Podcast

746: The Online Therapy Platform Tackling Mental Health Issues

A qualified GP and Digital Health Entrepreneur is now providing fast access to confidential counselling via Mynurva – which provides live video therapy via a laptop or mobile phone. Dr. Zain Sikafi started Mynurva after working as a GP in London he was taken aback by the number of patients suffering from Mental Health problems. Waiting times for those that he had referred for therapy were at times months.

Zain quickly learned that people are suffering in silence because they can’t get the help they need due to three main barriers:

Confidentiality – The majority of patients don’t want their employer or family members to know.
Accessibility – Patients are only able to access NHS Mental Health services for therapy during work hours and on weekdays. For Zain, this is one of the main factors driving the 40% Presenteeism in the UK (people going to work but not performing as well as they should do due to their symptoms).
Stigma – We know patients don’t want their employers to know because they feel it may impact their job, no matter how supportive their employer is. The reality is that only 20% of well-being programmes are utilized.

Mynurva was created to provide confidential therapy to those in work with anxiety or depression who feel unable for whatever reason to visit their local GP. The aim is to provide a service that is confidential, easily accessible from a laptop or phone using secure live video technology and with appointment times not restricted to the business working day.

I invited the CEO and co-founder of Mynurva, Dr. Zain Sikafi onto my daily tech podcast to learn more about how they are using technology to help people get back on the route to happiness.

A digital pioneer for mental health services, Zain has been listed as one of the top 10 rising GP stars on Pulse Today and was recently featured on BBC World’s Talking Business programme explaining how technologies like Mynurva can help working professionals overcome the barriers preventing them from getting support for their mental health problems.

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