Mental health startup for college students, Mantra Health, adds teletherapy services for bipolar I disorder

New York-based Mantra Health, a behavioral health tool focused on college students, is expanding its serious mental illness services, with its new program designed to support individuals with bipolar I disorder. This comes a year after the tech company added a service that supports patients with bipolar II disorder.

Mantra is able to integrate with their clients’ University Health Services to make a collaborative model. Students with bipolar I will be able to tap into teletherapy for support. The tool will also offer ongoing screenings for symptoms in between appointments, and students can text telehealth providers with any questions, or share info with university health clinicians.

Individuals with bipolar I may experience psychosis and other conditions. The company said its service is able to help spot symptoms such as this and then transfer the patient to in-person providers when need be.

WHY IT MATTERS

Bipolar I disorder is also called manic-depressive illness and causes individuals to have manic and depressive episodes, according to the CDC. It differs from bipolar disorder II, where individuals experience fewer severe manias.

The NIH reports that about 2.8% of U.S. adults had bipolar disorder in the last year. The condition is most prevalent among those ages 18 to 29. In fact, 4.7% of individuals in this age group are living with the condition.

This new service is positioning itself as a way to help individuals with the condition manage it.

“Adding bipolar I disorder care to Mantra Health’s treatment capabilities will make a significant difference in the lives of the students we serve and our higher education partners.

“Successfully treating bipolar disorders emerging in university-age patients often materially improves their chance of graduation, and ultimately, their long-term quality of life,” Ed Gaussen, Mantra Health’s cofounder & CEO, said in a statement.

THE LARGER TREND

Mantra was launched in 2018. In 2021, it closed a $2 million extension to the $3.2 million in seed funding it received in 2020.

Digital behavioral health companies are currently gaining a lot of traction in the market. In 2020, there were 67 venture deals that involved a behavioral health company, according to a Rock Health report. That equated to $2.4 billion in digital health deals.