This lack of affordable and accessible mental health resources in the market, coupled with the vast innovation gaps she was seeing between North America and Asia, spurred Joan Low to start ThoughtFull \u2013 a digital mental health startup which aims to make access to mental healthcare more seamless and affordable for individuals and organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wall Street Banker Turned Medipreneur<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAbout 15 years ago, a scholarship took Joan out of her hometown in Malaysia and marked the beginning of an adventure that would take her across different locales from Canada, the Northeast of the USA to London, Paris, and Beijing for work and studies. Before landing back in Southeast Asia, she was most recently in Hong Kong, where she worked as a banker at J.P. Morgan, managing a portfolio of over US$1.3 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was an eye-opening experience,\u201d Joan shared. Beneath the excitement of adventure however, she was also acting as a mental health caregiver to a loved one for the past 20 years. Having seen the innovations around the world, Joan grew frustrated at how little had changed in the mental healthcare scene over the course of two decades back home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The motivation to close this innovation gap in mental healthcare as well as her first-hand experience with the challenges of accessing seamless and affordable care, was what spurred her to take the leap of faith \u2013 swapping finance to become the change that she wanted to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The energetic thirty-something admitted that it was a very big risk, because she didn\u2019t know whether the market was ready for ThoughtFull at the time (this was pre-pandemic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut I think for me, it was very clear and very obvious that this was needed in society. It was needed 20 years ago, it\u2019s needed today, and it\u2019s going to be needed 20 years from now,\u201d Joan affirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd when you are very sure of what you\u2019re going into, then I think it makes the decision more worthwhile,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As opposed to jumping into prescribing a solution right away, ThoughtFull took the path less travelled \u2013 building from ground-up. Through running programs for corporates and universities, the team charted the user journey, mapped out the organisational nuances, and validated their assumptions with real paying-clients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c When we started flagging 1 in 3 employees as severe or extremely severe, in one or more categories of stress, anxiety, depression, we knew that there was a latent demand that hasn\u2019t been addressed,\u201d Joan shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prevention Is Better Than Cure<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nIn 2020, ThoughtFull accelerated their launch of ThoughtFullChat as a direct response to the pandemic. ThoughtFullChat is a mobile application that empowers users to engage with their mental health earlier \u2013 before a cure is ever required. Joan likens this to caring for your physical health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"ThoughtFullChats](\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ThoughtFullChats-app.png\")
ThoughtFullChats Mobile App<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cIf we proactively exercise and watch what we eat to maintain a healthy physical body and to avoid diseases, then we should be preventatively safeguarding our minds as well.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For $169-$199 a month, the subscription-based platform provides users with self-serve mental wellness tools and access to certified mental health professionals where users can engage them for one-on-one daily bite-sized coaching. All coaches are vetted and their algorithms instantly match users to their best-fit coach. Joan noted that majority of the users they serve are aged between 20 and 40 \u2013 university students and working adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joan shares that \u201cour model is very different to traditional telemedicine or therapy format. It is not a booking platform for a one-off or infrequent one-hour session, it is ongoing and proactive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For ThoughtFullChat, \u201cusers can go into the chatroom at any time of the day to text or audio message their mental health professional, and receive a response within 24 hours. Coaches will proactively work with users daily or at a pace that users are comfortable with. So there\u2019s a lot of ongoing engagement and progress tracking,\u201d she continued. Adding to the validation of the service model by people who are using it, ThoughtFullChat has a retention rate of more than 60% of its users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ThoughtFullChat focuses on upstream prevention for stress, anxiety, and mild depression where the client segment that they focus on is usually working professionals and university students going through the undulations of stresses and anxiety from everyday life. For more severe cases such as clinical depression, bipolar, and the like, ThoughtFull has just launched their beta booking platform for Virtual Therapy on their website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Building A More ThoughtFull Workplace <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nToday, organisations and individuals are more willing to invest in their mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think one of the biggest things that has been a boon for digital mental healthcare, is the fact that the pandemic has really brought to light, not just the physical aspects of being in lockdown, but also the psychological effects that it has on a person,\u201d said Joan. At the same time, Joan sees an increasing number of people willing to engage in their physical and mental healthcare via digital solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During circuit breaker in 2020 when most people had to work from home, many reported experiencing heightened stress levels as they struggled to adapt to the new normal. Since then, more companies are starting to see the co-relation between mental health and productivity levels and are more willing to invest in the mental well-being of their employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think one very big indicator on how market trends have changed, and how companies are more willing to invest in it, is when you have more companies who have never done it before coming to you to see how to implement something for the employees,\u201d Joan said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She also stressed that employee well-being is important for every company, regardless of size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having a mental healthcare programme for employees isn\u2019t just for the biggest companies either. \u201cSMEs likely have less people to do a lot more, resulting in a higher probability of employee turnover and burnout. Another reason is that employees tend to perform in many different functions. So, you need your employees to be in tip-top condition to be working optimally,\u201d she explained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Businesses that are interested in working with ThoughtFull to create a more resilient workplace may visit their website<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2020, ThoughtFull accelerated their launch of ThoughtFullChat as a direct response to the pandemic. ThoughtFullChat is a mobile application that empowers users to engage with their mental health earlier \u2013 before a cure is ever required. Joan likens this to caring for your physical health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf we proactively exercise and watch what we eat to maintain a healthy physical body and to avoid diseases, then we should be preventatively safeguarding our minds as well.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n For $169-$199 a month, the subscription-based platform provides users with self-serve mental wellness tools and access to certified mental health professionals where users can engage them for one-on-one daily bite-sized coaching. All coaches are vetted and their algorithms instantly match users to their best-fit coach. Joan noted that majority of the users they serve are aged between 20 and 40 \u2013 university students and working adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joan shares that \u201cour model is very different to traditional telemedicine or therapy format. It is not a booking platform for a one-off or infrequent one-hour session, it is ongoing and proactive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n For ThoughtFullChat, \u201cusers can go into the chatroom at any time of the day to text or audio message their mental health professional, and receive a response within 24 hours. Coaches will proactively work with users daily or at a pace that users are comfortable with. So there\u2019s a lot of ongoing engagement and progress tracking,\u201d she continued. Adding to the validation of the service model by people who are using it, ThoughtFullChat has a retention rate of more than 60% of its users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ThoughtFullChat focuses on upstream prevention for stress, anxiety, and mild depression where the client segment that they focus on is usually working professionals and university students going through the undulations of stresses and anxiety from everyday life. For more severe cases such as clinical depression, bipolar, and the like, ThoughtFull has just launched their beta booking platform for Virtual Therapy on their website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, organisations and individuals are more willing to invest in their mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think one of the biggest things that has been a boon for digital mental healthcare, is the fact that the pandemic has really brought to light, not just the physical aspects of being in lockdown, but also the psychological effects that it has on a person,\u201d said Joan. At the same time, Joan sees an increasing number of people willing to engage in their physical and mental healthcare via digital solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During circuit breaker in 2020 when most people had to work from home, many reported experiencing heightened stress levels as they struggled to adapt to the new normal. Since then, more companies are starting to see the co-relation between mental health and productivity levels and are more willing to invest in the mental well-being of their employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think one very big indicator on how market trends have changed, and how companies are more willing to invest in it, is when you have more companies who have never done it before coming to you to see how to implement something for the employees,\u201d Joan said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She also stressed that employee well-being is important for every company, regardless of size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having a mental healthcare programme for employees isn\u2019t just for the biggest companies either. \u201cSMEs likely have less people to do a lot more, resulting in a higher probability of employee turnover and burnout. Another reason is that employees tend to perform in many different functions. So, you need your employees to be in tip-top condition to be working optimally,\u201d she explained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Businesses that are interested in working with ThoughtFull to create a more resilient workplace may visit their website<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBuilding A More ThoughtFull Workplace <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n