含羞草传媒

含羞草传媒 grads develop Mind-Easy therapy platform with a focus on equity

"
Alexandra Assouad and Akanksha Shelat created Mind-Easy, an adaptive mental health platform that provides knowledge and tools in more than 100 languages, dialects and accents (supplied images)

A new app launched by 含羞草传媒 alumnae aims to make cultural competence a minimum standard in mental health 鈥 including innovative ways to deliver identity-centric preventive care.

鈥淎vailable to anyone around the world, is an adaptive health platform that uses avatars with human-like characteristics that help guide users through their therapeutic journey,鈥 explains Mind-Easy co-founder and chief technology officer Akanksha Shelat, who graduated in 2018 with an honours bachelor of science from the Faculty of Arts & Science as a member of , majoring in computer science and cognitive science.

鈥淭his platform is designed to provide personalized care to patients, using a proprietary human taxonomy and artificial intelligence to deliver tailored mental health plans.鈥

Shelat and fellow Faculty of Arts & Science alumna Alexandra Assouad, along with  (OISE) PhD candidate Dalia Ahmed, developed and launched Mind-Easy, drawing from their own experiences as international students.

In consultation with mental health professionals across the country, Mind-Easy provides knowledge and tools in more than 100 languages, dialects and accents. Asynchronous learning makes the resources available on demand. Leveraging the OISE and psychology network at U of T, the team built a database of carefully curated content for Canada鈥檚 diverse and often marginalized groups.

From the start, the co-founders' goal was to solve two major problems: the shortage of therapists and the lack of cultural competence. Mind-Easy checks both boxes.

鈥淐ultural competence is essential when providing proper mental health care,鈥 says Assouad, who is Mind-Easy鈥檚 CEO and graduated with a bachelor of commerce degree from  in 2018 as a member of .

鈥淐oming to Toronto from Lebanon sparked internal chaos and filled me with an overwhelming sense of loneliness,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 wanted a therapist who spoke my language 鈥 a person who ethnically represents me and allows me to share vulnerable experiences.鈥

The Mind-Easy system learns from a patient's data to determine which interventions will be most effective. The approach not only improves patient outcomes, but reduces costs by avoiding unnecessary therapy treatments, the founders say.

Shelat and Assouad credit U of T鈥檚 abundance of resources for helping them develop and launch Mind-Easy, including support from the  (H2i) accelerator at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

鈥淚t is very exciting to be part of the innovation economy in Canada, especially when it involves working with passionate entrepreneurs who are dedicated to commercializing their technology and intellectual property,鈥 says Andris Lauris, H2i's associate director.

鈥淚t鈥檚 also extremely rewarding to help these companies raise non-dilutive funding and equity investments in an ever-challenging struggle to bridge the funding gap in Canada. H2i focuses on one-on-one mentorship for companies in health and life sciences in software, medical devices, and diagnostics and therapeutics.鈥

In part, H2i鈥檚 in-house mentors guided Mind-Easy's co-founders with practice pitch sessions, helping the aspiring entrepreneurs develop their product and business plans.

鈥淢ind-Easy has built a great team and are poised for success,鈥 Lauris says.

Assouad also credits Arts & Science faculty members for their support 鈥 including the mentorship of Craig Geoffrey, an assistant professor, teaching stream, at Rotman.

鈥淎lexandra had a really entrepreneurial view of how she鈥檇 run her life,鈥 Geoffrey recalls. 鈥淪he was always interested in taking on new challenges, learning new things and working to develop a full skill set she could apply to any career she鈥檇 eventually take on.鈥

Assouad and Shelat advise aspiring entrepreneurs to 鈥渘etwork, network, network鈥 while at school to build important connections they can tap into down the line for professional, financial and even emotional support.

鈥淏eing surrounded by other entrepreneurs and world-class experts is inspiring,鈥 Shelat says. 鈥淎nd amazingly, it all takes place on this campus with its rich legacy of boundary-breaking innovation.鈥

Faculty of Arts & Science