Hi friend,
I’m here with your weekly round-up.
Make sure you don’t miss the Prospira report on private funding impact, the new wellness fund from Jenny Liu and the JAMA study exploring the link between AI use and depressive symptoms.
Let’s get into it!
What happened in mental health last week?
Business News:
⏺️ AnswersNow, a virtual ABA therapy business, raised a $40M Series B. (link)
⏺️ Kindred AI acquired Waiting Room and Mynd, bringing the three small businesses under a single platform called Kindred Practice. (link)
⏺️ Kooth won a $2.6M contract with an undisclosed US state. Under the contract, Kooth will provide digital mental health services via its Soluna platform to up to 100,000 students aged 13-18. The one-year contract marks Kooth's third US state, adding to existing services in California and New Jersey. (link)
⏺️ Slingshot AI withdrew its chatbot, Ash, from the UK. Leadership cited a lack of clarity in the regulatory pathway for well-being products and stated that the company remains in conversations with the UK government. (link)
⏺️ Slingshot also announced that Lori Gottlieb, the bestselling author and therapist, joined its board of directors and as an advisor to the company. (link)
⏺️ Acadia Healthcare re-appointed Debbie Osteen as CEO following the company's recent stock decline. The share price was up on the news. (link)
⏺️ Jenny Liu launched a new $5M fund for wellness startups. The fund will write $100K-$250K cheques and includes mental health as a core focus. (link)
⏺️ Mindset Health integrated ElevenLabs' Text to Speech and Voice Cloning technology to deliver personalised gut-directed hypnotherapy. This is an interesting use-case for voice AI. The company uses AI-generated voices to adapt to user preferences and symptom profiles and reports 85-90% session completion rates. (link)
⏺️ Prospira Global published a report examining how private capital is shaping the global mental health landscape. The report states that private investment capital continues to rise (by 40% in 2024), but a lack of shared metrics and coordination is a challenge for effective distribution. It’s a fascinating report and worth a read. (link)
⏺️ Applications are open for Elevance Health Foundation grants. Behavioural Health Community-based, nonprofit behavioural health organisationscan apply before January 31, 2026. (link)
⏺️ The American Psychological Association published a health advisory urging stakeholders to prioritise strengthening mental health infrastructure before looking to AI chatbots for solutions. (link)
⏺️ Oregon lawmakers proposed new legislation to regulate AI chatbots to protect children's mental health. (link)
⏺️ ThroughLine published a white paper on suicidal ideation and self-harm detection in conversational AI, including a compliance and implementation guide for SB 243 regulations. The 45-page resource also includes a 4-level risk assessment system and technical implementation strategies for LLMs. (link)
Research News:
⏺️ Research published in JAMA Network Open found that daily generative AI use among US adults was associated with modestly higher depressive symptoms. Among 20,847 participants, 10.3% reported daily AI use, with those using AI at least daily showing 30% greater odds of moderate depression, particularly among users aged 25-64 and among those using AI for personal rather than work or school purposes. (link)
⏺️ A paper on the antidepressant effects of ketamine was retracted from BMC Psychiatry citing discrepancies between reported results and an editorial attempt at reproducing the findings. The retracted study had claimed rapid and sustained antidepressant effects of intravenous ketamine in treatment-resistant major depressive disorder and suicidal ideation. (link)
⏺️ UC San Diego researchers launched a randomised controlled trial testing whether aligning students' daily schedules with their natural circadian rhythms can improve mental health outcomes. The study uses the Owaves: My BodyClock smartphone app to guide students in planning sleep, study, exercise, and social activities in sync with their body clocks. Will be pretty cool to see what they find. (link)
⏺️ The Lancet Psychiatry published a new paper finding that while COVID-19 accelerated innovation in mental health care delivery - including rapid adoption of digital models - it also exposed and deepened pre-existing structural inequalities affecting vulnerable populations. The paper is the first in a three-part series examining the impact of COVID-19. (link)
⏺️ Psychedelic Alpha and Ipsos published polling data on American attitudes toward psychedelics. The survey found that Americans are divided in their views, with equal proportions expressing positive (28%) and negative (28%) views and 44% holding neutral or mixed opinions. Medical settings were the most preferred option for psychedelic use, though comfort levels varied significantly by age, education, and demographics. (link)
That’s all for this week. I hope you found it valuable.
If you’d like to become a Hemingway Pro member support my work in writing these every week, you can sign up here.
Keep fighting the good fight!
Steve Duke
Founder of Hemingway
