERNING DIGITAL MENTAL HEALTH: A BOLD NEW BLUEPRINT
By offering both a governance framework and a call to action, Martí-Noguera reminds us that governing digital mental health is less about machines and more about meaning — a shared responsibility to design futures where innovation and dignity walk hand in hand. Governing Digital Mental Health is now available through Springer in print and eBook formats.
no postgraduate programs or European Commission initiatives currently equip professionals for this oversight function, leaving a vacuum in both academia and continuing education. Second, an economic gap : as primary care shifts toward monitoring people at risk (“pre-patients”) with digital tools, traditional funding models are no longer sustainable. New arrangements will be required across public systems, private insurers, and the wave of new actors entering health care through digital platforms. This publication builds on Martí- Noguera’s wider body of work, including the Manual de Telesalud Mental (Pirámide, 2022), the Libro de Casos Clínicos en Telesalud Menta l (Elsevier, 2023), and Ethics in Digital Mental Health: A Comprehensive Guide to Responsible Practice for Professionals in Training (Ethics Press, 2024). Together, these texts create a continuum of ethics, practice, and governance — from hands-on cases to conceptual models — equipping professionals, policymakers, and innovators
Digital transformation is already reshaping the soul of mental health care: how people seek connection, how clinicians adapt their practice, and how societies decide what counts as care. Yet with opportunity comes urgency: how do we ensure that innovation remains ethical, equitable, and effective? In his new book, Governing Digital Mental Health: Introducing the 5P Model and the Digital Behavioral Health Expert (Springer, 2025), Juan José Martí-Noguera addresses this pivotal question with a framework that bridges technology, policy, and human-centered care. At the heart of the book is the 5P Model — Predictive, Preventive, Personalized, Participatory, and Precision-based — a roadmap for building fair and future-ready behavioral health systems in the age of artificial intelligence. His work also introduces the Digital Behavioral Health Expert (DBHE) , a new professional role designed to embody what is now a mandatory principle of human oversight . As seen in the EU AI Act and legislation such as Illinois HB1806 in the US, human oversight is not optional — it is a legal and ethical requirement. The DBHE ensures that AI- enabled tools never operate without professional supervision, safeguarding dignity and safety. This new role exposes two critical gaps. First, a training gap :
for the challenges ahead. The book is already being recognized as a timely intervention. Professor Anil
Thapliyal, Executive Director of the eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC), describes it as “a timely vision for ethical, inclusive governance in digital mental health.”
Juan José Martí-Noguera Author
linkedin.com/in/jjmn juanjomn@pm.me digitalmentalhealth.eu
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FEATURE
Doing the “Next Right Thing” for digital mental health care
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“It’s here – and it’s evolving quickly.” Maureen Abbott reflects on what it means to do the “next right thing” in digital mental health care and why collaborating across borders has never been more important.
I n March 2020, the world was in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of us were at home indefinitely, and my little ones desperately needed to be entertained. Then, Disney released Frozen 2 for home viewing. Suddenly, the never-ending chatter ceased, and everyone sat quietly and engaged for the entire one hour and 43-minute run time. It was a small miracle! And, at that time, we were taking wins where we could find them. As I watched the movie, in my zombie-like state from exhaustion, the song that most captured my attention was “The Next Right Thing.” After thinking that she was dealing with a tragedy, one of the main characters attempts to keep moving, avoid getting overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation, and simply do the next right thing. Just do the next
Sometimes, one small step in the right direction is enough to get momentum going. This concept often got me through the intense period of the pandemic. In our increasingly complex world, this lesson of breaking down a difficult problem into the simplicity of doing the next right thing still echoes true. The bite-sized framing helps us advance on critical problems without feeling overwhelmed, while keeping the big picture in view. Today, as artificial intelligence (AI) moves onto the main stage in digital mental health care, we’re approaching our own complex moment that needs to be simplified. But how do we know what is the next right thing to do? As an e-mental health community, we must consider together what is the next right thing for the incredible opportunities and increasingly large challenges we are facing worldwide in digital mental health. The answer lies in collaborating across international borders — pooling our collective wisdom to learn from one another. The global successes and challenges we learn from each other will help us build the strongest tomorrow in digital mental health care.
right thing. Take a step, step again. It is all that I can do. The next right thing.
Maureen Abbott Director of Innovation, Mental Health Commission of Canada
Biography mentalhealthcommission. ca/board/directors/
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Fit for purpose: Technology with heart
eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC) Congress, and developed with support from Mental Health Research Canada, it presents six priorities and twelve recommendations for navigating Canada’s next steps in digital mental health care. We applied this same human- centred principle to app safety. When thousands of mental health apps saturated the market — many making broad and unsubstantiated claims — we convened more than 200 collaborators from across the health-care spectrum to develop the Commission’s Mental Health App Assessment Framework in partnership with the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA). Lived experience expertise was central to the development of the framework. To date, we’ve assessed more than 20 apps and witnessed developers proactively improve their app, ensuring it is high- quality for the Canadian public. The real-world impact is already evident. Our work with the government of Newfoundland and Labrador led to Canada’s first provincial app library, which gives people access to digital tools that are assessed for safety while saving time and offering peace of mind. Unprecedented technology, redoubled responsibility A decade into the digital mental health space, our early concerns seem almost quaint compared with the challenges presented by today’s AI revolution. Previously, AI was exploratory. Now it’s embedded in our daily
As director of innovation at the Mental Health Commission of Canada, I’ve learned that expertise without diverse perspectives yields too narrow a view for a field as complex as mental health. The digital transformation of mental health care isn’t coming — it’s here. Yet technology, with all its tremendous power, can’t tell the difference between right and wrong. Its quality depends entirely on its programming. That’s why over the past decade, as digital solutions have transformed mental health care, the Commission has served as a gathering place for health-care leaders, providers, people with lived experience, researchers, and policy makers to develop evidence-based guidance that acts as a
lives. A 2025 Actua report showed that 90% of Canadian youth use AI tools, highlighting their comfort with the technology. That technology moved fast. A few years ago, parents expressed concern about young people’s screen time; now, those worries have evolved to the impacts of deepfakes and other highly sophisticated online manipulations. As technology accelerates at lightning speed and becomes more complex, our commitment to quality and doing what is right must intensify. Exceptional digital mental health tools exist. They save lives by providing flexible care options, reducing stigma, boosting system efficiencies, and enabling anonymous mental health support. The outstanding eMHIC community worldwide knows this and lives this. Living these values means we don’t hold back critical progress; rather, we work in tandem to
compass and puts humanity at the heart of technology.
We are committed to supporting our community as it navigates increasingly complex digital terrain. Because ultimately, accessibility without quality is at best a false promise. Bearers of a moral compass: A human- centred track record Our National Strategy work exemplifies this approach. In 2022, we began developing Canada’s first National E-Mental Health Strategy. Half of our advisory committee brought personal experience with mental health challenges, ensuring lived-experience voices shaped our approach from day one. Launched in 2024 at the
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clearly understand when they’re talking to AI, not a person. We’ve seen incorrectly programmed chatbots produce misinformation, leading people in the wrong direction with their mental health support — sometimes ending in deaths by suicide. Others have experienced emotional overattachment when they develop deep relationships with their chatbot, only to later realize it is not a real person. There have been alarming examples of AI devices providing insulting responses to those from equity-deserving populations seeking mental health support. A simple online search reveals digital mental health products that have sold personal information — from those seeking mental health services when vulnerable — for marketing purposes. We need safeguards to protect people who reach out in their moment of need so they can focus on getting better and not on worrying about exploitation. These concerns are among the many reasons the Commission has partnered with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction to develop upcoming AI guidance, building upon our national e-mental health strategy.
perspectives — from people with first-hand experience, individuals implementing AI, representatives of diverse communities, and scientific minds. Through our federal mandate, we’re working across the country and gathering insights internationally. We’re also learning from global partners through networks like eMHIC. The approach blends pragmatism with inclusivity. We recognize that effective guidance must be accessible, actionable, and adaptable across different mental health contexts. Here’s the good news: If you’re reading this, you’re already part of our community working to create responsible and culturally appropriate mental health care. We hope to release early AI guidance this fall and look forward to sharing it across Canada and globally. Keeping the promise of AI At the Commission, we see the incredible value in responsible AI implementation for mental health. Its positive potential is real, and exciting new products launch daily. With quality programming, AI and other digital mental health products can improve access, personalize care, and help people who haven’t been well served by traditional approaches, but we need to do the next right thing together and ensure digital mental health care is safe. In mental health, one harm is too many when it can be prevented.
ensure tools are safe, inclusive, and effective for everyone.
Protecting the vulnerable People who are unwell and struggling are also vulnerable. They may not be in a position to assess the trustworthiness of e-mental health tools. That’s why, especially in the mental health and substance use health fields, we must address shortcomings directly. Unfortunately, digital mental health tools have not always been safe. As a result, harm has sometimes been done, and there have been some tragic outcomes. For example, we’ve documented cases of transparency shortcomings, misinformation, privacy violations, bias, and technology lacking a human-centred design. In today’s era of increased loneliness, AI mimics human conversation so precisely that people confuse computer- generated responses with actual compassion. People need to
Standing at the AI crossroads: Working in partnership This partnership is poised to
produce Canada’s first guidance specifically for AI in mental health and substance use health. True to form, we’re gathering diverse
12 FEATURE
The future, co-created Kids Help Phone’s acceleratorKHP and the transformation of youth mental health
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With youth mental health needs growing more complex, Kids Help Phone is leading the way forward. Leveraging 50 million data points and acceleratorKHP, the organization is reimagining what support looks like—personalized, proactive, and always within reach.
A new chapter in youth mental health For over 36 years, Kids Help Phone (KHP) has been at the
Building on a legacy of innovation
health equity gap, and leveraging innovation in virtual care. The movement is bringing youth voices to the forefront and redefining
KHP has long been at the forefront of technology-driven mental health support, growing from a single phone line into a comprehensive, always-on ecosystem that serves millions of young people each year. acceleratorKHP represents the next stage of this journey. It was created to reimagine how KHP delivers care in the age of digital disruption and to build solutions that have never before been possible through emerging capabilities in data, technology and artificial intelligence.
what help means for young people across the country.
forefront of youth mental health in Canada. Starting as a phone line, KHP has evolved into a tech- enabled, data-driven charity that supports millions of young people across the country. As the mental health needs of youth grow at an unprecedented rate, KHP continues to meet every moment with bold innovation, equity, and care. Right now, youth in Canada are facing a crisis. Since the start of 2020, KHP has interacted with young people across the country more than 22 million times.
KHP data reveals a deeply urgent need for more responsive, inclusive support. This urgency is rooted in a larger truth: the traditional mental health system was never designed for the speed, complexity, or scale of today’s youth realities, especially in a digital world where young people express identity, build communities, and seek support online. Innovation and personalized care are no longer optional in youth mental health; they are essential. That’s why KHP continues to take bold steps, like the launch of acceleratorKHP. Announced nationally in 2024 at the Elevate Festival in Toronto, and globally at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2025, acceleratorKHP is revolutionizing how youth mental health supports are developed and delivered. By combining real-time data, research, AI technology, and global partnerships, acceleratorKHP ensures youth across Canada can access support when and wherever they need it most.
Artificial intelligence is transforming the way young
people live, learn, and connect. Daily experiences, from shopping to gaming to social media, are hyper-personalized and immediate, and mental health support must reflect that same reality. Young people are already seeking out less safe alternatives for support
“Young people are changing every day, and technology is
evolving even faster,” says Senator Katherine Hay, Strategic Advisor, KHP. “At KHP, innovation isn’t just what we do, it’s who we are. We’re committed to blending technology with empathy and ethics to ensure support safely meets the pace of innovation and matches the needs of young people across the country.” KHP’s Feel Out Loud movement, the largest youth mental health movement in Canada’s history, is focused on expanding clinical services, closing the mental
or, in some cases, choosing not to access help at all.
Equally as important as responding to the present is anticipating what comes next. KHP is grounded in an understanding of shifting digital behaviours, emerging platforms, and cultural forces that shape youth expectations.
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new solutions, we can create supports that grow and adapt with their changing needs and keep pace with the evolving expectations young people have of the technology they use.” Generative AI has already shifted how youth seek information, offering instant, plain-language answers that are often taken at face value. This rapid change brings both opportunities and
“Our role is to anticipate what’s coming for young people and ensure we’re two steps ahead. Moving from reactive to proactive design has become mission critical to provide authentic and intuitive support in their world,” says Justin Scaini, Group Head and Executive Vice President, Strategy, Innovation and Transformation. “By monitoring trends, and relentlessly testing and experimenting with
Powered by KHP data, the creative campaign for the Feel Out Loud movement features thousands of new iterations of Kids Help Phone’s name, each expanding on the meaning of ‘help’ with unique feelings featured in contextual placements.
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of one-size-fits-all support, acceleratorKHP is unlocking new possibilities for personalization, access, and relevance. “Applied research fuels acceleratorKHP. By combining the real-time voices of young people with data and AI, we’re positioning Canada as a global leader in youth mental health innovation,” says Alisa Simon, Group Head and Executive Vice President, e-Mental Health Transformation and Clinical Services. “Through acceleratorKHP, KHP is developing groundbreaking prototypes and products that will reach millions of young people from coast to coast to coast.”This commitment to transformation is not abstract. acceleratorKHP is already driving forward tangible initiatives and products designed to change how young people find help, connect with resources, and experience mental health care in the digital age. FAIIR Frontline crisis support plays a critical role in youth mental health services, with Crisis Responders (CRs) engaging in complex conversations and tagging issues to shape next steps. To enhance this process, KHP, in partnership with the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, introduced FAIIR (Frontline Assistant: Issue Identification and Recommendation), an ensemble of domain-adapted transformer models trained on 780,000 conversations. FAIIR aims to reduce CR’s cognitive burden, enhance issue identification accuracy, and streamline post-conversation administrative tasks. FAAIR served as KHP’s foundation for expanding the organization’s use of AI.
been more true than right now through the cultural, economic and social disruption caused by AI,” says Scaini. “By leaning into reinvention, KHP can increase the pace of innovation and change, shaping the future of youth mental health support in Canada and beyond.” AI, apps and access: reaching young people across Canada in new ways acceleratorKHP is about bold experimentation and transformation. Rather than layering tools onto existing operations, it functions as a dedicated vehicle for innovation, a space where KHP can explore new ideas, harness unparalleled data capabilities, and design solutions that were previously impossible. Every product is designed for youth, with youth—co-created to reflect their realities, needs, and voices at every stage. This innovation space is designed for creativity and calculated risk-taking. By testing ideas outside of core operations, KHP can move quickly while safeguarding the services that millions of young people rely on every day. In practice, this means acceleratorKHP provides a controlled environment where the team can experiment, fail safely, and refine concepts before scaling them into real-world tools. Central to this approach is KHP’s extraordinary data resource — over 50 million data points collected directly from conversations with youth. Combined with machine learning capabilities, this enables products and services that adapt to youth realities. Instead
risks for organizations supporting young people. At KHP, technology is built to complement and enhance human interaction, not replace it. Young people trust KHP because of the authentic, human support we provide, and they deserve the choice to engage in the way that best supports them in each moment. “We need to continually reinvent ourselves which has never
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Machine learning and topic modelling
KHP is leveraging Private AI, and advanced tool that de-identifies texting transcripts. With a 99.5% success rate in removing personally identifiable information, the tool enables deep analysis while maintaining the highest standards of confidentiality and trust. Social listening dashboards acceleratorKHP is also piloting social listening dashboards that capture slices of public TikTok data, offering insights into how youth are talking about mental health online. This real-time window into digital conversations help KHP stay connected to the language, sentiment, and emerging themes that shape young people’s wellbeing. Resources Around Me Through Resources Around Me, KHP is making it simpler than ever
for young people to find support. As Canada’s most comprehensive directory of over 40,000 wellbeing supports, the platform combines guided search, intuitive filters, and an interactive map to connect youth to in-person and virtual resources tailored to their needs.
The development of machine learning and topic modelling capabilities allows KHP to go beyond tracking surface-level trends and instead uncover the “why” behind them. For example, in September 2024, KHP found that rising levels of anxiety and stress were linked not only to the return to school, but also to the specific pressure of giving class presentations. By identifying these patterns, KHP can design services and supports that directly reflect the lived experiences of young people.
“Every new insight and every barrier we remove brings us
closer to a future where no young person struggles without access to timely, effective support,” says Andréanne Deschamps, Senior Vice President and Head of Clinical Services and Operations. “These advances give us a clearer picture of young people’s experiences and challenges, so we can provide care that is informed, responsive, and deeply personal.”
Private AI & data de- identification
Safeguarding privacy is crucial. To ensure that data can be analyzed responsibly in accordance with the purpose for which it was collected,
From insight to impact: What’s next for acceleratorKHP
As acceleratorKHP enters its next phase, the focus is clear:
revolutionizing youth mental health care with proactive, predictive, and personalized support. Fueled by KHP’s clinicians in every corner of Canada and powered by AI and real-time insights from millions of interactions, KHP is building tools that anticipate needs before they escalate, recognizing patterns in behaviour and emotional expression to intervene earlier. At the same time, KHP continues to evolve by blending technology with empathy and clinical expertise, ensuring that AI innovation is always guided by human understanding. This balance between advanced tools and compassionate care is distinctive, and core to KHP’s strategy to better serve youth.
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Generative AI remains a central focus for acceleratorKHP
human and technology alliance to establish a new standard of care in the AI era. While the AI tool is still in early development, the vision is clear: to use generative AI to connect young people seamlessly and intuitively to the things that will help them most, in the moments they need it most. To ensure this vision has lasting reach, KHP is also building strategic global partnerships, sharing its approaches internationally while bringing new perspectives back to Canada. Most importantly, the voices of Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQ+, and newcomer youth are informing every step. These communities often face the greatest barriers to care and are at the highest risk of being left behind in digital systems. acceleratorKHP is working to ensure their experiences and expertise are embedded in the development of every model, insight, and solution. The future, co-created “You can’t let fear, risk, or the unknown stop you from doing things that will have a meaningful impact,” says Scaini. “There will always be reasons not to act, but it’s about finding the ways to achieve outcomes that truly benefit young people. acceleratorKHP gives us the space and freedom to think that way. And we can’t do it alone — we need an ecosystem of partners at
the table to help tackle some of the most complex challenges with solutions we can’t yet imagine.”
“More young people are using AI tools like ChatGPT to seek guidance on mental health,” Scaini explains. “Through deep engagement with young people, we have learned that this is both a valuable channel for support, and one that is currently unsafe without adequate safety standards or guardrails. In response, KHP is developing a GenAI product to provide more choice and more intuitive ways for young people to engage with trusted support.” Two core use cases for generative AI are at the heart of this work. The first is a risk classifier, which involves training a large language model to detect the level of risk in a young person’s words and determine whether the conversation should be escalated to a human responder. This adds an additional layer of safety, helping KHP identify urgent situations more quickly and accurately. The second is a resource navigator, designed to connect young people with the right local supports. By analyzing the context of an interaction, the tool can provide recommendations for community resources, ensuring youth receive relevant and timely guidance. These use cases are only the starting point. Ultimately, GenAI will offer seamless service transitions and an unparalleled
At its core, acceleratorKHP is a bold reaffirmation of KHP’s
commitment to placing youth at the centre of their own wellbeing. By combining innovation, data- driven insight, data governance, and co-creation with young people, it’s amplifying the power of youth voice in shaping the services they rely on. This approach is transforming not just what KHP offers, but how young people experience mental health support, making it more personalized and relevant, empowering all young people to truly Feel Out Loud.
You can’t let fear, risk, or the unknown stop you from doing things that will have a meaningful impact — Justin Scaini
@kidshelpphone @JeunesseJ’écoute
Kids Help Phone Jeunesse, J’écoute
Kids Help Phone
@kidshelpphone
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Raising the floor
How Drive Health’s ‘Avery’ is reimagining mental health support
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A very is not here to replace clinicians, but to work alongside them, reducing burnout, strengthening trust, and delivering safe, continuous support for patients. The global health crisis is deepening. Demand for services has skyrocketed, but clinicians, nurses, and social workers remain in critically short supply. For many, the result is long waits, fragmented
firsthand how outcomes depended less on resources than on whether there were ‘feet on the ground.’ “When we had people present, we found success. Where we didn’t, we failed. The ‘aha’ moment was realizing we cannot improve care for those who need it most until we address the shortage of labor. That is the greatest problem in healthcare.” Three years ago, he set out to build Drive Health around this principle. “We’re not trying to raise the ceiling of healthcare with flashy technology. We’re trying to raise the floor, to make healthcare more accessible and consistent for everyone.” Why mental health? While Avery is designed for whole-person care, the team quickly recognized its natural role in mental health. “Whether you’re dealing with chronic conditions, social stressors, or hospital readmission, behavioral health is almost always part of the picture,” says Jim Stringham, Chief Strategy Officer at Drive Health, who began his career as a behavioral health clinician 30 years ago. “But providers are constantly forced to choose, which patients will get care today, and which may slip through the cracks? Avery changes that. She broadens the safety net so no one is left behind.” Stringham recalls his own time as a case manager. With a caseload of 100 people, he could only
care, and an overwhelming sense of being left behind.
Avery
For Kevin Longoria, CEO and co-founder of Drive Health, this workforce gap is the most pressing challenge in healthcare today. “We cannot solve health inequity until we solve labor shortages,” he explains. “There’s infinite demand, but only a finite human workforce. The only way to bridge that gap is with responsible technology.” Drive Health’s answer is Avery — an AI-powered, agentic caregiver designed not to replace clinicians but to stand alongside them. Avery offers proactive outreach, education, and transitional support, freeing professionals to focus on complex care while ensuring patients feel supported throughout their health journey.
Kevin Longoria CEO and Founder
A mission born from experience
Longoria’s conviction is rooted in his years at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, where he worked on health disparities in medically underserved populations. He witnessed
Jim Stringham Chief Strategy Officer
jim@drivehealth.ai drivehealth.ai
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For patients, the difference is profound: continuous, trusted support rather than isolation between appointments. For clinicians, Avery helps alleviate the guilt and burnout of an impossible workload. “Healthcare is often measured by how much you failed today,” says Longoria. “Nurses work 12- hour shifts, but go home asking themselves what they missed. Avery takes on the administrative and repetitive tasks so clinicians can focus on what they trained for. Our goal is to bring joy back to the profession.” Stringham agrees. “The hardest part of leadership in behavioral health is choosing who gets extra help and who doesn’t. With Avery, you don’t have to make those heartbreaking choices. Everyone gets touched.” Trust, safety and guardrails Skepticism about AI in healthcare is natural. Could Avery overstep? Could she be trusted? Drive Health has built safety into the core of the product. During onboarding, health groups define Avery’s knowledge base in partnership with the Drive Health team. “During care interactions, Avery doesn’t browse the open web,”Longoria emphasizes. “She is grounded in customer- approved, evidence-based sources, so guidance reflects each organization’s standards. It’s the doctor’s voice, scaled responsibly.”
Acute Support: Reinforcing clinician guidance, providing accurate information during and between sessions, and being available at hours that suit the patient, whether that’s 8pm or 4am. Transitional Care: Following up after hospitalization, checking that patients understand discharge instructions, have transportation to pharmacies, and make it to follow-up appointments. “She remembers your name, your kids’ names, your medications. She checks in,” Longoria notes. “We want patients to turn to Avery, grounded in clinician-approved resources, rather than unguided internet searches or public forums.”
meaningfully focus on 15. “That leaves 85 without the engagement or education they need. Avery allows us to reach all 100, to screen, support, and escalate, so that the right interventions happen before crisis hits.” What Avery does At its core, Avery is a continuity- of-care partner. Unlike today’s episodic, fragmented system, she stays with the patient through prevention, acute care, and transition: Prevention & outreach:
Engagement, conducting risk assessments, and behavioral screenings.
Education: Advance mental health literacy through providing content tailored to individuals needs.
Avery also self-regulates. Every sentence she delivers is
continuously assessed for safety, empathy, accuracy, and adherence to guardrails. In the unlikely
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ensure they understand their plan, it’s worth it. That’s cheaper, and safer, than a readmission.” The company deliberately piloted Avery in the lowest-income municipality in the U.S. “It would have been easier to prove the concept elsewhere,” Longoria admits. “But if we can succeed here, we can succeed anywhere.” The next step is applying these lessons to behavioral health. Transitional care services are a natural entry point, but the long-term vision is broader. “We’re not ready to tackle the most severe mental illness populations yet,” Longoria says. “But we can start with meaningful use cases today, and expand step by step. The need is immense.” For Stringham, the urgency is clear. “If 10,000 people signed up tomorrow to become counselors, it would still take years before they’re ready. Technology gives us an immediate way to expand access and reduce stigma.” Learning from the world As Drive Health prepares to present Avery at the eMHIC Congress in Toronto, the team sees the event as an opportunity to listen. “Our goal is to learn,” Longoria says. “We’re U.S. focused right now, but the mission is global. We want to hear pain points from around the world and understand how best to deliver solutions.” Stringham agrees. “Engagement, outreach, and education are fundamental everywhere. Whether in New Zealand, Bangladesh, or the U.S., these are the levers that improve mental health outcomes.
We need smart, evidence-based technology to scale them safely.” Drive Health is clear that it cannot achieve its mission alone. “Success
circumstance where she mis-speaks, a human is alerted to intervene. “Humans make mistakes every day,” Longoria says. “Our aim is to be as safe or safer, as effective or more effective, than the human baseline.” Cybersecurity and data governance are equally central. Drive Health invests heavily in privacy protections and does not use PHI or patient interactions to train its models unless expressly permitted by patients.. “We’re not in the business of harvesting data,” Longoria insists. “Trust is our most important currency.” That sense of mission runs through the company. Jim Stringham left what he describes as his “dream job” to join Drive Health, despite less security and higher risk. “I walked away from a role responsible for 350,000 lives,” Stringham says. “But now have the ability to impact millions of lives around the globe. Avery removes the constraint of limiting who we can and can’t help. It lets us do the greatest good for the most people.” Proving the model In three years, Drive Health has grown to 35 staff and secured contracts with 10 major U.S. hospital systems. Early use cases include nurse-delegated education sessions and post- discharge follow-ups. “These are high-impact interventions that everyone agrees are necessary, but they rarely happen because of workforce limitations,” Longoria explains. “We’re saying: every patient deserves a call 24 hours after discharge, not just the high-risk ones. If it takes two hours to
isn’t just selling technology,” Stringham emphasizes. “It’s partnering with clinicians,
policymakers, and frontline workers to design solutions that really fit.” To that end, the company is inviting readers to meet Avery firsthand, through a QR code that allows anyone to start a conversation with her. “We want professionals to see her as an extension of their practice,” Longoria concludes. “If we can raise the floor of healthcare, we can make the whole system better.”
Avery goes to school
Currently enrolled in nursing school at Arizona State University Credentialing and testing expectations align with standard nursing exam formats Expanded testing elements ensure Avery can meet professional standards
22 FEATURE
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Resilient Minds How personalized support builds women’s brain resilience
Bob Gold explores how a groundbreaking maternal brain health program uses personalized, science- based tools to help mothers worldwide build cognitive resilience, restore balance, and strengthen families.
A cross the globe, women are increasingly called upon to anchor their families through waves of change and adversity. From daily responsibilities to global crises, including pandemics, economic instability, geopolitical unrest, and the rise of youth mental health challenges, the emotional load carried by women, specifically mothers, has never been greater. Yet amid this complexity, women’s brain health often remains an overlooked priority. Women’s brain health is about more than managing stress or avoiding illness; it is the foundation for cognitive clarity, emotional stability, and resilience. Research shows that chronic, unrelieved stress can reshape brain function in ways that make it harder for women to think clearly, regulate emotions, and stay connected to purpose and meaning. In short, when the woman’s brain is overwhelmed, it’s not just they who suffer; entire families and communities are affected.
This urgent reality inspired GoMo Health and the Center for BrainHealth® at The University of Texas at Dallas to collaborate on a groundbreaking maternal brain health program as part of the GoMo Health Women, Children, and Families Engagement Hub. Delivered digitally and personalized through the application of BehavioralRx®, the GoMo Health proprietary behavioral and cognitive science of precision health, the program has demonstrated increases in human resiliency and improvements in patient health outcomes. This initiative offers evidence-based tools that help mothers around the world strengthen their cognitive and emotional health, especially in times of crisis. Why women’s brain health matters now more than ever Before the COVID-19 pandemic, studies estimated that a significant number of expectant mothers worldwide faced mental health challenges. Nearly one in three pregnant women reported moderate to high levels of anxiety.
Bob Gold CEO & Chief Behavioral Technologist, GoMo Health bgold@gomohealth.com goldbob info@gomohealth.com
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The effects of prolonged stress are profound, including: • Difficulty concentrating and prioritizing • Mood swings and heightened anxiety • Sleep disruption and cognitive fatigue These are not personal failures; they are predictable biological responses to overwhelming demands. They highlight the urgent need to design solutions that honor the complexity of motherhood while equipping women with personalized, accessible, science-backed tools to heal and grow.
The pandemic only intensified these issues, driving record levels of stress, depression, and isolation among mothers. Research highlights the scale of this surge: • 58% to 72% of pregnant women reported significant symptoms of anxiety and depression during the pandemic • 37% of women in their first trimester experienced anxiety during COVID-19, nearly 1.6 times higher than pre- pandemic levels This alarming increase underscores the urgent need for accessible, evidence-based support to help women manage unprecedented stress and protect their cognitive and emotional wellbeing. The bar chart below offers a visual snapshot of parental stress levels before and during COVID-19, illustrating just how dramatically stress levels rose among families as the pandemic unfolded. But the pandemic is only one example. Mothers today are expected to absorb and respond to a constant stream of crises, whether it’s school safety concerns, climate disasters, or the unpredictability of global conflict. For many, the mental load is relentless and invisible. Neuroscience research confirms what so many women experience: prolonged stress floods the brain with cortisol and adrenaline, keeping the fight-or-flight response activated far beyond the point of necessity. Over time, this undermines key brain regions responsible for decision-making, emotional regulation, and memory.
BehavioralRx is based on the understanding that no two women are the same. Each participant receives tailored content and support based on individual factors, such as outlook, confidence, mindset, social support, and social determinants of health (SDoH). The prenatal program continues through the first year postpartum, with extended support covering a child’s health and development up to age nine. Mothers receive: • Weekly text messages with immediately actionable ideas and pointers for mental health and wellbeing • Videos, meditations, music and exercises to build brain-healthy habits • Personalized micro-challenges to reinforce key concepts • Monthly check-ins to reflect and celebrate progress • It’s important to note that the maternal brain health program is accessible from any web enabled device and requires no app download
A science-driven model for resilience
At the heart of the Maternal Brain Health program is a simple belief: resilience can be learned. By combining decades of cognitive neuroscience research from the Center for BrainHealth with the GoMo Health BehavioralRx approach to precision engagement, the program translates complex science into everyday strategies any mother can apply.
Before Covid-19
During Covid-19 (May 2020)
During Covid-19 (Sep 2020)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Parents (%)
Parents with high stress
Parents with moderate stress
Parents with low stress
Bar Chart Source: Russell, B. S., Hutchison, M., Tambling, R., Tomkunas, A. J., & Horton, A. L. (2021). Parents are stressed! Patterns of parent stress across COVID-19. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, Article 626456. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.626456
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1 Defining brain health
and healthy brain habits This theme breaks down myths surrounding “mom brain” and shows how small, consistent practices can nourish cognitive health.
2 Understanding why less is more for the brain This topic explains how multitasking, and information overload drain mental energy, offering alternatives to create space for focus. 4 Flexibility of thinking This topic encourages the ability to see challenges from new angles, reevaluate perceived setbacks, and escape rumination cycles.
core themes grounded in neuroscience 6
3 How stress and anxiety impact the brain
Mothers learn to recognize stress as a biological process and practice
techniques to reset, including brain breaks and reframing.
The program centers on six evidence-based topics designed to help mothers reclaim clarity and calm, even when life feels unmanageable. Each theme is paired with practical tools, short mindfulness exercises, gratitude reflections, and music therapy, designed to fit into daily routines without adding to the mental load mothers already carry.
5 The importance of social relationships Mothers explore how healthy connections fuel brain resilience and create receptivity to ideas for strengthening bonds, even during difficult cycles.
6 The impact of gratitude Gratitude practices are used to activate the brain’s calming
pathways and support emotional regulation.
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