Can You Believe it?

Dear Community,

One thing that 7 Cups has taught me repeatedly - and I mean repeatedly - is that all of us are smarter than any of us. We are collectively much more intelligent than any of us are as individuals or in smaller groups.

Over the years, Ive also learned (sometimes more successfully than others [and, yes, Im still learning and will keep at it]) to honor and listen to our community. From time to time, someone outside of our community gets a glimpse into the good work we are doing (Maisie Williams for example). For professionals, researchers, and academics, it usually takes them a little while to really get it. All that we do - and how we do it - is not immediately obvious. There are a lot of layers to our work. When they do finally see it, it is very validating because what we do is very unexpected and fascinatingly effective. People kind of cant believe at first, then they do, and then they think it is quite remarkable.

We all keep our heads down and work hard. We dont toot our own horn. Our focus is on making impact, on helping people. We dont really worry about being noticed. Because this is our general stance, the announcement Im about to make has that much more meaning and significance.

Stanford University hosts the Medicine X Awards for innovation in health care. A friend recommended we apply. The deadline was close, and I was at a conference representing us, so I quickly submitted an application (you can find it below). I completely forgot about it. Well, earlier this week, much to my surprise, I received an email indicating that we had won the Stanford Medicine X Award for Health Care Systems Design!!!

Take a step back and think about that for a second. We are being recognized by healthcare experts at one of the top universities in the world. The MedX Awards may be the most prestigious awards in innovation and medicine. Our rickety boat just keeps getting stronger and stronger. This award would not be possible without the effort of us all. Together as a community we have built this safe space thanks to:

- Our shared mindset and work towards fulfilling our mission.
- The way we lean on one another.
- Our willingness to volunteer our time to support one another.
- Our unshakeable faith in the core of 7 cups, what it stands for and that together we can achieve the impossible!

I take my hat off to all of you - to all of us - on what we have accomplished. This has been no small task. It is nothing short of remarkable! Lets celebrate, soak it all in, and then lets get back at it, because we still have a long ways to go!

With deep gratitude, respect, and admiration!

Glen

Our Submission:

Overview:

7 Cups expands access to healthcare through task sharing and technology. Our initial focus has been on behavioral health. People seek help on 7 Cups through our apps and Website. They feel understood and then some people sign up to be active listeners. At present, we have 150,000 listeners in 189 countries providing support in 140 languages. We also have professionals on the platform. When a person needs more support, listeners refer them to therapists on 7 Cups. This two-tiered system that integrates peer support and healthcare professionals dramatically extends care at very low cost. At present, 7 Cups helps 800,000 people a month. 3 peer reviewed studies (https://www.7cups.com/about/research.php) highlight how listeners reach high therapeutic alliance levels and how 7 Cups can be utilized to support people with Perinatal Depression and Schizophrenia. The core innovation is empowering peers and using smart technology to expand global access to behavioral health care.

Description of the Project:

We set out to build a scalable and sustainable global mental health system. We wanted to provide the ability to support anyone, anywhere, regardless of language, background, or financial resources. Our goals were to make the service free, convenient, and anonymous in order to increase access to care. Free is important because cost, even if a little, is a barrier. Convenient is critical because much of mental health can be delivered digitally, but is still conducted in physical office settings. The inconvenience of scheduling, driving, and then finding a new therapist if the person doesnt ‘click with the current therapist all incur unnecessary costs. Third, anonymity is key because it is the best way to overcome stigma. We know that approximately half of the people that need mental health services do not get it because they are afraid of being judged. Anonymity overcomes this last challenge.

We also wanted to provide research informed or evidence-based treatment protocols for 31 different mental health challenges like depression, anxiety, self-harm, and stress. People seeking help can get help through chatting with listeners or therapists or through working through these self-guided treatment plans that we call growth paths. We administer a depression, anxiety and stress screen every 20 steps on the growth path to track outcomes. We iterate on the platform to achieve better outcomes. The service is available via the Web, iOS and Android apps.

On the topic of co-design with patients:

Yes, patients (members) have been intimately involved with the design of 7 Cups from the very beginning. Each person that uses 7 Cups is encouraged to look at it like a giant sphere. They have a space on that sphere where they are encouraged to experiment and problem solve. You can see one example of this here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1r6iPcT_CNA89vhl_cbj4CxZt3bfa5hp7NP45DGxX35M/viewform